Diabetes is a potentially disaterous disease that affects kidneys, intestines, heart 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. However, effective control may be achieved under a doctor’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, Grazia M Aleppo, MD, FACE of Chicago, IL, David Allen Brantley, MD in Charlotte, NC, Wesley P Fairfield, MD in Lewiston, ME, Paul K. Howell, MD of Fort Smith, AR, Bobby N. Johnson, MD of Huntsville, AL
In 2005, it was estimated that there were 20.8 million people of all ages who are afflicted with the 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 were undiagnosed. Additionally, approximately 54 million adults and children are pre-diabetic with 1 1/2 million diabetes found in people over 20, emerging yearly.
Diabetes is the number one cause of renal disease. Indeed, high blood pressure and diabetes are the two primary causes of kidney disease. This is responsible for about 70 percent of renal failure cases with diabetes accounting of 44 percent of kidney failure cases. The early stages of kidney disease have virtually no symptoms . It silently makes war on your body and eventually when it is finally detected, the injury is so far advanced that it can be too advanced to prevent kidney failure. Once your kidneys fail, you have two options: kidney transplant or dialysis. If you do not receive either one of these, you will eventually die.
How Diabetes causes Kidney Disease
When your kidneys are serving properly, the glomeruli (tiny filters that are in the kidneys) keep proteins inside of your body. Protein is necessary for many operations inside of your body and are required for keeping you healthy. Diabetes causes a high concentration of glucose in the blood which damages the glomeruli. The result is that they are no longer effective in keeping the protein in the body and it leaks into the urine from the glomeruli.
When kidneys are damaged they no longer function efficiently and do not clean our extra fluids and waste as they should. When this occurs, the waste and fluids build up in the blood instead of being secreted through urine. As this continues, the worse the damage becomes until the kidneys eventually cease to function.
The Progression of Renal Disease
It often requires years for kidney disease from diabetes to develop. Some people experience hyperfiltration in the first few years of their diabetes. This means that the glomeruli actually put out more urine than normal. Once damage starts, though, it is progressive. While developing kidney disease, they will have a serum protein named albumin that will begin to enter into the urine in small amounts. At that time, normally the glomeruli are actually working normally.
The progression of the disease leads to more protein moving into the urine and the glomeruli begin to eventually fail as the filtering mechanism begins to decrease. Waste is kept because of the filtration failure. Eventually, the kidneys stop functioning.
How to Prevent Kidney Problems if you have Diabetes
Having diabetes, you can most often prevent kidney problems. Use these suggestions to protect yourself: * Control your diabetes by eating well and a good exercise regimen * Take your medicine as prescribed * Have your endocrinologist test your urine and blood regularly for kidney disease * If the laboratory test shows that you do have kidney disease, consider medications such as angiotensin II receptor blockers and ACE inhibitors that can help keep your kidneys healthy.
A diagnosis of diabetes does not have to mean kidney disease. As long as you control your condition, manage it well and follow your physician’s orders, there is no reason that you can’t live a long, healthy, happy life – without kidney disease.
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