Hello,
My neurologist ordered a 24-hour urine and I retrieved the results myself from my Quest account. I called them after getting the results and they told me everything was normal and nothing to worry about.
However, I saw my results and it was flagged with "Abnormal Protein Band 1 - (3H). When I asked about that, and if they were going to order more tests, they said no, "It's normal to have protein in your urine".
Is that true, or should I have further testing?
My symptoms have been hard to diagnose and I'm feeling like they are leading down a rabbit hole with no answers.
Pain - back, neck, wrists, jaw bone, nose bone, knees - even pain when someone presses on my bones in my chest, like when my kids lay on me, it feels abnormally painful.
Numbness, weakness, and fatigue
Nerve symptoms - warm and cold sensations in legs and back usually
Those are the primary issues.
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Re: Abnormal protein band 1 - (3H); are more tests needed?
Hi jaxsearcy1,
It would be helpful if you posted all the results of your 24 hour urine test so that folks could see the entire picture of what's going on. If the units or measure for the value of "3" are g/24 hrs, then that is a pretty high concentration of protein. Normal protein levels in the urine are ~ 167 mg/24 hours, or less (that number may vary depending on the test equipment and facility running the test).
Also, when a test says "abnormal protein band", that usually means the presence of an atypical protein such as a monoclonal protein.
But again, this will likely make more sense once we see the entire lab report.
It would be helpful if you posted all the results of your 24 hour urine test so that folks could see the entire picture of what's going on. If the units or measure for the value of "3" are g/24 hrs, then that is a pretty high concentration of protein. Normal protein levels in the urine are ~ 167 mg/24 hours, or less (that number may vary depending on the test equipment and facility running the test).
Also, when a test says "abnormal protein band", that usually means the presence of an atypical protein such as a monoclonal protein.
But again, this will likely make more sense once we see the entire lab report.
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: Abnormal protein band 1 - (3H); are more tests needed?
Hi, and thank you for the reply. Hopefully I can write out these results in a logical way, but if I'm not giving them correctly let me know.
Creatinine: 1.57 (g/24h)
Protein/Creatinine Ratio: 61 (mg/g creat)
Protein, Total: 96 (mg/24h)
Electrophoresis:
Albumin - (47%)
Alpha-1-Globulins - (2%)
Alpha-2-Globulins - (18%)
Beta Globulins - (12%)
Gamma Globulins - (21%)
Abnormal Protein Band 1 - (3H) (mg/24h)
Any info would be great. If I am all good like the nurse said on the phone, then okay, but if I need to push harder or see another doctor who will order follow up tests, I'd like to know.
Creatinine: 1.57 (g/24h)
Protein/Creatinine Ratio: 61 (mg/g creat)
Protein, Total: 96 (mg/24h)
Electrophoresis:
Albumin - (47%)
Alpha-1-Globulins - (2%)
Alpha-2-Globulins - (18%)
Beta Globulins - (12%)
Gamma Globulins - (21%)
Abnormal Protein Band 1 - (3H) (mg/24h)
Any info would be great. If I am all good like the nurse said on the phone, then okay, but if I need to push harder or see another doctor who will order follow up tests, I'd like to know.
Re: Abnormal protein band 1 - (3H); are more tests needed?
First off, I'm not a doctor and I'm not expert on 24-hour urine tests. But usually, if an abnormal protein band is measured via electrophoresis, the pathologist should have automatically done an immunofixation to determine the nature of the abnormal protein band.
The good news is that your total protein and creatinine levels look like they are normal. But given the presence of the abnormal protein band, I might suggest following through with a hematologist and ask him / her to run a serum free light chain assay, serum immunofixation, and serum electrophoresis test. For myeloma screening purposes, you can totally get by with blood tests and not have to go through the mega-hassle of a 24-hour urine collection again.
Others on the forum may have additional opinions.
The good news is that your total protein and creatinine levels look like they are normal. But given the presence of the abnormal protein band, I might suggest following through with a hematologist and ask him / her to run a serum free light chain assay, serum immunofixation, and serum electrophoresis test. For myeloma screening purposes, you can totally get by with blood tests and not have to go through the mega-hassle of a 24-hour urine collection again.
Others on the forum may have additional opinions.
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: Abnormal protein band 1 - (3H); are more tests needed?
Thank you. The lab provided results 4 days ago, and it doesn't appear they are doing any follow up tests. As an attachment to the findings, their notes read "a possible monoclonal protein present. suggest urine immunofixation".
So, it seems as though they were trying to get the doctor to order that test as a follow on. And, after I spoke with his offices to see if they would order that test for me, they said no and there is nothing to worry about because 99% of people who take a 24-hour urine have protein in their urine. I brought up the monoclonal findings, and she repeated the same thing, that it's totally normal.
My doctor would have to refer me to a hematologist. He isn't doing that because he believes these findings are irrelevant.
Thank you for the information.
So, it seems as though they were trying to get the doctor to order that test as a follow on. And, after I spoke with his offices to see if they would order that test for me, they said no and there is nothing to worry about because 99% of people who take a 24-hour urine have protein in their urine. I brought up the monoclonal findings, and she repeated the same thing, that it's totally normal.
My doctor would have to refer me to a hematologist. He isn't doing that because he believes these findings are irrelevant.
Thank you for the information.
Re: Abnormal protein band 1 - (3H); are more tests needed?
I agree that having protein show up in a 24 hour urine test is normal. But I'm not sure I agree about the presence of an abnormal protein band being normal as well. I'd at least press your current doc for a serum immunofixation test. The test is cheap and easy to do. This is the specific Quest Diagnostics test:
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/testcenter/BUOrderInfo.action?tc=549&labCode=AMD
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/testcenter/BUOrderInfo.action?tc=549&labCode=AMD
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
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