Kidney disease is a silent problem for a lot of Americans and goes hand-in-hand with two other major medical problems: diabetes and high blood pressure.
In fact, about 14 percent of the general population suffers from chronic kidney disease and doesn’t know it. Could you (and, more importantly, your doctor) be overlooking these slowly-manifesting signs of impending kidney failure?
1. A change in your need to urinate
What’s normal for you is what’s important here. If you suddenly find yourself going to the bathroom all the time or not going hardly at all, that’s a concern that should be addressed.
2. Bubbles in your urine
Urine that looks “foamy,” like beer, is often the sign that your kidneys aren’t functioning properly. It’s something that can be easily overlooked if you aren’t paying attention.
3. Chronic nausea
Chronic nausea — whether not you actually throw up — could be a sign of a number of medical conditions. Kidney trouble is one of them. Seek medical attention if it goes on for more than a few days, particularly if your appetite is also suppressed and you’re experiencing sudden, unintended weight loss.
4. Poor sleep
If you find yourself trying to sleep more but staying just as tired or even having difficulty with the quality of your sleep, talk to your doctor. Poor sleep may or may not be a symptom of kidney trouble, but it definitely affects your health negatively.
5. Problems breathing
Do you feel terribly short of breath very easily? When you have intestinal issues of some sort going on, that isn’t uncommon. Don’t take this issue lightly.
6. Chronic muscle cramps
An occasional muscle cramp is par for the course — but chronic muscle cramps could be a signal that toxins aren’t being filtered properly out of your system. They’re a hallmark of kidney trouble.
If more than one or two of these issues seems all-too-familiar and you don’t have any other reasonable explanation, make sure you bring it to your doctor’s attention. Don’t let your concerns be brushed off, either. A failure to diagnose your kidney condition in its early stages could lead to irreversible damage to your health!
Source: Bustle, “10 Signs Of Kidney Failure That Not Many People Know About,” Alli Hoff Kosik, May 17, 2018