I have been a diabetic for 30 years. The diabetes is under control but a urine test last year showed Albumin levels at +3. With medication the level has dropped to +2 but does not go lower. Sometimes I also get Edema. I would like to know exactly how diabetes damages the kidney, what I can do to prevent it and how to control the albumin level.
Diabetes is known to cause some end-organ problems eventually as it has been present for so long. Proteinuria is the earliest sign of the kidneys being affected. Loss of protein in the urine causes the protein level in the blood to drop, and as a result there may be edema of the face in the mornings and of the feet in the evenings. Good control of diabetes is essential. Minimize your intake of sugar and sugar products; fried, spicy, salty and sour foods; tea; coffee; alcohol. Although some of these are healthy foods, they may aggravate water retention. Avoid tobacco and limit the use of pain killers and antibiotics, which could damage the kidneys. There is no drug or other substance that can reverse kidney damage once it has occurred. The best medication can do is retard/stop the deterioration. None of the alternative medicines have a cure for this condition although they claim that they can do miracles.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 6:13 am and is filed under Diabetes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.