Diabetes is a crippling condition that affects kidneys, intestines and every other organ in the body. It is a condition in which the body is unable to properly use or produce insulin. Insulin, a hormone that is necessary for converting starches, sugar and other food into energy. The cause of diabetes is unknown and there is no known cure. It can early onalso be managed and controlled through proper diet. And you should know, effective management may be achieved under a physician's care.
Endocrinologists are specialists that treat diabetes. They are easy to find in most areas. Here are some examples: David Alster, MD of Tucson AZ, Steve Thomson, MD of Tucson AZ, Garry Lewis August, MD, FACP, FACE of Columbus, GA, Dr Patricia Brubaker of Toronto, Jack Hibler Blalock, Jr., MD, FACE of Columbus, GA, Anna Boron, MD at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, CT, M. Badshah, MD, FACE of Orlando, FL, Ashraf Z. El-Khodary, MD, FACE of Washington, DC
In 2005, it was estimated that there were 20.8 million adults and children who are afflicted by this disease. That is pretty close to 7% of the population. Of those, 14.6 million people were diagnosed, but 6.2 million people were thought to have diabetes but it had not been discovered yet. Not only that but, neaerly 54 million folks are pre-diabetic with one and a half million new disease found in people older than 20, found each year.
Diabetes is the most common cause of renal disease. Indeed, high blood pressure and diabetes are the two primary causes of kidney disease. This is responsible for probably 70 percent of renal failure with diabetes accounting of 44 percent of kidney failure cases. The early stages of kidney disease have virtually so signs . It underhandedly fights your body and by the time it is finally detected, the damage is so problematic that it quite often is too advanced to prevent failure of the kidneys. Once your kidneys fail, you have two options: kidney transplant or dialysis. If you do not receive either of these, you will eventually die.
How Diabetes causes Kidney Disease
When the kidneys are functioning as they should, the glomeruli (tiny filters that are in the kidneys) keep proteins inside of your body. Protein is critical for a variety of functions inside of your body and are needed for keeping you healthy. Diabetes causes a greater concentration of glucose in the blood which damages the glomeruli. This means that they can no longer keep the protein in the body and it seeps into the urine from the kidneys.
When the kidneys are thus damaged they no longer work correctly and do not clean our waste as they should. When this occurs, the fluids and waste build up in the bloodstream instead of being removed through urine. As this continues, the worse the damage becomes until the kidneys eventually fail.
The Progression of Renal Disease
It often can take years for kidney disease from diabetes to develop. Some experience hyperfiltration in the first few years of their diabetes. This means that the glomeruli actually put out more urine than normal. Once the damage starts, however, it will continue to progress. While developing kidney disease, they will have a serum protein named albumin that begins to enter into the urine in small amounts. At this time, usually the glomeruli are actually functioning normally.
The progression of the disease will lead to more protein leaking into the urine and the glomeruli begin to gradually fail as the filtering mechanism begins to decrease. Waste is kept in the blood due to the filtration failure. As a result, the kidneys stop functioning.
How to Prevent Kidney Problems if you have Diabetes
If you have diabetes, you can often prevent kidney problems. Take these steps to keep your kidneys healthy: * Control your diabetes by eating the right foods and a good exercise program * Take your medicine as prescribed * Have your doctor test your urine and blood regularly for kidney disease * If the laboratory test shows that you do have kidney disease, ask your doctor about medications such as ARBs (angiotensin II receptor blockers) and ACE inhibitors that can help keep your kidneys healthy.
A diagnosis of diabetes does not have to automatically mean kidney disease. As long as you adequately treat your condition, manage it well and follow your endocronologist's orders, there is no reason that you can't live a long, healthy, happy life - without kidney disease.
