In This Diabetes Article:
What should I do each day to stay healthy with diabetes?
What do my kidneys do?
How can I prevent diabetes kidney problems?
How can my doctor protect my kidneys during special x-ray tests?
How can diabetes hurt my kidneys?
What can I do if I have kidney problems caused by diabetes?
How will I know if my kidneys fail?
What happens if my kidneys fail?
Will I know if I start to have kidney problems?
How can I find out if I have kidney problems?
Your kidneys are two bean-shaped organs about the size of your fist. They are located just below the rib cage, near your back. This article is about kidney problems caused by diabetes. You will learn the things you can do each Kidneys day and during each year to stay healthy and prevent diabetes problems.
What should I do each day to stay healthy with diabetes?
The kidneys act as filters to clean the blood. They get rid of wastes and send along filtered fluid. The tiny filters in the kidneys are called glomeruli.
You have two kidneys. Your kidneys clean your blood and make urine. This drawing shows a cross section of a kidney.
When kidneys are healthy, the artery brings blood and wastes from the bloodstream into the kidneys. The glomeruli clean the blood. Then wastes and extra fluid go out into the urine through the ureter. Clean blood leaves the kidneys and goes back into the bloodstream through the vein.
X-ray tests using a contrast agent pose a risk to your kidneys. If you need x rays, your doctor can give you extra water before and after the x rays to protect your kidneys. Or your doctor may decide to order a test that does not use a contrast agent.
How can diabetes hurt my kidneys?
When the kidneys are working well, the tiny filters in your kidneys, the glomeruli, keep protein inside your body. You need the protein to stay healthy.
High blood glucose and high blood pressure damage the kidneys’ filters. When the kidneys are damaged, the protein leaks out of the kidneys into the urine. Damaged kidneys do not do a good job of cleaning out wastes and extra fluid. Wastes and fluid build up in your blood instead of leaving the body in urine.
Kidney damage begins long before you notice any symptoms. An early sign of kidney damage is when your kidneys leak small amounts of a protein called albumin into the urine. But the only way to know about this leakage is to have your urine tested.
With more damage, the kidneys leak more and more protein. This problem is called proteinuria. More and more wastes build up in the blood. This damage gets worse until the kidneys fail.
Diabetic nephropathy is the medical term for kidney problems caused by diabetes. Nephropathy affects both kidneys at the same time.
What can I do if I have kidney problems caused by diabetes?
Once you have kidney damage, you cannot undo it. But you can slow it down or stop it from getting worse by controlling your blood pressure, taking your ACE inhibitors or ARBs, and having your kidney function tested regularly. However, if you are pregnant, you should not take ACE inhibitors or ARBs.
How will I know if my kidneys fail?
At first, you cannot tell. Kidney damage from diabetes happens so slowly that you may not feel sick at all for many years. You will not feel sick even when your kidneys do only half the job of normal kidneys. You may not feel any signs of kidney failure until your kidneys have almost stopped working. However, getting your urine and blood checked every year can tell you how well your kidneys are working.
Once your kidneys fail, you may feel sick to your stomach and tired all the time. Your hands and feet may swell from extra fluid in your body.
What happens if my kidneys fail?
One way to treat kidney failure is with dialysis. Dialysis is a treatment that does some of the work your kidneys used to do. Two types o f dialysis are available. You and your doctor will decide what type will work best for you.
Dialysis is a treatment that takes waste products and extra fluid out of your body.
Will I know if I start to have kidney problems?
No. You will know you have kidney problems only if your doctor checks your blood for creatinine and your urine for protein. Do not wait for signs of kidney damage to have your blood and urine checked.
How can I find out if I have kidney problems?
Two lab tests can tell you and your doctor how well your kidneys are working.
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Catharine “Kate” is a Certified Administrator for Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) and an Expert Senior Care Advisor. Kate’s grandmother battled Alzheimer’s Disease and Kate personally understands what millions of families are going through. Kate and her team are very passionate in empowering Seniors and their families by providing them with the Best Available Senior Care Options based on Senior’s care needs, preferred location and family’s budget.
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