Understanding Kidney Disease

The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for medical care.

A licensed healthcare professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

• Understanding Kidney Disease

• Symptoms of Kidney Failure

• diabetes and kidney disease

• High blood pressure and kidney disease

• Other Causes

Most people are born with two kidneys, each the size of a closed fist. They are located on either side of the spine, just above the tailbone. Each kidney weighs just 113 grams, but it plays a very important and critical role in your health. When your kidney starts failing, you need to be referred and treated by a kidney specialist. Your kidneys are vital organs. Think of them as your body's cleansers: they filter waste, toxins, and excess fluid from your blood. This, in turn, flows to your kidneys through the renal arteries and out through the renal veins. Renal is the medical term meaning “related to the kidneys”. Every day, the kidneys produce around 1 to 2 liters of urine, which contains excess waste and fluid. Urine leaves the kidneys through tubes called ureters and is held in the bladder. It then leaves the bladder through another tube, called the urethra, when you urinate. This is called the urinary system.

Symptoms of Kidney Failure

In some patients the kidneys become compromised and are unable to perform their normal functions. You may have a compromised kidney and not even realize it. That's why kidney disease is often called the silent disease. Only when the kidney is severely compromised will you feel sick. In most patients, kidney disease affects both kidneys. When your kidney function is below 15% to 20% you may start to experience symptoms such as feeling tired or weak or loss of appetite. So you will need some sort of treatment to replace some of the functions of a healthy kidney. Monitoring your kidney function is very important to know how quickly your disease is developing. You and your doctor (nephrologist) will be able to tell how your condition is developing by monitoring the following tests:

• Serum creatinine – A blood test that measures the amount of creatinine, a waste product found in the blood. A higher level in the blood means the kidneys are removing less waste from the body.

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• Glomerular Filtration Rate – A measure of kidney function calculated by collecting urine. This determines how your kidneys are filtering waste. A lower number means your kidney function is getting worse. Glomerular filtration rate can also be estimated by equations using serum creatinine, age, race, sex, and body weight. The most common equations are the Cockroft-Gault formula and the Modification of Diet in Kidney Disease (MDRD) formula.

The results of these tests will help your doctor decide what steps to take to keep you as healthy as possible.

diabetes and kidney disease

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease that causes high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Normally your body turns the carbohydrates you eat into glucose. Your blood carries glucose to your cells, where it is used for energy or stored for later use. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps glucose move from the blood into the cells. If you have diabetes, either your pancreas no longer makes enough insulin, or the insulin it makes doesn't make it to your cells, so your body can't transport glucose from your blood to your cells and so it builds up. When your blood glucose levels remain high, excess glucose affects many parts of your body. High blood glucose levels can compromise the small blood vessels of the kidneys so that they can no longer remove fluid and waste. Many people with diabetes also have high blood pressure.

Diabetes is one of the most common causes of kidney disease. If diabetes is left untreated for a very long time, you can develop complications and one of those complications could be kidney disease.

Diabetic nephropathy is the medical term for kidney damage caused by diabetes. It can take 20 years or more for a person with diabetes to develop kidney disease.

High Blood Pressure and Kidney Disease

High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms for many years. You may not even know you have it. In fact, it is often discovered in consultation with a doctor for some other reason. High blood pressure cannot be diagnosed with just one blood pressure measurement. Normal pressure is less than 120/80 mmHg. If your blood pressure remains higher than 130/85 mmHg in two days or more, you should see a doctor.

Many of the new cases of kidney failure each year are caused by higher than normal blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can cause kidney disease and also make it progress more quickly. Kidney disease can also cause high blood pressure.

Other Causes

Other conditions that can lead to kidney failure include glomerulonephritis due to inflammation or impairment of the kidney's filtering units, hereditary diseases like polycystic kidney disease, lupus and other conditions that affect the body's immune system, obstructions that include kidney stones, tumor or enlargement prostate, infections and some medications.