Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus, usually called diabetes, is a disease in which your body does not make enough insulin or cannot use normal amounts of insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the amount of sugar in your blood. The levels can go too high after meals, and too low if you do not eat. The fluctuating in the level of blood sugar may cause diabetic kidney failure and other complications of diabetes.
Kidneys
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs in the lower back. Their main function is to remove waste from the body and to balance the water and electrolyte content of the blood by filtering the salt and water in the blood. In a diseased state, either of these processes may become compromised.
Types of diabetes
The most common ones are Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in children. It is also called juvenile onset diabetes mellitus or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In this type, your pancreas does not make enough insulin and you have to take insulin injections for the rest of your life.
Type 2 diabetes, which is more common, usually occurs in people over 40 and is called adult onset diabetes mellitus. It is also called non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In Type 2, your pancreas makes insulin, but your body does not use it properly. Following a diet and/or taking medication often can control the high blood sugar level, although some patients must take insulin.
Affect of Diabetes on Kidneys
With diabetes, the small blood vessels in the body are injured. When the blood vessels in the kidneys are injured, your kidneys cannot clean your blood properly. Your body will retain more water and salt than it should, which can result in weight gain and ankle swelling. You may have protein in your urine. Also, waste materials will build up in your blood.
Diabetes also may cause damage to nerves in your body. This can cause difficulty in emptying your bladder. The pressure resulting from your full bladder can back up and injure the kidneys. Also, if urine remains in your bladder for a long time, you can develop an infection from the rapid growth of bacteria in urine that has a high sugar level.
However the most serious complication is diabetic kidney disease, which is not caused by infection. It occurs in up a to a third of diabetics, particularly those who have had diabetes for many years. A kidney affected by diabetes looks abnormal under the microscope with scarring and swelling in the filtering elements. This damage to the filtering elements causes protein to leak into the urine, which is an important marker for diabetic kidney disease.
Diabetic Kidney Disease
Diabetes is the single leading cause of kidney failure in all over world. Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose (blood sugar) to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. Nephropathy, also called diabetic kidney disease, is a condition that affects one-third or more of people who have had Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes for at least 20 years. About 10 to 40 percent of people with Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes also have kidney disease.
Treatment for diabetic kidney disease focuses on slowing the progression to kidney failure. Controlling high blood pressure and blood sugar levels, participating in a doctor-supervised exercise and weight loss program and eating a special diet can help.
When kidney failure develops, the kidneys lose their ability to remove waste products from the body. The first signs of nephropathy are small amounts of protein in the urine and elevated levels of creatinine (a waste product) in the blood. Unfortunately, most people do not experience symptoms until their kidneys have lost much of their ability to function.
When kidneys function at only five to ten percent of their capacity, they can no longer process most of the waste in the body and cannot sustain a person’s life. This condition is called end-stage renal disease. Treatment options include either kidney dialysis or transplantation. In most cases, renal transplantation is often preferred for a better quality of life.
Signs of Kidney Disease in Patients with Diabetes
1. Albumin/protein in the urine
2. High blood pressure
3. Ankle and leg swelling, leg cramps
4. Going to the bathroom more often at night
5. High levels of BUN and creatinine in blood
6. Less need for insulin or antidiabetic medications
7. Morning sickness, nausea and vomiting
8. Weakness, paleness and anemia
9. ItchinG
Early signs of diabetes kidney disease
The earliest sign of diabetic kidney disease is an increased excretion of albumin in the urine. This is present long before the usual tests done in your doctor’s office show evidence of kidney disease, so it is important for you to have this test on a yearly basis. Weight gain and ankle swelling may occur. You will use the bathroom more at night. Your blood pressure may get too high. As a person with diabetes, you should have your blood, urine and blood pressure checked at least once a year. This will lead to better control of your disease and early treatment of high blood pressure and kidney disease. Maintaining control of your diabetes can lower your risk of developing severe kidney disease.
Late signs of diabetes kidney disease
As kidneys fail, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels will rise as well as the level of creatinine in your blood. You may also experience nausea, vomiting, a loss of appetite, weakness, increasing fatigue, itching, muscle cramps (especially in your legs) and anemia (a low blood count). You may find you need less insulin. This is because diseased kidneys cause less breakdown of insulin.
Investigation Needed
Urine is the most important and first test for kidney diseases. Presence of protein or albumin as albuminurea or micro-albuminurea indicates the kidney disease. So through urine complete examination any kidney disease can be detected at an early stage. Protein in the urine normally appears long before there are any symptoms of kidney disease.
It is important to establish whether you have diabetic kidney disease, or another problem. A number of blood tests and an ultrasound scan of the kidneys will normally be performed. In some cases it may be necessary to perform a kidney biopsy to find the diagnosis. This is a test where doctors remove a small fragment of kidney with a needle.
Is there any treatment for Diabetic Kidney Disease ?
Diabetic kidney disease is not curable the changes which appears in the kidneys are usually irreversible but doctors use treatments to try and stabilise the kidneys. Often the kidneys do gradually fail despite this treatment. However, this does not mean that the treatment is a failure. It will slow down the rate of kidney failure and help to keep the rest of you as fit as possible.
Ayurveda is the right answer for Kidney problems.
a) There are many precious herbs that maintains the equilibrium of the body hence sugar level and blood pressure also, the level will not fluctuate and helpful to prevent damage to kidneys.
b) Dietary and Other regime should be according to disease and body as Ayurveda says.
c) Herbs can treat albumin in urine, which is not reabsorbed by kidneys due to the damage of cells and change of physiology. Herbs protects the Nephrons to damage, corrects the dissociation of proteins to its end product and reabsorbion of proteins.
d) Raised Blood Urea and Serum Creatinine can also be lower down with Herbal Medication.
Things to Remember for good healthControl your diabetes
Control high blood pressure
Get treatment for urinary tract infections
Correct any problems in your urinary system
Avoid any medicines that may damage the kidneys (especially over-the-counter pain medications)