How To Catch Diabetic Nephropathy Early Enough To Save Your Life

The kidneys are the body's filtration system. Made from thousands of tiny nephrons, small but efficient filtration units, these nephrons can be damaged when we have an uncontrolled amount of blood sugar in our systems as in the case with certain diabetes. It is unknown why not all diabetics are affected. The nephrons that make up our kidneys consist of tiny clusters of blood vessels called glomerulus, whose function it is to filter wastes from our bodies. When the blood sugar level in our bodies goes unchecked, these blood vessels are damaged and become scarred. When this happens, they are unable to function properly.

Those At The Most Risk

When the glomeruli are damaged, the kidney no longer functions properly. This causes the kidneys to dump proteins called albumin into the bladder and we pass it in our urine. Our bodies need this protein but those with diabetes who develop kidney problems lose it as waste. Those who are most at risk are...

• People who develop type 1 diabetes before age 20
• American Indians
• African Americans
• Hispanics
• Those with poor blood pressure
• People who have not developed diabetes yet but have poor blood sugar control
• People who Smoke.

Other Problems

The condition called nephropathy usually accompanies other problems including retinopathy, high blood pressure, and complications in blood vessel health. In its early stages, this disease has no symptoms and is usually only detected when the kidneys begin to fail. Once the kidney's ability to function has been affected, these symptoms may appear:

• Foamy urine
• Feeling ill
• Feeling fatigued
• Headaches
• Loss of appetite
• Weight gain-due to fluid build up
• Nausea
• Frequent vomiting
• All around body swelling (late stages of the disease).

Catch It Early

While there is no cure for nephropathy, it may be reversible if caught before too much damage is done. High levels of proteins will appear up to 10 years before the disease is finally triggered. Once that happens, the only treatment is to try to slow it down and minimize the damage. Treatments include controlling high blood pressure, exercise, maintaining a healthy weight to maintain lipid levels.

Blood Work Is Vital

If you are experiencing the symptoms above or are in the risk group, have your doctor check your blood for high protein content. There are several blood tests that can be done before confirming with a kidney biopsy. Since nephropathy is one of the leading causes of death in diabetics, it is important to have your blood work done on a regular basis if you have been diagnosed with any type of diabetes.

Prolonging Your Life

If you are diagnosed with nephropathy, monitor your blood sugar levels extremely closely. This will be especially helpful in slowing the progression of the disease if caught in the early stages. Diet is everything at this stage. Following a strict diabetic diet is your best hope. You may also be on a very low protein diet to minimize the damage to the kidneys and prolong function. As the condition worsens, dialysis and kidney transplant is the only hope of prolonged life; however, this is only a prolonging measure as the condition redevelops.

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