CKD Stages & eGFR Ranges

Doctors generally don’t diagnose CKD based solely on lower eGFR in older adults unless it’s consistently low and accompanied by other signs of kidney impairment, like protein in the urine or abnormalities on imaging tests.

When eGFR stays below 60 for three months or longer in any age group, that’s when further evaluation for CKD usually begins. This is one big reason why Stage 3 is the largest group of CKD diagnoses—it’s often the point when kidney function noticeably declines, catching more medical attention.

Most often, kidney disease is discovered when tests are being performed for another reason.

Confirm your stage below.

Here’s how they are defined or broken down according to eGFR.

Stage 1: 90-120 with other evidence of kidney damage

Stage 2: 60-89

Stage 3a: 45-59

Stage 3b: 30-44

Stage 4: 15-29

Stage 5: anything below 15

      You may improve your lab numbers, but it does not mean your kidneys are "getting better”. GFR can fluctuate, that’s normal. If it changed significantly, that simply means that whatever you were doing before was pounding your kidneys to death and the changes you made help to slow that assault. Think of it as your kidneys taking a breather. But it’s going to level out and settle into a number/stage. This is often what happens to many CKD-ers, and then these people run off telling everyone that they found the answer. They didn’t.