What is diabetic nephropathy?
Diabetes can affect many parts of the body, including the kidneys. In healthy kidneys, many small blood vessels filter waste products out of your body. These blood vessels have holes large enough to allow small waste products to pass through the urine. But the blood vessels are still small enough to keep useful products (such as proteins and red blood cells) in the blood. High blood sugar can damage these vessels if diabetes is not controlled. This can cause kidney disease, also known as kidney disease. If the damage is severe enough, your kidneys may stop working.
Symptoms of diabetic nephropathy
Diabetic nephropathy usually doesn’t cause any symptoms until the kidneys are severely damaged. As the condition progresses, symptoms may include:
- Swollen feet and ankles
- Weak
- Loss of appetite
- Stomachache
- Insomnia and have trouble sleeping
- Confusion and trouble thinking.
What causes diabetic nephropathy?
Diabetic nephropathy is the result of diabetes. Over time, high sugar levels can damage the kidneys. Kidney damage is more likely if your blood sugar is not controlled. It’s also more likely if you smoke or if you have high blood pressure. According to the National Institutes of Health, diabetic kidney disease is more common among African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, or Native Americans.
How is diabetic nephropathy diagnosed?
Your doctor will test your urine for protein. If there is protein in your urine, this could mean that your diabetes has damaged holes in the blood vessels of your kidneys. This makes the holes large enough for protein (and other nutrients your body needs) to leak into the urine. Your doctor may also want to do blood tests to see how much damage has been done to the kidneys.
Can diabetic nephropathy be prevented or avoided?
The best way to prevent diabetic kidney disease is to keep your blood sugar in check. You should also have your blood pressure checked regularly. High blood pressure can lead to impaired kidney function. Keeping blood pressure in the normal range can help prevent kidney damage.
>> Read: Information about Diabetes insipidus
Treatment of diabetic nephropathy
If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetic kidney disease, you can slow down the damage. Here are some of the most important things you can do to protect your kidneys:
- Keep your blood pressure below 140 over 90. High Blood Pressure May accelerate damage to the kidneys. Your doctor may give you medicine to help lower your blood pressure.
- Control your blood sugar. You should take your diabetes medication and/or insulin exactly as prescribed by your doctor.
- Stick to one healthy diet. People with diabetic kidney disease may need to eat less protein.
- It is in physical activity Daily.
- Quit smoking.
- Check with your doctor before taking any new medicine. This includes vitamins, herbal remedies, and over-the-counter medications.
- Keep all your doctor appointments.
Even with the right treatments, diabetic kidney disease can get worse over time. Your kidneys may stop working. This is called kidney failure. If this happens, waste products build up in your body. This can cause nausea, vomiting, weakness, shortness of breath, and confusion. In severe cases, kidney failure can cause seizures and coma.
If you have kidney failure, your doctor will recommend you for dialysis. In dialysis, a machine is used to remove waste products from the blood. A type of dialysis must be done in the clinic. For another type of dialysis, the machine is so small that you can wear it while doing your daily activities. If you have kidney failure, your doctor will help you decide which type of dialysis machine is right for you.
Living with Diabetic Kidney Disease
Early treatment can slow or even stop the progression of diabetic nephropathy. The disease progresses slowly. Not all people who develop diabetic nephropathy will go on to develop kidney failure. Having diabetes does not mean you will develop the disease.