Nephropathy

Diabetic Nephropathy is a condition in which the functioning of the kidneys deteriorate due to uncontrolled diabetes. Patients suffering from type 1 or type 2 diabetes would suffer from diabetic nephropathy if they do not maintain good control of blood sugar. Diabetes has a debilitating effect on all the blood vessels of the body. Uncontrolled blood sugar results in narrowing of the blood vessels and formation of plaque in them. This creates obstruction in the flow of blood. When this happens in the blood vessels of heart it results in heart attack. When this happens in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain this results in brain stroke.

Kidneys have millions of blood vessels. When diabetes causes shrinking of blood vessels in the kidneys it results in high blood pressure. This further damages the kidneys. The functioning of kidneys goes on reducing and when this reaches below 15% then the patient is considered to be in kidney failure.

Symptoms of Diabetic Nephropathy include :

High BP

Swelling of feet, ankles, hands or eyes

Foamy urine

Confusion in brain

Shortness of breath

Loss of appetite

Nausea and vomiting

Itching

Tiredness and weakness.

Diagnosis & Treatment

Diagnosis of Diabetic Nephropathy is done by Physician through clinical examination and tests like Blood Sugar, HbA1C, KFT, LFT, Urine Routine. The functioning of kidneys is further checked by imaging tests like CT Urography and MRI.

The best way to prevent or delay diabetic nephropathy is by living a healthy lifestyle and keeping diabetes and high blood pressure managed. Avoiding smoking and binge drinking also contribute in preventing kidney damage due to diabetes.

The best treatment for diabetic nephropathy is the same as the treatment for diabetes. Eating more than 60% of your food in the raw form helps in controlling blood sugar. Always eat fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds all mixed up before taking any meal. Atleast 60% of your daily calorie need should be through raw food. The raw food takes long time to get digested and this results in slow absorption of sugar by the blood. If the sugar is getting released slowly in the blood stream then the chances of blood sugar going high would reduce drastically. This will result in higher levels of energy which will make you lead an active lifestyle. Once this cycle is established you would realize that you are walking more and exercising more with each passing day. This will make your diabetes disappear and prevent any kind of damage not only to the kidneys but all the other organs.

Best Doctors and Cost

Dr Munendra Kumar is one of the best specialist for the management of diabetes and prevention of diabetic nephropathy. The Medical Management of Diabetes is not very expensive and you can expect to get all the tests like Blood and Urine Test, Ultrasound within Rs. 10,000. The medicines are also not very expensive as the main line of treatment is proper diet and regular exercise.

Diabetes is the mother of all diseases like heart disease, kidney disease, stroke. In diabetic person, the blood vessels start narrowing and the supply of blood to different parts of the body gets reduced over time. The person will feel fatigued most of the time. After 10-15 years of diabetes, men would lose their libido and the problem of erectile dysfunction would start. Sexual life would be disturbed. Grab your life before it is too late. Diabetes will not let you live and doctors will not let you die but the later life of a diabetic person can be very painful.

Diabetes can lead to huge medical bills as the treatment of diseases caused by diabetes is very expensive. Heart disease, kidney failure, liver failure or stroke can cause medical bills running into several lacs of rupees. Diabetic nephropathy can lead to kidney failure which would result in getting dialysis done 8-10 times a month. This itself would result in an expenditure of 30-40 thousand per month. Kidney transplant would cost 5-6 lacs or rupees at a good private hospital.