10 Most Dangerous Symptoms of CKD
Hello, this is Katherine, welcome to 00kidney.
In this video, I’ll show how to understand if the foam you may see in your urine is a symptom and if the back pain you may have is a sign that your kidneys are not working properly.
What I’ll show you today are the 10 most dangerous symptoms of kidney disease you should be aware of if you care about your health.
Because, just in North America, there are about 37 million people suffering from kidney disease.
37 million … let this number sink in for a moment because we’re talking about 1 in 7 adults here.
1 in 4, if we consider the population over the age of 65.
This wasn’t scary enough, 96% of people with kidney disease reached the advanced stages without even knowing they had a problem.
Now, if these people knew how to correctly identify their symptoms, the situation could have been a lot different.
Millions of lives could have been saved.
So, if you know anyone over the age of 65, don’t forget to share this video with them, this info could be invaluable.
So, HOW TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE KIDNEY PROBLEMS?
Now, what I’m going to present you today is the most up-to-date and, in my opinion, the easiest to understand guide to the symptoms of kidney problems.
Because I’m ranking these signs from most common to most dangerous.
Also, I’ve interviewed kidney disease patients about their symptoms.
Yes, they’ll explain, with their own words what the symptoms feel like, so you can get a better idea.
Now some good news: there are tests you can do at home to check for symptoms of kidney disease.
These innovative tests can tell you what your creatinine and GFR are right in the safety of your own home.
More about this in a moment, just one last thing before I start.
I’m doing a giveaway to celebrate the 00kidney community!
I really can’t find the words to express how much this community means to me!
Every time I read one of your comments telling me that you were able to start a good habit to improve your health … well, I’m really happy.
So I’m doing this giveaway to celebrate exactly this: the good habits to fight kidney disease.
What I will be giving away is the Kidney health good habits kit, to help you making a habit out of any healthy everyday action!
There is the mug, here it is, it says I’m eating healthy for my kidneys.
The t shirt and the pillow. Yes, these are the good habits I always talk about in my videos.
So just sign up for the giveaway, you could get them for free.
There’s a link in description you can follow. And don’t forget to let me know in comment section that you’re participating!
The giveaway ends the next week, so participate now!
Back to the symptoms. The number 10 is the earliest symptom of kidney damage.
The only symptom that already shows up in stage 2 of CKD or chronic kidney disease.
So, what is the first sign of kidney problems?
Number 10) Foam in the urine
As I was saying, this is in many cases the very first symptom of kidney disease.
And, unfortunately, it’s very hard to spot it, alright?
Because a lot of people confuse it with the normal bubbles they see in the urine.
Bubbles mean nothing, while foam can be a sign of protein in the urine.
Ok, so how can you tell if it’s protein in the urine or just normal bubbles?
Normal bubbles are bigger, clear and flushable and everyone will have bubbles in the toilet after urinating.
Foam, on the other hand, is white, and it stays in the toilet after you flush.
This only can be a sign of protein in the urine.
If there is protein in the urine, and you need to get tested to be sure of that, it could mean that your kidneys are not working properly.
Again, this is the very first sign of kidney damage.
Noticing this is one of the best ways to diagnose this disease in time.
So, if you see a foam similar to what you can find on the top of a freshly spilled beer, like the picture you see here, that definitely could be proteinuria.
Especially, as we can read here, if the symptom becomes more noticeable over time.
Actually, I’ve made a whole video about this symptom. Because it’s the very first sign of kidney damage and it’s important for people being able to correctly identify it, in my opinion.
You can watch the video clicking up here.
But there are other changes in the urine you should be on the look-out for:
Number 9) changes in the urination patterns
Some very frequent symptoms of kidney problems are the changes in the urination patterns.
There are some changes in the bathroom habits that could be a sign of kidney damage, especially if present in combination with foamy urines.
Here are the most frequent:
- Nocturia, meaning waking up at night to urinate. This is a symptom of kidney problems more often than people realize.
Here’s what patients say:
“I would get up two or three times at night and had lots of pressure each time.”
“I started to wake up two or three times at night to go to the bathroom, and when I got there, nothing’s happening.”
Ok, there some other symptoms to take into account here - Urinating less often, or in smaller amounts than usual can be caused by kidney problems too.
- Urinating more frequently than usual is another symptom, just like
- A feeling of pressure while urinating
- Difficulty urinating
Now, there are two other symptoms in my slide here: - dark colored urine
- Blood in the urine
Here’s what the patients say about these
“I was passing blood in my urine. It was so dark it looked like grape Kool-Aid.
And when I went to the hospital they thought I was lying about what color it was.”
Now, these are two very serious symptoms, call your doctor immediately if you see blood in the urine or a darker color urine.
While this doesn’t always mean kidney failure, blood in the urine is almost always a sign of something serious.
It’s one of those symptoms you cannot ignore.
Now, looking at this slide it is clear that when there’s something happening to the way we go to the bathroom, the kidneys may be responsible.
But these symptoms are just at number 9 because they could be caused by a lot of other, very frequent, conditions of the urinary tract.
So let’s try and get a clearer picture of what really is signaling a kidney problem and what’s a symptom of some other pathology of the urinary tract.
If these symptoms are happening at the same time of one or more of the symptoms I’ll show you next, the chances that we are facing a kidney damage increase exponentially.
Here’s what you should be on the look-out for:
Number 8) fatigue
Unlike for the symptoms of the urinary tract, if you have this symptom it could mean that kidney damage has already progressed.
It could mean that the kidneys have already lost about 50% or more of their function.
Now, we should distinguish between fatigue, which is a symptom, and being tired, which is normal and happens to everyone.
Fatigue is a term used to describe an overall feeling of tiredness or lack of energy that doesn’t go away.
It isn’t the same as simply feeling drowsy or sleepy.
Being sleepy or tired is usually solved with sleeping well.
And it’s even hard to sleep, actually, if fatigue is caused by kidney disease.
Now, if correctly diagnosed, this can be treated.
Because it’s caused by anemia, a treatable condition.
Another symptom of anemia often present in the early stages of CKD is:
Number 7 Feeling cold when others are warm.
Anemia can also make you feel cold all the time, even in a warm room.
A low red blood cell count affects oxygen circulation throughout the body, especially to the extremities.
Therefore, anemia can cause a general cold feeling or a persistent cold sensation primarily in the hands and feet.
Here’s what the patients say:
“Sometimes I get really, really cold. It could be hot, and I would be cold.”
So, often people with kidney disease have difficulty tolerating cold winter months.
Just like fatigue, this symptom is often caused by anemia.
Anemia is treatable, I’ll show you in a moment how to greatly reduce all the correlated symptoms.
Now, we are seeing a lot of symptoms where anemia is involved.
So, let’s try to understand Anemia a little bit more
ANEMIA
Anemia is a condition in which you lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body’s tissues.
This would make it very easy for you to get out of breath even just doing the slightest activity like getting up out of a chair or walking across a room.
Having anemia can make you feel tired and weak because your muscles and brain need oxygen to function.
If you have been diagnosed with this condition, there are steps you can take to alleviate all these symptoms we have seen.
First of all, iron supplements and erythropoietin are usually prescribed.
This can greatly alleviate the symptoms.
And then you could get more iron from your diet, eating iron rich foods in combination with vitamin C rich foods.
Another trick is to cook in an iron skillet.
Now, if you want to know more about how to improve your kidney health trough the right way of eating, this video up here is for you.
Next symptom
Number 6) Chest pain and shortness of breath
When kidney disease is present, extra fluid in the body can build up in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
Anemia can compound this issue further because there aren’t enough red blood cells to accept and transport the limited oxygen a person breathes in.
So it’s not unlikely for kidney disease patients to be out of breath even without doing any activity.
Here’s how it feels like
“I couldn’t sleep at night. I couldn’t catch my breath, like I was drowning or something.”
Next symptom of kidney damage, this is the last one of the early symptoms.
Next one,
Number 5 Kidney Pain
Ok, this is another symptom of kidney disease already present in stage 3 of CKD, at least in some patients.
So it could be useful for an early detection, right?
It’s possible to have pain on only one side if only one kidney has a problem, or both sides if both kidneys are affected.
Kidney pain should not be confused with back pain or muscle skeletal pain because they’re caused by totally different problems.
how do we tell if it’s kidney pain or a back injury?
Muscular or skeletal back pain is usually in a slightly different location from kidney pain.
Back pain caused by a back injury is usually situated in the lower back.
The kidneys are located towards your back, inside the ribcage.
So, kidney pain is usually in a higher position (INDICA ALLA TELECAMERA PARTE INFERIORE GABBIA TORACICA) than back pain.
So, if you feel the pain coming from inside the ribcage, it may be from the kidneys.
If it’s coming from outside the ribcage, it’s usually from the muscles.
Another way to understand if it’s kidney pain or just back pain is looking at the other symptoms you may have.
Like the symptoms we have seen until now, the changes in the urination patterns, fatigue and shortness of breath.
If you have more than one of these, then it is more likely that the cause is kidney disease.
Now, let’s see what the most dangerous symptoms are.
These are the symptoms only present in the advanced stages of kidney disease, when the kidneys cannot remove fluids from the body anymore.
Number 4, Swelling
People with kidney disease in the advanced stages of CKD will experience this symptom, swelling, or edema if we want to use a medical term.
Swelling is more frequent in the ankles and feet, but this symptom can even interest the hands, abdomen and chest.
What are the treatments for swelling? Diuretics can help, but only your doctor can prescribe those medicines and only after diagnosing you.
This treatment would be aimed to reduce the quantity of excess fluids present in the body, ok?
This condition is called
Uremia.
A severe decrease in kidney function can lead to a buildup of toxins and impurities in the blood.
This is what nurses sometimes call urine in blood.
The kidneys cannot filter the blood well enough and the substances that should have been removed in the urine are still in the blood instead.
Dialysis is mainly used to treat this condition, it filters the blood and removes these toxins.
Uremia is what’s causing the most dangerous symptoms and complications of kidney disease.
Swelling is one of them but there’s more, we’ll see the 3 most dangerous in a moment.
Because to get the bigger picture here, there is to consider the RISK FACTORS too.
This is even more important than the symptoms, alright?
These risk factors are the very first thing you should pay attention too.
Because this is what’s actually causing the damage.
So if you have any of the symptoms I’ve shown you in this video, the first thing you have to check is if you have any of these risk factors for chronic kidney disease.
Because that would make it really more likely for the symptom to be caused by chronic kidney disease rather than any other of the many conditions that have the same symptoms.
So, risk factors for CKD include
Diabetes.
This is the very first risk factor and it’s the main cause of CKD.
Diabetes if not properly treated can lead to very serious kidney problems.
Same for high blood pressure.
Heart problems can cause kidney disease too, and we’re including even high cholesterol here.
Obesity is another condition that can damage the kidneys over time, causing kidney disease.
Then there’s family history of kidney disease, being a smoker or being 60 years old or more.
So if you have one or more of these risk factors and you see even just one symptom of kidney disease, don’t wait!
get checked! Find out what the problem is and start to treat it as soon as you can.
The bright side is that there are always more ways to get tested at home.
So, how can you check your kidneys at home?
There are two tests you can use.
One way could be this app,
This could be a life-saver right now, since it’s not safe and maybe not even possible, to go to a clinic to do the tests.
These tests are becoming always more reliable and can be used instead of the traditional tests.
Which is really great, remember that prevention is key here. The sooner you get diagnosed, the better the chances are.
Develop by an Israeli digital health start-up called Healthy.io, this app can test people for protein in the urine.
The first sign of damage to the kidneys, as we have seen.
This new urinalysis test uses disposable strips, just like an at-home pregnancy test.
The difference is that it also needs a smartphone camera to read and interpret results.
According to the firm producing this test, it was cleared by the FDA and considered substantially equivalent to lab-based testing.
I’ve talked more extensively about this in my video about the medical breakthroughs of 2020. More about this at this link up here.
Another very interesting option is at-home-Kidney-test from the website letsgetchecked.com.
This is a more traditional approach, no apps and no phones involved.
They just send you a kit to get a small blood sample.
Then you send the sample back and in 2 to 5 days, the company says, you’ll get your results back.
Now, the very interesting part is that this way they can check you for Urea, creatinine and even eGFR, the most important indicator of kidney function.
This can even be useful for patients already diagnosed, since it could be really useful to know how your levels change over time.
Now, I’m not reviewing nor recommending these tests today, I’m just presenting them to you.
I’ve spoken to these companies and I’ve checked their credential.
Letsgetchecked.com is ISO 13485 accredited, for example.
Now, if you’re interested, I could do a review. I can get these tests done on a patient and compare them to the results they’re getting from their standard lab tests.
So let me know in comment section if this could be interesting for you.
Now, there are other 3 symptoms worth knowing.
These are the most dangerous one, let’s hope you don’t have to get diagnosed due to one of these.
Unfortunately, this happens a lot.
Number 3 Rashes and itchy skin
Another symptom of uremia.
When the toxins the kidneys cannot remove anymore accumulate under the skin, they cause uremic pruritus, a painful itch.
What the patients say about this:
“It’s not really a skin itch or anything, it’s just right down to the bone. I had to get a brush and dig. My back was just bloody from scratching it so much. “
This symptom is usually present in the more advanced stages, so if you only have Rashes or itchy skin it could be due to other conditions too.
Another symptom of uremia is
Number 2 Metallic Taste in the Mouth
Uremia can also make food taste different and cause bad breath.
A person with kidney problems may even notice a peculiar metallic taste in their mouth.
They may suddenly stop liking to eat meat, or they may lose weight because they don’t feel like eating.
Uremia can also cause the most dangerous symptom.
This is usually present in the most advanced stages of kidney disease.
Number 1. Nausea and Vomiting
Severe cases of uremia can cause nausea, vomiting and a complete loss of appetite.
This is a serious complication for patients with kidney disease because it can cause severe weight loss, on top of all the other symptoms we have already seen.
Now, my hope here is that this video can give you a better understanding of how to prevent the gradual loss of kidney function caused by kidney disease.
If you want to know more about how to protect your kidneys, this video up here is for you.
In this other video, the story of a man who was able to completely reverse kidney disease.
This is all for today, thank you for watching.
About the Author
Michaelw Hi, my name is Michael and in this blog I'm gonna share the story of how I got off kidney dialysis for good. Getting off dialysis isn't easy at all, and that's why I'm trying to help people as much as I can.
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