Welcome back to our wonderful discovery of diabetic nephropathy! Today we are going to talk about the tests, signs, and symptoms that lead to this diagnosis. Let's find out what we are in for...
Early screening..if you have diabetes it is important for you to test your blood glucose levels routinely! Not just in the moment blood glucose levels, but making sure you get your HgA1C checked at least once a year. Keep those glucose levels under control!
Check your protein levels.... your doctor is probably already checking on this but make sure your results are good. The protein this test checks for is called albumin. If you excrete more than 30 mg/24 hours then your body is excreting too much protein in your urine. If there is protein in your urine that means your kidneys aren't doing their job and this increases your chances of developing diabetic nephropathy.
Imaging... Ultrasound is used to look at you kidneys. In this test we are looking directly at kidney size. If you have early stage diabetic nephropathy your kidneys will likely be larger than normal. If you have later stage diabetic nephropathy then your kidneys are likely to appear smaller. The ultrasound is also helpful in ruling out things out...like an obstruction or renal cancer.
Staging...There are 5 stages used to describe how bad the kidney failure is. Stage 1 is the best and Stage 5 is end stage kidney failure. The tests listed above are used to determine how extensive the kidney damage is. This information is helpful because it determines what treatment options are available to you.
Check out the picture below to see a simple idea of what diabetic nephropathy is doing to your kidney. I hope to see you guys back again next week! Go hawks!!!
References
Evans, Timothy; Campbell, Peter. Clinical Diabetes: Diabetic Nephropathy. 18:1, 2008.
Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, and Bucher. Medical-Surgical Nursing: Assessment and management of Clinical Problems. 9th edition. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier; 2014.
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