How To Treat Diabetic Nephropathy

For more info. contact tina.xiang@wecistanche.com

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the complications of diabetes. According to relevant data surveys, diabetic nephropathy has become the second cause of end-stage renal disease. Diabetic nephropathy can disrupt the body's metabolism. Over time, it can cause irreversible damage to a person's kidneys.

1. Early symptoms of diabetic nephropathy

(1) Patients are prone to symptoms of weakness all over the body. Generally speaking, kidney problems will also cause many other abnormalities. However, why does diabetic nephropathy appear generalized weakness? This may be related to decreased kidney function. Kidney function declines, and the kidneys are damaged to a certain extent, resulting in a slowing of metabolism and making the patient feel weak. This kind of situation is easy to be ignored by people in the early stage, and over time, it will increase the burden on the kidneys;

(2) There will be paleness. Chinese medicine in our country pays attention to looking, smelling, asking, and cutting; the early symptoms of diabetic nephropathy can be seen by observing a person's face. If the face appears pale or yellow, it may be due to damage to renal function and renal anemia. Performance;        

(3) There is more foam in the urine. This is a problem that people tend to ignore. Many patients with diabetic nephropathy will have more foam in their urine. This may be due to the damage to the human kidney function, which may affect the filtering function of the glomerulus; protein is eliminated with the urine. foaming outside the body. At this stage, if diabetic nephropathy patients can strictly control their daily blood sugar and pay attention to their diet to keep their blood sugar and blood pressure stable, their kidney function can be restored. However, if a patient with diabetic nephropathy cannot control blood sugar and blood pressure, the condition will deteriorate step by step, and foamy urine will appear;

(4) less urine output. The decrease in urine output is mainly due to the impairment of kidney function, which affects the excretory function of the patient to a certain extent. Once suffering from diabetic nephropathy, the reduction of urine output means that the filtering function of the patient's kidneys declines, and the urine output gradually decreases or even anuria occurs in the long run;

 (5) Swelling occurs. Swelling is also a common symptom of diabetic nephropathy. Because the function of the kidney is damaged, it cannot excrete normally, leaving a lot of water in the patient's body. The mild symptom is facial edema. Gradually evolve into systemic edema;

(6) Other symptoms. Some patients even have symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. This is because the blood sugar of patients with diabetic nephropathy cannot smoothly enter the patient's cells, and the cells cannot provide the patient with the energy they need, resulting in the patient's rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath. Diabetic nephropathy can also cause symptoms of thirst. Some diabetic nephropathy patients also develop retinopathy, which leads to impaired vision, affects the daily life of diabetic nephropathy patients, and causes inconvenience in movement. For patients with diabetic nephropathy, once any kind of complication occurs, the patient's physical function may be damaged, and even life-threatening. If you have symptoms of early diabetic nephropathy, you must seek medical attention in time, follow the doctor's instructions, control blood sugar and blood pressure, improve your living habits, and keep your body in good skills. You should also do regular general examinations to prevent the occurrence of diabetic nephropathy.

2. Treatment of diabetic nephropathy

 The treatment of diabetic nephropathy depends on the stage of the disease and the physical function of the human body. It can be mainly treated from the following aspects:

(1) Control blood sugar. If a patient is diagnosed with diabetic nephropathy, it is necessary to strictly keep the patient's blood sugar within a controllable range, and it must not be too high. In the early stage of diabetic nephropathy, oral hypoglycemic drugs can be used for treatment. If diabetic nephropathy has entered the uremic stage, oral hypoglycemic drugs cannot be used to control the disease at this time.

(2) Control blood pressure. Patients with diabetic nephropathy also have high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is also a factor that can directly lead to diabetic nephropathy. During this period, patients can take antihypertensive drugs, such as angiotensin portable antagonists (ARB). This type of blood pressure-lowering drug can improve the blood flow of the patient's kidney, thereby reducing the urinary protein excretion of the patient, so as to control the mesangial cells, and also improve the activity of macrophages, which can effectively reduce the patient's blood pressure. . This type of drug can protect the kidneys of patients with diabetic nephropathy even when their systemic blood pressure is normal.

(3) Diet control. Patients with diabetic nephropathy should consume more high-quality protein, mainly animal protein with a high biological titer, and ingest protein according to the standard of 0.6-0.8g/kg, not only to control protein intake but also to control Salt intake should be controlled below 5g per day. If patients with diabetic nephropathy have systemic edema or other adverse reactions, they should strictly control salt intake, and at the same time limit the amount of water they drink.

(4) Chinese medicine treatment. Chinese traditional Chinese medicine has rich experience in the treatment of kidney disease, and it can also play a positive role in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. However, if the patient has entered the uremic stage, TCM treatment should be avoided. For example, Cistanche, one of the nine Chinese immortal kinds of grass, is used as a traditional Chinese medicinal material, and Cistanche is a traditional Chinese medicine for nourishing the kidneys. It is the dry, scaly stem of Cistanche or Cistanche in the Lidangaceae family. It nourishes kidney yang, nourishes essence and blood, moistens the intestines, and defecates. , cold pain in the waist and knees, weakness of muscles and bones; intestinal dryness and constipation, etc., Cistanche with Cynomorium yang: invigorating the kidney yang, nourishing the essence and blood, moistening the intestines and laxatives, used for impotence due to kidney deficiency, cold pain in the waist and knees, or dry stool due to insufficient essence and blood Wait. Cistanche with Morinda officinalis and Eucommia: invigorating the kidney and helping the yang, strengthening the muscles and bones, used for soreness, softness, and cold pain in the waist and knees due to kidney deficiency, and weak muscles and bones. Precautions: Take it with caution if you have loose stools, and hang it if you have constipation due to gastrointestinal heat.

(5) Alternative therapy. If a patient with diabetic nephropathy has entered end-stage renal failure, then a kidney transplant is required. Diabetic nephropathy patients themselves will have complications of diabetes and will enter the uremic stage in advance. At this time, hemodialysis can be used to replace artificial kidneys with machines to help patients with diabetic nephropathy eliminate toxins from the body, which has a positive effect on blood sugar control; peritoneal dialysis is also a way to treat diabetic nephropathy. The advantage is that it can protect against diabetic nephropathy. The patient has residual renal function, but it is not conducive to controlling the blood sugar level in the patient.

(6) Renal replacement therapy. Kidney transplantation is currently the most effective treatment for diabetic nephropathy. According to relevant data surveys, the survival rate of kidney transplantation in the past five years has reached 80%, and the survival rate of living kidney transplantation has reached 90%. In contrast, the survival rate of diabetic nephropathy patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis is only 42.5%. However, it is worth noting that even after kidney transplantation, there is no 100% guarantee that diabetic nephropathy will not recur, or that other diabetic complications will not recur.