What are the first signs of kidney failure? Only serious answers, please?

Question

I have been a diabetic for 40+ years. Type l. Recently, though, I have been swelling alot, and Demedex that is prescribed for fluid is not working like it use to. My Dr. says swelling is normal, as we get older, but sometimes I can hardly get my shoes on or off. What's up? Does anyone know what to look for in kidney slow down or failure? Have you experienced this?

Answer 1

I was diagnosed with Kidney failure a couple years ago, and it was severe so a lot of my symptoms occurred very quickly.

While kidney failure has many symptoms (because poor kidney functions often lead to high blood pressure, which easily affects other parts of your body), there are 3 main "big" symptoms:

Swelling of the face and legs is definitely a sign of kidney failure. When it happened to me, I literally had to get shoes a full size bigger, and the face can also be swollen like having an allergic reaction (I was prescribed something called Furosemide - which caused the swelling to go down by causing more frequent urination so that the excess water can be removed from the body).

Second is more protein in your urine, which you can recognize by extra foam/bubbles. Many people belive that Kidney failure will cause you to urinate less frequently, and while that is true in most cases, sometimes other medications (particuarly those linked with diabetes) can affect urination and actually cause you to urinate more than normal. Having lots of protein in your urine is generally a strong sign that your kidneys are not functioning properly.

Third, a very deadly catch-22, is that kidney failure begins to heighten your blood pressure, which sadly, will damage your kidneys further, which in turn cause your blood pressure to go up even more. Round and round, a very bad cycle which can cause major damage to your other organs. If you believe you may have kidney failure, you should definitely take a close monitor of your blood pressure (which you are probably already doing because of diabetes).

Hope that was helpful, if you need further information, or, if god forbid, you do have kidney failure, I recommend you not only consult with your doctors but the following book may help: "Coping with Kidney Disease" by Dr. Mackenzie Walser. Great information there and lots of treatments. He goes into details that you can use to kinda double-check your doctor on the side. Also, there are many websites available that will explain further, like http://www.kidney.org.au. G'luck and best wishes.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

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Answer 5

Acute kidney failure is the sudden loss of your kidneys' ability to perform their main function — eliminate excess fluid and waste material from your blood. When your kidneys lose their filtering ability, dangerous levels of fluid and waste accumulate in your body.

Acute kidney failure is most common in people who are already hospitalized, particularly people who need intensive care. Acute kidney failure tends to occur after complicated surgery, after a severe injury or when blood flow to your kidneys is disrupted.

Loss of kidney function may also develop gradually over time, with few signs or symptoms in the early stages. In this case, it's referred to as chronic kidney failure. High blood pressure and diabetes are the most common causes of chronic kidney failure.

Acute kidney failure can be serious and generally requires intensive treatment. Unlike the chronic form, however, acute kidney failure is reversible and if you're otherwise in good health you should recover normal kidney function within a few weeks. If acute kidney failure occurs in the context of severe chronic illness — a heart attack, stroke, overwhelming infection or multiorgan failure — the outcome is often worse.


Signs and symptoms of acute kidney failure may include:

Decreased urine output, although occasionally urine output remains normal
Fluid retention, causing swelling in your legs, ankles or feet
Drowsiness
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Confusion
Seizures or coma in severe cases
Chest pain related to pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac-like membrane that envelops your heart

Some people don't notice any early signs or symptoms, or are more bothered by the underlying problem causing the sudden kidney failure

Answer 6

my dad had type 2 diabetes and recently died of renal kidney failure he had the lose of his legs and the feet would swell on up to his thigh. we did not know what was happening to him because he would not tell us , but the day he was diagnosed with kidney failure it was too late. we soon learned why he wasn't eating much and his speech would be slurred he had a blood clot in his leg which swelled to his thigh, his breathing was slow. so if you have diabetes please eat right check your blood sugar and take your meds and exercise . i have diabetes also and this scares me to no end. the doctors did not check him for this and i am angry about that but then again my dad was very depresed and we didn;t know because he didn't tell us , so tell someone if you are hurting inside and out.

Answer 7

I'm no professional, and i think no matter what anyoen tells you, you should check with your doctor right away,
but my dad hat total kidney failure was on dialasys etc. his first symptoms were flu like, nausia, vomiting, general feeling of unwell, fever, chills, sweating. but symptoms could be diff in diff people, tell your doctor you'd like your kidneys checked, just that you dont feel right about it, and he should check them.

(espcially if you have insurance, he'll wanna order every expensive test in the book lol) but seriously have it checked out, its not good to be afraid.

Answer 8

I couldn't just sit around and do nothing like my doctors suggested.

They didn't want me to do anything or to take herbs or herbal remedies, but I had to try something - they just wanted me to do dialysis!

This program allowed me to take control of my health. I went from Stage 4 to Stage 3 kidney disease.

It was easy to do and my BUN, creatinine and anemia are all in better ranges.

Reversing Your Kidney Disease?

Answer 9

When my sisters kidneys started to fail, her blood sugar would, on occasion, fall dramatically, to the point of unconsciousness. This bothered her more than the other mentioned symptoms.

Answer 10

How is your bloop pressure? Your BP will be elevated. your skin will be terribly dry. decreased urine output
decreased urine volume (oliguria)
no urine output (anuria)
urination, excessive at night (can occur in some types of renal failure)
ankle, feet, and leg swelling
generalized swelling, fluid retention
decrease in sensation, especially the hands or feet
decreased appetite
metallic taste in mouth
persistent hiccups
changes in mental status or mood
agitation
drowsiness, lethargy
delirium or confusion
coma
fluctuating mood
difficulty paying attention (attention deficit)
hallucinations
slow, sluggish, movements
seizures
hand tremor
nausea, vomiting may persist for days
morning sickness
vomiting blood
prolonged bleeding, bruising easily
stools, bloody
nosebleed
flank pain
fatigue