Chronic Kidney Disease aged 24

[Laura woodhead]

Hi, I am a 24 year old type 1 diabetic and have had it since I was 5. Since 2012 I have had repeat espisodes of sepsis, recurrent UTI infections and to be honest during my teenage years I had awful HBA1C's often 14 and highest 15.8. For the last 3 years my kidney function has been decreasing and it is now 40% I have been diagnose with chronic kidney disease and there is a lot of protein in my urine. However I have recently been told I need to prepare myself for loosing my kidney function in the future - haven't been given a time limit on it yet or estimate. I also have had eye problems but they have stabilised. I am looking for any information anyone can give me, I no I am young but I have come a long way since my younger years and I have much better control. I also have high blood pressure and I have recently started medication for this. I was wondering if anyone else have ever had these complications with their kidneys and have had a similar prognosis but have managed to regain some function? I don't handle bad new when it comes to my Diabeties very well, shock tactics don't work I need to hear positive stories or good advise so I can feel like there is some hope for me. Any good hearted advise would be greatly appreciated x

 

[grovesy]

Welcome.

 

[Northerner]

Hi, I am a 24 year old type 1 diabetic and have had it since I was 5. Since 2012 I have had repeat espisodes of sepsis, recurrent UTI infections and to be honest during my teenage years I had awful HBA1C's often 14 and highest 15.8. For the last 3 years my kidney function has been decreasing and it is now 40% I have been diagnose with chronic kidney disease and there is a lot of protein in my urine. However I have recently been told I need to prepare myself for loosing my kidney function in the future - haven't been given a time limit on it yet or estimate. I also have had eye problems but they have stabilised. I am looking for any information anyone can give me, I no I am young but I have come a long way since my younger years and I have much better control. I also have high blood pressure and I have recently started medication for this. I was wondering if anyone else have ever had these complications with their kidneys and have had a similar prognosis but have managed to regain some function? I don't handle bad new when it comes to my Diabeties very well, shock tactics don't work I need to hear positive stories or good advise so I can feel like there is some hope for me. Any good hearted advise would be greatly appreciated x

Hi Laura, welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm very sorry to hear about the problems you are having I don't have any personal experience that I can share, but hopefully someone else will be along to help. What insulin are you on?

 

[Redkite]

Sorry to hear this Laura. My son has been type 1 since the age of 4 and developed protein in the urine (a marker for kidney damage) within a couple of years, despite good control of his diabetes. He has been taking an ACE inhibitor for a few years now, and this has prevented any further deterioration. These drugs work by reducing not only your blood pressure but also the pressure in the kidneys, so they can't so easily "push out" large molecules like proteins.

I don't think you can reverse damage already done, but it can be halted. The things you can do to preserve your renal function are:
1. Take your ACE inhibitors as prescribed.
2. Attend regularly for blood tests (kidney function) and urine (albumin/creatinine ratio).
3. Be careful with your salt intake - salt raises BP and puts extra strain on the kidneys... and it's in everything from bread to breakfast cereals. Daily limit is <6g but we try to stick to <4g. Never add salt to cooking etc.
4. Keep well hydrated, plenty of water.
5. Don't smoke - pushes up BP and puts strain on kidneys.
6. Keep your diabetes as tightly controlled as you can.

Hope this helps x