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Diabetic kidney disease

Hopes

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Well it took them almost a year to get me into a nephrologist and apparently I have Diabetic nephropathy. Anyway they took a bunch of tests and I got the results of them. I don't know what they mean though. I contacted the Drs office via their website and its been weeks and he never got back to me. Basically I just want to know what all these tests mean and how bad is all of this. Is anyone else dealing with this? Do you know how to interpret these kind of test results?

Thanks
 

musicalpilgrim

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Basically I just want to know what all these tests mean and how bad is all of this. Is anyone else dealing with this? Do you know how to interpret these kind of test results?
I think that the first place to look is google, there are plenty of sites such as this one Kidneys (nephropathy) - Diabetes UK
you can also find diet plans.
I like to be knowledgable when talking to doctors etc...just so I know what they are talking about and to ask questions, so research is important to me.
Try the telephone, I hope that you get through to them.
 
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archer75

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There are many degrees of kidney disease. I have this in my family. Please ask all questions of real doctors, ask for brochures and printed information etc. Do not rely too much on CF as a source.

That said, even the worst kind of kidney disease is not a death sentence at all. So even if it's as bad as it could be, treatment can keep you going strong for a long time.

Find out what stage you are in. Or find another Dr if this one is not responsive.
 
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Hopes

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No way to get an appointment earlier. It took me almost a year to even get my first appointment. Its weird because I posted this today of all days but the nurse did call a few min ago. She says the Dr wants to put me on a high dose of vitamin D because that was too low.

I asked her about the rest of the test results and she told me basically if it were anything really bad the Dr. would have flagged it for her to tell me about it and that the Dr. would explain it to me at my next appointment. Which tells me basically nothing except its not urgent I guess. They really need to do a better job of telling me about this stuff. I am beginning to not like this Dr. too much. It may not work out with this Dr. I really don't like being kept in the dark like this.
 
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polkaman

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it is simple.......first you request the result of your tests.....that is as simple as a fax, or go to the clinic and request your
medical records, you might need to sign a form or two, and that's it. Then do your research, ask your GP for help
in understanding. You can look at websites such as www.davita.com or aakp.org or kidney.org. These places will give
you things to read. There will be talk of dialysis, I doubt it you are close to doing that. They can explain the different
levels of kidney disease, and most importantly, what you can do to help yourself.

remember, knowage is power......I wish you the best, and may god bless you with good health.
 
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Hopes

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it is simple.......first you request the result of your tests.....that is as simple as a fax, or go to the clinic and request your
medical records, you might need to sign a form or two, and that's it. Then do your research, ask your GP for help
in understanding. You can look at websites such as www.davita.com or aakp.org or kidney.org. These places will give
you things to read. There will be talk of dialysis, I doubt it you are close to doing that. They can explain the different
levels of kidney disease, and most importantly, what you can do to help yourself.

remember, knowage is power......I wish you the best, and may god bless you with good health.
I have a copy of the test results already. They have a website that I can log into and see all of the test results. I did try to research it but its kind of hard because the internet gives a wide range of what this or that test result could mean.

Sometimes it even gives scary stuff like for instance cancer came up on a couple of the results as one of the things it could mean. I doubt I have cancer (at least I hope not) but I am just having trouble nailing down what a test result like this or that really means.

I guess I just have to wait on the Dr because I tried messaging him through the site and he did not bother getting back to me. I mean this all could be a whole bunch of nothing but some extra protein in my urine or it could mean something worse. It would just be nice to know what it is that I am looking at so I don't have to think about it anymore.
 
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polkaman

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as you said, it might not be much, but it has you concerned, so it is something to you. kidney disease runs in my family.
several members on dialysis. if they said diabetic nephropathy, look it up on Wikipedia, they do a pretty good job and
are fairly accurate. The key to much of it, is is there protein in the urine. The kidneys are kind of like a screen.
proteins are bigger molucles, so if you have protein coming thru, then there are places in the screen "damaged"
one of the key things looked at in kidney disease is creatinine. you can find a gfr calculator on the web. you
enter the data and it should then tell you. you then can look at the charts to see what level of cronic kidney
disease you are at, and then follow up with what you can do for each stage. The best thing is good control of
diabetes.
I hope by using your lab tests, and the sites I've given you, that you can understand it better. in many instances
you can be your own "best doctor", by knowing what to do, and what to avoid.

best of luck !
 
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I have a copy of the test results already. They have a website that I can log into and see all of the test results. I did try to research it but its kind of hard because the internet gives a wide range of what this or that test result could mean.

Sometimes it even gives scary stuff like for instance cancer came up on a couple of the results as one of the things it could mean. I doubt I have cancer (at least I hope not) but I am just having trouble nailing down what a test result like this or that really means.

I guess I just have to wait on the Dr because I tried messaging him through the site and he did not bother getting back to me. I mean this all could be a whole bunch of nothing but some extra protein in my urine or it could mean something worse. It would just be nice to know what it is that I am looking at so I don't have to think about it anymore.

Hello. While you wait on your doctor I came across this awesome presentation about kidney health and it deals with how to kidney functions, kidney problems and what you can do about it. I think it is best to know what is going on with your body to better understand whatever the doctor tells you and what your test results mean.

 
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Pilgrim

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Well it took them almost a year to get me into a nephrologist and apparently I have Diabetic nephropathy. Anyway they took a bunch of tests and I got the results of them. I don't know what they mean though. I contacted the Drs office via their website and its been weeks and he never got back to me. Basically I just want to know what all these tests mean and how bad is all of this. Is anyone else dealing with this? Do you know how to interpret these kind of test results?

Thanks

Hopes,

Here is an article on Diabetic Nephropathy from the MERCK MANUAL. It is written for medical professionals so it is detailed and contains a lot of medical terminology. There are a couple of links within, one for Patient Education and another for the Consumer Version of the the article. God bless your treatment plan.

Reference: Diabetic Nephropathy - Genitourinary Disorders - Merck Manuals Professional Edition
 
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Hopes

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Hopes,

Here is an article on Diabetic Nephropathy from the MERCK MANUAL. It is written for medical professionals so it is detailed and contains a lot of medical terminology. There are a couple of links within, one for Patient Education and another for the Consumer Version of the the article. God bless your treatment plan.

Reference: Diabetic Nephropathy - Genitourinary Disorders - Merck Manuals Professional Edition
Thanks for the link, I am reading it and its very informative. I did go to the kidney dr a couple weeks ago and asked him about all of these tests (there was a TON of them). He told me that a single bad test result wasn't the issue, it is the picture that all of them taken together paints that's the problem.

So basically its like this. My kidneys are working very hard, too hard at filtering my blood, sort of in hyper drive. He called it some sort of "mode" but I could not understand what kind of mode he said it was because he has a very heavy accent that I don't recognize (I don't know what country he is from).

Anyway whats going to happen if this isn't gotten under control is my kidneys will eventually burn themselves out and I will probably land somewhere in stage 3 or 4 kidney disease. Right now I am relatively OK and am technically only around stage 2 but that can rapidly change if this does not get fixed.

So to slow this down, I can have absolutely no salt, no artificial sweeteners like diet coke, no Motrin EVER! I also am supposed to drink 64 oz of water a day (which is really hard to do). I have to monitor my blood pressure and take it everyday to make sure its not creeping up. I have to keep taking my blood pressure medication. And absolutely without a doubt I have to get and keep my blood sugar under control.

The blood sugar has been hard to control, mostly because of my bipolar meds raising it. I am on a different med now and it has went down some. Hopefully it stays that way.

On a side note, at least I don't have breast cancer. I did the ultrasound and it was just cysts so nothing to worry about there. I got enough other stuff to worry about without it lol. Thanks again for the link.
 
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Waterwerx

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I can have absolutely no salt
This is not possible. Your body still needs salt. If you have to drink a lot of water on a regular basis and try to forego any salt intake, you will eventually end up with hyponatremia. The doctor should have given you an approximate amount to stay under in regards to your daily intake of salt. If not, then he/she needs to refer you to a registered dietician(RD).
 
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quietbloke

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I am diabetes 1 on insulin and metformin. I have kidney disease stage 3 reduced from 4. I have these things but they don't have me and believe for healing and progress. Just wanted you to know I am praying for you.
 
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musicalpilgrim

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I am diabetes 1 on insulin and metformin. I have kidney disease stage 3 reduced from 4. I have these things but they don't have me and believe for healing and progress. Just wanted you to know I am praying for you.
Praying for you and all on the thread
God bless and may His healing power work to restore normal kidney function. In Jesus name. Amen.
 
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musicalpilgrim

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I am diabetes 1 on insulin and metformin. I have kidney disease stage 3 reduced from 4. I have these things but they don't have me and believe for healing and progress. Just wanted you to know I am praying for you.
...is there an update?...
 
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