Diabetic Seniors

With millions of tiny blood vessels acting as filters, your kidneys do a remarkable job of removing waste products from your blood. Unfortunately, diabetes can damage this delicate filtration system — causing diabetic kidney complications and even diabetes kidney failure.

What Happens with Diabetes and Kidney Disease

With the high levels of blood sugar that diabetics experience, the kidneys simply work too hard. In time, they lose their filtering ability and waste products begin building up in the blood. Finally, the kidneys fail. At this point, the only treatment options are a kidney transplant or dialysis (having the blood filtered by a special machine).

Diabetic kidney complications can be diagnosed early, usually by detecting small amounts of protein in the urine (microalbuminuria). There are several treatments that can keep the kidney disease from getting worse at this point. When kidney disease is caught later, when larger amounts of protein are found in the urine, diabetes kidney failure usually follows.

But what is important to know about diabetes and kidney disease is that kidney disease produces no symptoms until almost all function is gone. The first symptom of kidney disease is often fluid buildup. Other symptoms include loss of sleep, poor appetite, upset stomach, weakness and difficulty concentrating.

Kidney Disease Prevention

Not everyone with diabetes develops kidney disease. Factors that can influence kidney disease development include genetics, blood sugar control and blood pressure.

Aim for tight control. The better you keep your diabetes and blood pressure under control, the lower the chance of diabetic kidney complications. In fact, research has shown that tight blood sugar control reduces the risk of microalbuminuria by one third. In people who already had microalbuminuria, the risk of kidney disease progressing was cut in half. Other studies have suggested that tight control can even reverse microalbuminuria.

See a doctor regularly. Have your doctor check your blood pressure, urine (for protein), blood (for waste products) and organs for diabetic kidney complications.

Monitor your blood pressure. Blood pressure has a dramatic effect on diabetes kidney failure. Even a mild rise in blood pressure can quickly make kidney disease worsen.
Four ways to lower your blood pressure are:

• Lose weight.
• Eat less salt.
• Avoid alcohol and tobacco.
• Get regular exercise.

Your physician may also prescribe medication to lower blood pressure. Note that not all medications are appropriate for people with diabetes. Some raise blood sugar levels or mask some of the symptoms of low blood sugar. Doctors usually prefer people with diabetes to take blood pressure drugs called ACE inhibitors. Recent studies suggest that ACE inhibitors slow kidney disease in addition to lowering blood pressure.

The Benefits of Tight Control

Major research supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases found a 50 percent decrease in diabetic kidney complications in participants who followed an intensive regimen for controlling blood glucose levels. This included:

- Having their health care provider measure their A1C level at least twice a year.

- Working with their health care provider regarding insulin injections, medicines, meal planning, physical activity and blood glucose monitoring.

- Having their blood pressure checked several times a year. If blood pressure is high, they should follow their health care provider’s plan for keeping it near normal levels. They should aim to keep it at less than 130/80.

- Asking their health care provider to measure the amount of protein in their urine at least once a year to check for kidney damage.

- Asking their health care provider whether they should reduce the amount of protein in their diet and ask for a referral to see a registered dietitian to help with meal planning.

As you can see, diabetes and kidney disease can go hand in hand. Take steps now to keep your diabetes under control — and your kidneys healthy.

Tags: diabetes and kidney disease, diabetes complications, diabetes kidney failure, Diabetic Kidney Complications, diabetic nethropathy, Nephropathy