Diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy) takes many years for it develop. Due to this, it's usually hard to know that you have the condition early enough unless you undertake regular checkups. As the condition progresses, proteins start to leak into urine as the kidneys aren't able to filter all the proteins. This is the first stage and it's known as microalbuminuria. During this time, you still can't know that you have the diabetic nephropathy. As time moves on, more albumin leaks into urine and this stage is known as macroalbuminuria or proteinuria. As the amount of urine increases, the filtering function of the kidneys goes down. When the filtration process fails, the body retains plenty of the waste products which is very dangerous. According to experts, full-blown nephropathy occurs in the first 10 years of diabetes; therefore, if you haven't been undertaking regular medical checks, this is most likely the time that you will know that you are sick. Diagnosis Of Nephropathy It's very important that you undertake regular tests in order to determine whether you are sick. Some of the tests that you should undertake include: eGFR: this is an acronym for estimated glomerular filtration rate. Each kidney contains about 1 million filters (glomeruli) that make up the blood vessels. You can check the kidney function by estimating the amount of blood that the glomeruli are filtering per minute. The calculation is based on creatinine which is a waste product usually found in blood. If you undertake the test and you find that you have an eGFR result of 60 and more, it means that you have normal or little kidney damage. If your eGFR result is between 30-59, you have moderate kidney damage. An eGFR result of 15-29 means that you have severe kidney damage while a result of less than 15 signifies kidney failure. Urine albumin: here the healthcare provider compares the amount of albumin to the amount of creatinine in a single urine sample. When your kidneys are healthy, your urine will contain large amounts of creatinine, but no albumin. You should note that even a small increase in the ratio of albumin to creatinine is a sign that you have kidney damage. Conclusion This is what you need to know about diabetic nephropathy. I'd like to repeat that you should have regular checks on your kidney especially if you are diabetic. This way your doctor will be able to identify the condition at the early stages. In addition to knowing how to diagnose diabetic nephropathy, we also have expert tips on how to treat diabetic nephropathy. To know more about us visit the given links
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