Article title: Kidney Diseases: NWHIC
Conditions: Kidney conditions, kidney failure (type of Kidney disease), diabetic nephropathy, urinary tract, bladder, ureter
Source: NWHIC
Click here for Easy to Read version.
What happens to you if
your kidneys no longer work well or at all?
What are the symptoms of
kidney failure?
How can you prevent diabetes
from progressing into kidney disease?
What is the urinary
tract?
See also...
Healthy kidneys clean the blood by filtering out extra water and wastes. They also make hormones that keep your bones strong and blood healthy. When both of your kidneys fail, your body holds fluid. Your blood pressure rises. Harmful wastes build up in your body. Your body doesn't make enough red blood cells. When this happens, you need treatment to replace the work of your failed kidneys. Each year in the United States, more than 50,000 people are diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a serious condition in which the kidneys fail to rid the body of wastes. ESRD is the final stage of a slow deterioration of the kidneys, a process known as nephropathy.
Symptoms related to kidney failure usually occur only in late stages of the disease, when kidney function has diminished to less than 25 percent of normal capacity. For many years before that point, kidney disease of diabetes exists as a silent process.
Since one of the big risk factors for diabetes-based ESRD is hypertension, drugs used to lower blood pressure (antihypertensive drugs) can slow the progression of kidney disease significantly. One drug, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, has proven effective in preventing progression to stages IV and V.1 Calcium channel blockers, another class of antihypertensive drugs, also show promise.
Some, but not all, calcium channel blockers may be able to decrease proteinuria (loss of protein into the urine) and damage to kidney tissue. Researchers are investigating whether combinations of calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors might be more effective than either treatment used alone. Patients with even mild hypertension or persistent microalbuminuria (presence of albumin, a component of protein, in the urine) should consult a physician about the use of antihypertensive medicines.
A diet containing reduced amounts of protein may benefit people with kidney disease of diabetes. In people with diabetes, excessive consumption of protein may be harmful. Experts recommend that most patients with stage III or stage IV nephropathy consume moderate amounts of protein.
If you have diabetes:
Have your doctor measure your glycohemoglobin regularly. The HbA1c test averages your level of blood sugar for the previous 1-3 months.
Follow your doctor's advice regarding insulin injections, medicines, diet, exercise, and monitoring your blood sugar.
Have your blood pressure checked several times a year. If blood pressure is high, follow your doctor's plan for keeping it near normal levels.
Ask your doctor whether you might benefit from receiving an ACE inhibitor.
Have your urine checked yearly for microalbumin and protein. If there is protein in your urine, have your blood checked for elevated amounts of waste products such as creatinine.
Ask your doctor whether you should reduce the amount of protein in your diet.
The urinary tract, or system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located below the ribs toward the middle of the back. The kidneys remove extra water and wastes from the blood, converting it to urine. They also keep a stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood. The kidneys produce hormones that help form red blood cells.
Narrow tubes called ureters carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, a triangle-shaped chamber in the lower abdomen. Like a balloon, the bladder's elastic walls stretch and expand to store urine. They flatten together when urine is emptied through the urethra to outside the body.
You can find out more about kidney stones and kidney disease by contacting the following organizations:
Prevention and Treatment of Kidney Stones 800-644-6627
Understanding Kidney Stones...Management for a Lifetime 800-333-3032
American Foundation for Urologic Disease 800-242-2383
National Kidney Foundation 800-622-9010
National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse
Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation 800-484-9698 ext: 5100
You can find out more information about hyperparathyroidism by contacting the following organizations:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
You can find out more information about gout by contacting the following organizations:
National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Information
ClearinghouseBox AMS
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892
(301)
495-4484
International Society of Nephrology
Department of
Nephrology
University of Florida
P.O. Box 100224
Gainesville,
Florida 32610-0231
(904) 392-4008
International Society for Peritoneal Dialysisc/o James F. Winchester,
M.D.
Georgetown University School of Medicine
F-6003-PHC
3800
Reservoir Road, NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 784-3662
Intersociety Council for Research for the Kidney and Urinary
Tract
Northwestern University
Children's Memorial Hospital
2300
Children's Plaza
Mail Stop #37
Chicago, IL 60614
Interstitial Cystitis Association
P.O. Box 1553
Madison Square
Station
New York, New York 10159
(800) ICA-1626 or (212)
979-6057
FAX (212) 677-6139
National Association for Continence (Formerly; Help for Incontinent
People, Inc.)
P.O. Box 8306
Spartanburg, South Carolina
29305-8306
(803) 579-7900 or (800) BLADDER
National Association of Nephrology Technologists and Technicians
11
West Monument Avenue
Suite 510
Dayton, OH 45402
(513)
223-9765
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
P.O. Box 8923
New
Fairfield, Connecticut 06812-8923
(800) 999-6673 or (203) 746-6518
North American Society for Dialysis and Transplantation
6550
Fannin
Suite 1273
Houston, Texas 77030
(713) 790-3275
North American Transplant Coordinators
P.O Box 15384
Lenexa,
Kansas 66285-5384
(913) 492-3600
Organ Transplant Fund
1027 South Yates Road
Memphis, Tennessee
38119
(800) 489-3863 or (901) 684-1697
Polycystic Kidney Research
Foundation
The Prostatitis
Foundation
Psychonephrology Foundation
c/o New York Medical
College
Psychiatric Institute
Valhalla, New York 10595
(914)
285-8424
Renal Physicians Association
2011 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite
800
Washington, DC 20006-1808
(202) 835-0436
The Simon Foundation for Continence
P.O. Box 815
Wilmette,
Illinois 60091
(800) 23-SIMON
Society of Government Service Urologists
7027 Weathered Post
San
Antonio, Texas 78238
(210) 681-0587
Society for Pediatric Urology
100 UCLA Medical Plaza
Los Angeles,
California 90095
(310) 825-6865
Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates
East Holly Avenue
Box
56
Pitman, NJ 08071-0056
(609) 256-2335
Fax: (609) 589-7463
The Transplant Foundation
8002 Discovery Drive
Suite
310
Richmond, Virginia 23229
(804) 285-5115
FAX (804)
288-2408
Transplant Society
University Hospital-SUNY at Stony
Brook
Department of Surgery - Health Science Center
T-19, Room
040
Stony Brook, New York 11794-8192
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
1100 Boulders
Parkway
Suite 500
P.O. Box 13770
Richmond, Virginia
23225
(800) 24-DONOR or (804) 330-8500
United Ostomy Association
36 Executive Park
Suite 120
Irvine,
California 92714
(800) 826-0826 or (714) 660-8624
Urodynamics Society
Department of Urology
200 First Street,
SW
Rochester, MN 55905
(507) 284-2248
All material contained in the FAQs is free of copyright restrictions, and may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the U.S. Office on Women's Health; citation of the source is appreciated.
Publication date: March 2001
» Next page: Kidney Failure Choosing a Treatment That's Right for You: NIDDK
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