For people with diabetic nephropathy, doctors may provide drug therapy and invasive medical procedures which, in most cases, merely delay "end stage" damage — permanent physical damage that profoundly affects quality of life. Fortunately, diabetic nephropathy is a potentially reversible health condition.
Contact us today and let us help you start the reversal process. In the meantime, consider the following facts about diabetic nephropathy:
Hyperfunction and Hypertrophy Stage is characterized by enlarged kidneys (hypertrophy) and a filtration rate, or globerular filtration rate (GFR), that is normal-to-high. A potential result of such hyperfiltration is an excess output of urine (polyuria). It is estimated that this stage occurs around the same time of the onset of the diabetes.
The Silent Stage may show an increased thickness of the glomerular basement membrane (a part of the kidneys’ filtration barrier) and a further increase of the patient’s GFR. This stage occurs within the first 5 years from when the diabetes first began.
The Incipient Stage presents damaged capillaries that allow an elevated level of protein (albumin) to escape through the kidneys into the urine (a state called microalbuminuia). During this stage, the GFR begins to fall. All of these signs tend to occur between years 6 and 15, post diabetes onset.
The Overt Stage presents increasing levels of albumin in the urine (macroalbuminuria), and lowering levels of albumin in the blood. These changes may result in noticeable edema in many patients. This stage, often referred to as chronic kidney disease or proteinuria, has been known to occur between years 16 and 25, post diabetes onset.
The Uremic Stage is also referred to as kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease. At this stage, the kidneys are no longer capable of ridding the body of certain waste and toxins. This may occur between years 15 and 30, post diabetes onset.
Diabetic nephropathy is a potentially reversible health condition that Fettler Health can help you reverse if targeted early. If it is not reversed, the following complications associated with diabetic nephropathy — some of which are also potentially reversible — have been known to occur:
People with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes often have undiagnosed diabetic nephropathy, or chronic kidney disease (CKD), and don’t know that they have it. This is because, throughout its early course, diabetic nephropathy has no symptoms. However and fortunately, signs of kidney damage, including reduced kidney function, are detectable through medical testing. In turn, once diagnosed and targeted early, diabetic nephropathy is potentially reversible.
When the force of blood flow is high, as it is for individuals with high blood pressure, blood vessels stretch in order to allow blood to flow more easily. Eventually, this stretching scars and weakens blood vessels throughout the body, including the blood vessels of the kidneys. If the kidneys’ blood vessels are damaged, they may stop removing wastes and extra fluid from the body. Extra fluid in the blood vessels may then raise blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle.
Diabetes often leads to kidney damage. Early effects of kidney damage include accelerated filtering (hyperfiltering) by the kidneys. Other effects include excessive outputs of urine (polyuria), abnormal amounts of protein in the urine (albuminuria), and high levels of waste products (creatinine) in the blood.
In its later stages, diabetic nephropathy results in edema (swelling) which may include swelling around the eyes in the morning, swelling of the legs, and unintentional weight gain as a result of fluid accumulation. Such swelling usually occurs first in the feet and legs, and later throughout the whole body.
Individuals with Stage 5 diabetic nephropathy, otherwise known as kidney failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), require dialysis or a kidney transplant. Kidney dialysis is an artificial blood-cleaning process. In the US, the average survival for a patient with ESRD on dialysis is 4 to 5 years, with death most likely resulting from either infection or cardiovascular events.
Kidney failure, or irreversible end-stage kidney disease, requires either dialysis or a kidney transplant. Kidney transplantation refers to receiving a healthy kidney from a donor. National statistics indicate that up to 97% of kidney transplants are working at the end of a month, 93% are working at the end of a year, and 83% are working at the end of 3 years. The reasons why a kidney transplant can fail include clot, fluid collection, infection, side effect of medication, recurrent disease, and rejection. Every year, over 20% of kidney transplants are re-transplants.
Fettler Health provides the tools and services to help you reverse potentially reversible health conditions including those listed below.
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