What Are The Symptoms Of Kidney Failure?

What are the symptoms of kidney failure?I have a kidney transplant for 26 yrs. so far but my blood pressure has been a little bit up like 110/90 but it's always been this way. My cholesterol has been going up but my doctor say it's because I've been taking Prednizone all my life. Out of curiosity, I just want to know what is the most that a kidney can last. I have my mom's kidney because I have no sibblings.
What are the symptoms of kidney failure?
According to statistics, by 10 to 15 years, about 50% of transplanted kidneys are still functional. Rates improve if the kidney comes from a living relative.
The signs and symptoms of kidney failure vary, depending on whether the failure is acute or chronic.
Acute kidney failure occurs when your kidneys suddenly stop filtering waste products from your blood. The signs and symptoms may include:
Fluid retention
Bleeding, often in your stomach or intestines
Confusion
Seizures
Coma
Chronic kidney failure
According to the National Kidney Foundation, almost 20 million adult Americans have chronic kidney disease and another 20 million are at risk of developing it. Over time, chronic kidney failure can lead to congestive heart failure, weak bones, stomach ulcers and damage to the central nervous system. Unfortunately, signs and symptoms often don't appear until irreversible damage has occurred. They include:
High blood pressure
Unexplained weight loss
Anemia
Nausea or vomiting
Malaise or fatigue
Headaches that seem unrelated to any other cause
Decreased urine output
Decreased mental sharpness
Muscle twitches and cramps
Bleeding in the intestinal tract
Yellowish-brown cast to the skin
Persistent itching
Sleep disorders
End-stage renal disease

How to Prevent Renal Failure in Patients with Diabetes

Are there risks for patients with Diabetes getting Renal Failure?
The answer is yes. Researches have shown that approximately one third of patients with Diabetes may get Chronic Kidney Failure. The risk is higher among patients aged more than 60 or those with high blood pressure, in addition, having a family member who has Chronic Kidney Disease already may increase the risk.
Why does Renal Failure occur on patients with Diabetes?
Every person has two kidneys and each kidney contains about one million nephrons, the function of which is to filtrate toxic and waste. Each nephron has a glomerulus which contains a cluster of small blood vessels. However, Diabetes can harm kidneys by causing damage to blood vessels for high sugar levels in blood can make these vessels become narrow and even blocked, so there are not adequate blood for the operation of kidneys. Gradually, kidneys lost their function, for which symptoms of kidney disease, such as hematuria, proteinuria, anemia, fatigue and so on may occur. Without effective treatments, the progress of Renal Failure may begin.
How to Prevent Diabetes develops into Renal Failure?
To patients with Diabetes whose kidneys have already been damaged, a series of measures should be taken in order to prevent Renal Failure.
Controlling blood sugar
Actually, the most useful way to reduce damage on kidneys is to control blood sugar level. It is proposed that a test called hemoglobin A1C should be done every three to six months to monitor the average blood sugar level. The normal value for most people is less than 7%. If needed, insulin or hypoglycemic pills should be taken to lower blood sugar level. Furthermore, diet with less sugar and proper exercise are also necessary.
Keeping blood pressure steady
It is known that for diabetic patients with kidney disease, high blood pressure may increase the risk of getting Renal Failure. Therefore, lowering blood pressure is necessary to prevent the occurrence of Renal Failure. In fact, there are many medicines which can control blood pressure such as ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) and ARB(angiotensin receptor blocker), both of which can benefit diabetic patients even though they don't have high blood pressure because these medicines help to reduce the chance of heart disease. Do remember the normal blood pressure level for Diabetes patients with kidney damage should be less than 130/80.
Limiting protein intake
Enough protein is good for diabetic patients with kidney disease. However, overmuch protein may be dangerous. It is shown that less protein can slow the progress of Renal Failure. Go to a dietitian who is specialized in kidney disease.
Besides the above, limiting the amount of salt in your diet to help control high blood pressure and reduce body swelling.

What Causes Renal Failure

In general, Renal Failure means part or complete loss of renal function which is caused when various chronic kidney diseases develop into the end stage. According to the priority of the disease, Renal Failure can be divided into Acute Renal Failure and Chronic Renal Failure. When patients are diagnosed with Renal Failure, they often wonder what causes Renal Failure to them. The following are the reasons for Renal Failure.
Chronic Kidney Diseases

Renal Failure is a pathologic state part or complete loss of renal function. Various chronic kidney diseases may lead to the progressive decline of kidney functions and gradually develop into end stage. The chronic diseases which may lead to Chronic Renal Failure include Primary Glomerulonephritis, Diabetic Nephropathy, Hypertensive Nephropathy, renal interstitial tubular nephropathy, Polycystic Kidney etc.
Medication
According to the survey to many patients with Renal Failure, it is found that the improper intake of renal toxic drugs in a long term can cause damage to the kidneys, and when it develops into certain stage, Kidney Failure will occur. Take painkiller for example, because painkiller contains phenacetin, if taken for a long time, it will do constant damage to kidneys, causing chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis and then Renal Failure; Besides, drugs like gentamicin, if improperly used, can also lead to Renal Failure.
Inappropriate application of renal toxic drugs will aggravate the disease and quickly lead to Renal Failure. However, patients can not stop using renal toxic drugs because of its renal toxicity. If these drugs are taken under the instruction of professional doctors and the renal toxicity is well controlled with corresponding measures, we can make full use of its advantages.
Misdiagnosis Leading to Chronic Renal Failure
Because some symptoms of kidney disease are similar to those of other diseases, it would easily cause misdiagnosis and delay the right treatment. Thereby the disease will deteriorate, and the damage to kidneys will be aggravated, finally causing Renal Failure. For example, when there is anemia, if the patients lack the general knowledge of kidney disease, they will go to treat only anemia, and ignore the mild symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, high blood pressure, nocturia etc or refuse to go to see a doctor because of lack of money. Consequently, they will miss the best treatment time. On the other hand, if doctor just diagnoses from the symptoms, ignore the complications and does not do the related exams, it would result in misdiagnosis, delay the disease and lead to Chronic Renal Failure.
Because of the dysfunction, kidneys will not generate urine, which will lead to the accumulation of waste in the blood. The water in the body also can not be excreted, thus forming dropsy. Chemical concentration in the body regulated by kidneys at all times will suffer severe balance disorder.
Mild attack of Acute Renal Failure is common, but more serious Acute Renal Failure (for example: Acute Renal Failure caused by glomerulonephritis) is rare.
Tips from Experts:
Whatever the causes of Renal Failure are, the kidneys have been damaged and symptoms of rise of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, various complications have already occurred. So the patients should positively find the appropriate treatment method to improve their condition. 80% of nephrons are impaired when the disease develops into Renal Failure, so the key of treatment is to actively control complications and stabilize the patients’ condition and protect the remaining healthy nephrons. Through treatment, it should achieve the aim of reversing the phenotypic transformation of renal cells, restoring the renal function as much as possible, treating the disease from the source of pathological damage to the kidneys and completely reducing creatinine, urea nitrogen etc. Since we have understood the causes of Renal Failure, we should do early prevention. When diagnosed with the disease, patients should take observation and treatment as soon as possible in case the disease deteriorates.