Mom is 78 and definitely having more issues lately. PCP sent her to a doc to do memory testing and general troubleshooting with this in mind. Got 21 out of 30 on the test, where over 25 is normal. So obviously there is an issue.
Doc put in for B12 and thyroid bloodwork. Both came back normal.
Other blood work for RA meds to make sure liver/kidney function are OK every 3 month, show that estimated GFR is below 60 2 times in a row which, according to one of the kidney organization's website, is an indicator of CKD (chronic kidney disease). Confusion is one of the symptoms as well. So I asked doc to do a urine test to test for protein which can help round out the picture as to if the kidneys really are in bad shape or not.
I'm so annoyed that doc that evaluated the eGFR thought her numbers were stable and nothing to worry about. Geez, let's wait until her numbers hit complete rock bottom then try to get a new kidney?? I mean, seriously! Let's get pro-active and get to the bottom of the situation and see what's really going on and then make some medical and dietary lifestyle changes to try to improve her situation.
Here is a link to a decent website with info on the topic:
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/gfr
Good luck!
Go to the experts to get expert-level treatment.