<p>What is a BMP One of the most common test done at your doctor&rsquo;s office is a BMP or a Basic Metabolic panel. The results can be confusing if you do not know what to focus on or what the symbols and letters stand for. Below is an example of a BMP result. We&rsquo;ve listed names of electrolytes and metabolic products on the right , normal expected ranges in the middle, and units of measurement used on the far left. What the results look like Sodium&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;134-144&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&ndash;mmol/L Potasisum&mdash;&ndash;3.5-5.2&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&ndash;mmol/L Chloride&mdash;&mdash;&ndash;96-106&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;mmol/L Bicarb&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&ndash;20-29&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;-mmol/L BUN&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&ndash;6-20&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;-mg/dl Creatinine&mdash;&ndash;0.76-1.27&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;mg/dl Glucose&mdash;&mdash;&ndash;65-99&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&ndash;mg/dl Creatinine Creatinine level is important because it gives a snapshot of how well your kidney&rsquo;s are doing. Creatinine is produced from breakdown and metabolism of muscle and proteins. Creatinine is excreted by the kidney&rsquo;s. How well your kidney&rsquo;s get rid of creatinine reflects how well they are filtering your blood. Along with your creatinine level, other personal information such as sex, race, are used to come up with a number called glomerular filtration rate, which is a score card of how well your kidneys are working. Potassium and glucose Other results to keep an eye out on are potassium, normally excreted by the kidney and maintained at a narrow normal range. If you have chronic kidney disease, or are on dialysis, potassium levels can dangerously go up in response to a number of things including medications, food, etc. Finally, glucose is an important indicator of how well your body handles dietary carb load. Non-diabetics can expect their blood sugar to increase shortly after a meal but this is quickly brought back down under control. Diabetics or those who are pre-diabetics, blood sugars stay persistently elevated for a longer period of time and may not come down to a normal range unless treated with medications.</p>