Diabetic chronic is a term used by medical professionals to describe the widespread prevalence of the condition diabetes mellitus. Currently, the disease affects 25.8 million people, or 8.3% of the population in the United States. Each year doctors diagnose another 1.9 million people with diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that if this epidemic continues at its current rate that by the year 2050, at least one in three people, or 30% of the population will have diabetes.These results are staggering, especially considering that diabetes has profound impact on an individual’s life, health, and longevity.
Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the body has an impaired ability to produce and use insulin in order to convert blood sugar into energy for the body. When the excess sugar remains in the bloodstream, a person can experience a multitude of ailments, additional diseases, and shortened life expectancy. Statisticians rank diabetes as the seventh leading cause of death in the United Sates and can cause severe heart disease, nerve damage, and vision loss in addition to diabetic chronic kidney disease. According to the American Diabetes Association, up to 40% of all diabetics will develop diabetic kidney disease and of those people, 30% may develop kidney failure.
Diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease
Diabetic chronic kidney disease occurs when an individuals’ blood glucose builds up in their bloodstream. The extra glucose, or sugar, becomes very toxic to the blood, blood vessels and organs that are supplied oxygen and nutrients. The functions of the kidneys are to filter out toxins and flush waste from the body. When there is too much glucose in the blood, the kidneys must work extra hard to remove the poisons, which will result in scarring and tearing within the kidneys.
This internal damage causes the kidneys to function less efficiently and will leak albumin, which is protein, into the urine. Over time, larger amounts of urine and other waste will pass into the urine and eventually, the kidneys will be unable to filter waste at all. Then, all glucose and other toxins will amass in the blood stream. Doctors refer to this process as kidney failure and once this damage has taken place, the only solution for these people is to receive dialysis treatment or to have a kidney transplant.
Chronic Diabetic Complications
Chronic diabetes complications from kidney failure will alter a person’s life. While the kidneys struggle to function, a doctor may prescribe medications to slow the progression of the disease, such as ACE inhibitors. These drugs are recommended for diabetics to lower their blood pressure while slowing the kidney disease. Since many people will experience no symptoms of diabetic kidney disease until they have lost all kidney function and are near failure, many people will need dialysis. Dialysis is a process where artificial kidneys or machine clean the blood and can take several hours a day, numerous times a week. Even with this treatment option, people usually die within five years.
Receiving a kidney transplant also has complications. A patient must first find a donor who is a match and then hope that their body accepts the kidney as its own after the operation. To enable this process, the individual must take immunosuppressant drugs for the remainder of their lives. By doing so, the person will be more susceptible to other infections and will still have to deal with other complications of diabetes. These people have a much higher survival rate than those individuals who opt for dialysis.
Either choice needs an individual who will commit to frequent monitoring of their blood sugar levels, daily exercise, and diet modification. These techniques are also the best way to prevent diabetes and kidney disease from occurring in the first place. Take care of one’s body the natural way and it will return a reward of health and function.
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