55-year-old Sunil Srivastava had not been feeling well lately. He had lost his appetite, was feeling nauseous all the time and not sleeping very well. He was feeling tired all the time. His wife noticed his hands and feet looked a little swollen. Being a diabetic, he initially thought his blood sugar was the problem. His diabetologist, however, told him he needed to run a few tests to see his kidney function. His test reports revealed his kidneys were not functioning normally and there were some abnormalities. The doctor referred him to a nephrologist, who diagnosed that he was suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease and would need life-long treatment and lifestyle modifications to prevent kidney failure.
Chronic Kidney Disease refers to long-term kidney damage that can get worse over time. Kidney damage is irreversible, and over time neglect may lead to your kidneys stop working altogether. This is called end-stage renal failure. When this happens, one will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.
Some common conditions contributing to CKD are:
Some factors that increase the risk of CKD:
Some common symptoms indicating that your kidneys are starting to fail may include:
In case of acute kidney failure, your kidneys may abruptly stop working and you may likely notice these symptoms:
On experiencing one or more of these symptoms, consult a doctor immediately.
Your kidneys help your body work properly and get rid of the unwanted substances from the body. When you have CKD, you can also have problems with how the rest of the body is working and cause complications like:
Chronic kidney disease refers to five stages of renal failure or damage, ranging from mild damage (Stage 1) to complete renal failure (Stage 5). These stages are determined based on how efficiently your kidneys can filter extra fluid and waste out of the blood. In the early stages, the kidneys are still able to filter out waste from your blood. However, in the later stages, they need to work harder and ultimately may stop working altogether.
A doctor can measure how efficiently your kidneys can flush out wastes from blood by monitoring eGFR or estimated glomerular filtration rate.
The doctors may ask you to carry out certain tests and procedures to diagnose Kidney disease:
Kidney damage cannot be reversed, but by following certain steps you can slow the progress of the disease.
Talk to your doctor about medicines that can help protect your kidneys. Diagnosis of kidney disease early may help to prevent kidney failure.
