Diabetic nephropathy is terrible? Be vigilant about its 5 stages of development so as not to get worse
It is said that diabetes is terrible. In fact, the disease itself is not terrible. The most terrible thing is the complications caused by high blood sugar, especially diabetic nephropathy, which will not only cause harm to the body, but also continue to develop and cause kidney failure. If kidney failure reaches a more serious level, it is easy to endanger the patient's life.
How does diabetic nephropathy develop?
- Renal damage
During the onset of early diabetic nephropathy, the patient's kidneys will be significantly enlarged. At this time, blood sugar needs to be adjusted immediately. After the blood sugar is controlled, the kidney enlargement will be relieved. However, this situation often occurs in the life of diabetic patients. When the kidney volume increases, the glomerular filtration rate will also increase, so it can also feel that the kidney function is improved. This is the early symptom of diabetic nephropathy. It can still return to normal at this time, but if it occurs repeatedly, it is easy to cause renal damage.
- Urine protein
This is the second stage of the development of diabetic nephropathy. Blood sugar affects the kidneys, and the increase in kidney function will obviously disappear, and no other abnormal symptoms will appear. However, at this stage, the kidneys have actually undergone subtle changes, and these lesions will continue to accumulate, which will affect the kidneys in the future. Some patients can find a small amount of albumin excretion in their daily urine.
- Occult diabetic nephropathy
When diabetic nephropathy develops to the third stage, it will become more serious. At this time, renal function has been affected, and the symptoms of proteinuria will gradually increase, but other symptoms are still not obvious, which is also known as occult nephropathy. . Occult diabetic nephropathy still has the possibility of reversal, but requires early treatment and symptomatic treatment for abnormal kidney function. However, patients at this stage often experience worsening of the disease due to unstable blood sugar.
- Serious decline in renal function
In the fourth stage, patients will also have obvious symptoms of various kidney diseases, usually about 20 years after the disease, and most patients will develop to this stage. In addition to the obvious increase in proteinuria, various functions of the kidney will have a gradual decline, and in the treatment of other diseases, the effect will be insignificant due to the decline of renal function. At this time, it is necessary to treat various kidney diseases to avoid further aggravation, otherwise it will not only affect the renal function, but also affect the patient's metabolism and circulatory system.
- Kidney failure
Severe nephropathy is the manifestation of the development of diabetic nephropathy to the end-stage. At this time, the renal function has been significantly reduced, and even dysfunction has occurred. In particular, the function of glomeruli and renal tubules is greatly affected, which also leads to problems in the patient's urinary system. When the filtration rate of the kidney is reduced, the blood pressure of the patient will also increase, and the kidney will enter the stage of failure. In fact, if it is not handled properly, it may even be life-threatening.
The development of diabetic nephropathy is very serious. Although the development cycle is relatively long, during this period, most diabetic patients will not pay attention to it, so the development of the disease cannot be effectively controlled. When it is found that he is not sick, he must go to the hospital for examination and understand the stage he is in before he can take targeted treatment.