Diabetic Nephropathy - Diagnosis, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

Diabetic nephropathy is a kidney disease that is caused by diabetes. You may be diabetic nephropathy when there is much inflammation, glucose, and also acid waste in the bloodstream so that the small capillaries feeding into the kidneys will be clogged. The accumulation of acid waste will ultimately damage kidney cells.

When the kidney cells are damaged or die, you will have a higher risk of kidney failure. The kidneys will get deteriorated faster if you keep eating unhealthy foods such as conventional animal meat or other highly processed foods, drink alcohol, and also smoke cigarettes. Diabetic nephropathy is in fact the most common cause end-stage kidney disease and chronic kidney failure in the U.S.

1. Symptoms

Patients of both diabetes type 1 and 2 are at risk of diabetic nephropathy. Unfortunately, there are no symptoms in the early stage of the condition but eventually kidney function will start declining. Later, there may be symptoms such as the following:

- Fatigue

- Frequent hiccups

- Poor appetite

- General ill feeling

- Foaming urine

- Nausea and vomiting

- Weight gain (unintentional)

- Headache

- Swelling of the legs

- Swelling around the eyes (occurs in the mornings)

2. Diagnosis

To be able to find out whether you are diabetic nephropathy or not, you can take a test which checks for the albumin or protein in the urine, since in a normal condition urine does not contain protein. Protein may appear in the urine 5 to 10 years prior to the development of other symptoms.

When you are type 1 diabetic, it is recommended to perform a urine test yearly after you are living with the condition for 5 years. When you are type 2 diabetic, immediately perform yearly urine test after being diagnosed. If any doubt occurs in the diagnosis, a biopsy is usually performed.

3. Treatment

You can avoid worse kidney disease and stay away from its complications by lowering high blood pressure or hypertension. Your doctor may prescribe you some medications for this, such as ACE inhibitors and ARBs.

However, please remember that drugs will not give long-term results!

Don't be dependent on drugs. You should consume healthy foods that can help with diabetic nephropathy, such as more vegetables and get your source of protein from chicken, instead of red meat. For those with kidney problems, research has shown that chicken is a better alternative. You should also do regular physical activity.

4. Prevention

Preventing is better than treating. To be able to do this, you can have a plant-based diet, such as raw salads and raw vegetable juices. When you are type 1 or type 2 diabetic, do an annual checkup with your doctor. Also, remember to regularly control your blood pressure.

For kidney health, stay away from highly processed foods and include more green vegetables in your diet like kale and spinach. Don't forget to get the useful omega-3 from fish like wild salmon and sardines.

Diabetes Symptoms and Treatment

One of the most common metabolic disorders in today's world is diabetes. Malfunctioning of the pancreas in - producing too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both and this causes diabetes. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas to help in converting sugar, starches, and other foods into energy. A person who has regular high levels of blood glucose is diagnosed to suffer from diabetes. There are three types of diabetes - Type I, Type II, and Gestational diabetes.

Polydipsia or increased thirst causing to drink fluids more often, Polyphagia or increased appetite, Polyuria or frequent passing of urine, Blurred eye vision, Lack of energy and fatigue, Unusual and sudden weight loss, Dry itchy skin, Slow healing sores, Losing sensation or tingling and numbness in feet are all diabetes symptoms.

The different allopathic diabetes medicines are - Meglitinide Drugs, Alpha-glucosidase Inhibitors, Thiazolidinedione Drugs, DPP-4 Inhibitors, Sulfonylureas Drugs, Biguanide Drugs, Dopamine Receptor Agonists, Bile Acid Sequestrants, and Combination Drugs.

In Ayurveda, diabetes is also known as Madhumeha and according to them, there are 20 types of diabetes - four types are due to Vata, six types from Pitta, and Kapha causes the remaining ten. Ayurveda for Diabetes helps to maintain blood sugar and keep kidneys, liver, eyes, and heart safe as these organs are affected by long drawn diabetes. Some diabetes herbal medications are listed here - Gymnema Sylvestre, Salacia oblonga, Bitter Melon, Cinnamon, Fenugreek, Ginseng, Aloe vera, and Chandraprabha. Some specified herbs for diabetes are - Savory to alleviate thirst, Broccoli, Ginseng, Green Tea, Lantana, Plantain, Sage to lower blood sugar, Evening Primrose for blood circulation, and Aloe Vera, Beans, Ginseng, Green Tea, Plantain to normalize blood sugar.

In Ayurvedic medication since ages, cow urine is used to prepare diabetes medicines. A recent scientific study by Dr. Jayakumar and his team in their research have found that the cow urine has anti-diabetic properties and has raised hope for millions of diabetic patients in India and abroad. The project funded by the State Government will be over five years.

Natural medicines for diabetes do not cause any side effects and help in stimulating pancreas to function normally. Any form of regular exercise, stopping smoking and alcohol, and taking a balanced diet along with few life-style changes can help in controlling diabetes. Some yoga exercises that are beneficial for diabetes are Sarvangasana, Halasana, the Child pose, Paschimotasana, and Ardha Matsyendrasana. Diabetes yoga helps to manage diabetes by activating glandular system responsible for this illness.

New Treatment To Help Patients Cope With Diabetes Mellitus Symptoms

While there are no clinical investigations of cannabis for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in scientific literature, there are a small number of preclinical studies that indicate that cannabinoids found in marijuana may provide symptomatic relief to those suffering from diabetes mellitus. Medical marijuana is also known to modify the progression of the disease according to a 2006 study published in the journal Autoimmunity.

The study reported that 5 mg injections of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD every day significantly reduced the incidence of diabetes in mice and investigators reported that while around 86% of untreated control mice in the study developed diabetes, by contrast only 30% of mice that were treated with CBD developed the disease. Diabetes Mellitus refers to a set of autoimmune diseases that are characterized by defects in the secretion of insulin by the pancreas. This results in hyperglycemia or an extremely high concentration of glucose in the blood.

Type 1 diabetes or juvenile diabetes and Type 2 diabetes or adult onset diabetes are the two primary types of diabetes. While type 1 diabetes sufferers must rely on insulin medication for survival, sufferers of type 2 diabetes produce insufficient amounts of insulin and their condition can typically be controlled by diet. In fact, statistics indicate that after heart disease and cancer, diabetes mellitus is the third major cause of death in the United States. It may also lead to nerve damage, kidney failure, blindness, hardening of the arteries, and eventually death.

Researchers at the Medical College of Virginia reported in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Pathology that CBD treated rats experienced significant protection from diabetic retinopathy when they were treated for periods of 1 to 4 weeks. Diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in adults is characterized by a breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier and retinal oxygen deprivation. There are other preclinical trials that have demonstrated the beneficial effects of cannabinoids in animal models of diabetes.

Medical marijuana is known to alleviate neuropathic pain associated with diabetes mellitus and studies published in the journal Neuroscience Letters in 2004 reported that mice who were administered a receptor agonist for cannabis experienced a decrease in diabetes related tactile allodynia or pain resulting from a non-injurious skin stimulus when compared with the non treated controls. These findings suggest that the cannabinoids in MMJ may have great therapeutic potential to treat experimental neuropathic pain triggered by diabetes mellitus.

The Basics About Diabetes Treatment

Glucose is a simple sugar that is used by body cells to produce energy. It is absorbed during digestion into the blood stream. Then it is transported using insulin to the liver and muscle cells. Diabetes disease is caused when the pancreas is not producing enough insulin or the normal insulin produced is not effective in the organs it is transported to. In some cases, it can be both.

Diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar levels. It is a disease resulting from the mode of lifestyle one is living. It is takes a long time before recovery. For a person with type 1 diabetes, a diabetic diet, exercise and insulin is required. Type 1 diabetes is as a result of less than enough or sometimes zero production of insulin by the pancreas. This is why insulin injections are crucial to manage the diabetes disease. It affects people as early as from the childhood years.

Type 2 diabetes. It is as a result of too little insulin by the pancreas and low effectiveness of the insulin in the body. Treatment is supposed to increase the amount of insulin produced by the pancreas and increase the insulin's ability to work in the body. It should also reduce the amount of glucose produced and carbohydrates absorbed in the blood system. Type 2 diabetes is treated with drugs, weight reduction and exercise to increase effectiveness of the insulin in the body but when none of these seem to work, insulin is sometimes used.

A diabetes diet usually contains low fat, cholesterol and sugars. However, avoid foods with too much sugar such as sweet potatoes and some types of cereals. Try including green vegetables, soy and fish products in your diet. Uncooked vegetables, herbs, onions and garlic are good for stimulating insulin production hence managing the diabetes disease.

Before medication is provided factors such as the side effects, cost, complications and other conditions that might be important such as health conditions or pregnancy. High cost quality drugs are better than low quality cheap ones which might cause complications. Get a trusted physician to be prescribing and suggesting medication suitable for your health. Diabetes is more common with people who are obese as well as those used to sedentary lifestyles.
Other lifestyle practices that will make one more prone to getting the diabetes disease include oversleeping especially during the day, smoking and lack of exercise.