Chronic kidney disease is the loss of kidney function. This usually occurs gradually, but it can become life-threatening if it goes untreated. Your kidneys remove waste and excess fluids from your blood, and kidney disease can make them less effective. As fluids and waste build up in your blood, you may experience a wide variety of uncomfortable symptoms. There are many potential underlying causes for kidney disease, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and other kidney conditions. Smoking, being obese, aging, and genetics are all risk factors as well.
Kidney disease has five stages, each with different symptoms and treatment protocol. The early stages of the disease often cause no noticeable signs or symptoms, so there may be significant damage to your kidneys before you and your doctor realize that something is wrong. It may seem like the disease has come on suddenly, but your kidneys have probably been struggling for years.
1. Fatigue
Fatigue is one of the classic symptoms of chronic kidney disease. It’s characterized by constant tiredness that doesn’t go away with rest. Even if you get eight hours of deep, restful sleep every night, you may still feel exhausted. You may also experience brain fog, difficulty concentrating, and memory issues as a result of the tiredness. When your kidneys are healthy, they produce erythropoietin, or EPO, a hormone that encourages your body’s production of red blood cells. Your red blood cells carry oxygen to your muscles, brain, and organs, which gives them enough energy to function properly.
When you have kidney disease, your kidneys don’t produce enough EPO. Therefore, your blood has fewer red blood cells, and your body doesn’t receive enough oxygen. A lack of red blood cells is known as anemia, a condition that commonly occurs as a result of kidney disease. The exhaustion can make it harder for your body to fight the disease, so it can lead to other symptoms or complications. The severity of your fatigue may vary depending on what stage of kidney disease you’re in. The later stages can cause extreme exhaustion that may make it difficult just to get out of bed. Fortunately, anemia is treatable with iron supplements or injections of a synthetic type of EPO.
2. High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure caused by kidney disease is called renal hypertension. During the later stages of kidney disease, the arteries that bring blood to the kidneys may narrow. When the kidneys don’t get enough blood, they act as if the reason is dehydration. Then, they release hormones that send messages to the brain to retain water and sodium, which increases your blood volume. As your blood volume increases, your blood pressure goes up. There are usually no signs or symptoms of high blood pressure, so you may not know until you have a blood pressure reading. It can usually be treated with medication.
3. Loss of Appetite
Loss of appetite is a common symptom of kidney disease because the condition can make you feel sick or nauseous. Some people have trouble eating because they always feel full or because they have an odd taste in their mouth. Fatigue can also cause loss of appetite because preparing and eating a full meal can take a lot of energy. Dialysis, a treatment for late stages of kidney disease, can also cause loss of appetite. Even if you have no desire to eat, it’s important that your body gets the vitamins and nutrients it needs to properly function and fight against the kidney disease.
4. Malaise
Malaise is defined as a general feeling of tiredness, weakness, discomfort, or uneasiness. It often occurs along with fatigue and doesn’t go away with rest. Malaise may get worse in the later stages of chronic kidney disease, and it can be difficult to treat. It can be caused by hyperkalemia, or elevated potassium levels in the blood. Your kidneys are responsible for balancing the amount of potassium your body absorbs with the amount that you lose in your urine. When your kidneys don’t function properly, your potassium levels can rise, which affects your heart health and makes you feel unwell. Getting plenty of rest, avoiding stress, and eating a healthy diet can help minimize the symptom, but it might not go away entirely.
5. Water-Electrolyte Imbalance
The kidneys play a major role in balancing the levels of water and electrolytes in your body. Kidney disease can cause potassium to build up in the bloodstream, which leads to malaise, muscle cramping, and muscle weakness. When potassium levels get very high, it can affect your heart and may cause cardiac arrest. Your kidneys are also responsible for balancing your sodium levels by conserving or excreting sodium based on your body’s needs. When the kidneys don’t work properly, sodium levels will build up in your body and cause high blood pressure, muscle twitching, or disorientation. Late stage kidney disease or kidney failure can cause your magnesium levels to get too high, which affects the central nervous system, the heart, and the muscles.
6. Kidney Damage
Kidney damage is a telltale sign of chronic kidney disease and is the main cause of the other symptoms. The kidneys filter the blood and remove waste from your body, but when they’re damaged, they can’t complete their job properly. In the early stages of the disease, the damage may be very minor. There may not be any noticeable signs or symptoms at first, but the damage will progress over time. For some people, the damage worsens at a very fast pace, but other people see a very gradual decline. When the damage becomes severe enough, you will either need dialysis or a kidney transplant to preserve them.
7. Abnormal Heart Rhythm
People with chronic kidney disease are at an increased risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm, also known as atrial fibrillation. This is a dangerous, irregular heartbeat that can cause heart failure or stroke. Almost 25 percent of people with chronic kidney disease also have an abnormal heart rhythm. Atrial fibrillation usually only occurs in the later stages of the disease, but it can be a serious problem. It’s usually caused by an imbalance of electrolytes like potassium and magnesium, which affect heart health. Some medications can reduce your risk of complications when you have an abnormal heart rhythm, and doctors will closely monitor your heart to make sure you’re not at risk for a stroke or heart attack.
8. Fluid in Lungs
Fluid in the lungs, also known as pulmonary edema, occurs when excess fluid in your blood leaks into the air sacs in your lungs. This causes your lungs to swell up, which will decrease your lung capacity. The classic symptom of pulmonary edema is difficulty breathing, which usually gets worse during strenuous activity. When your kidneys don’t work properly, fluid can build up in your blood vessels. Eventually, so much fluid can build up that it starts to leak into your lungs. This is more common in late stage kidney disease than in the early stages, and it can be managed with dialysis.
9. Swelling
Swelling in your hands and feet is common with kidney disease. Like many of the other symptoms of the disease, this is caused by excess fluid in your blood. When your kidneys don’t remove the extra fluid, it can build up in your legs, ankles, hands, and feet. Kidney damage can also lead to nephrotic syndrome, which causes a decrease of protein in your blood that can lead to swelling. You may notice that your shoes feel tighter than usual, or you may have to buy larger shoes to accommodate the swelling. Your face might swell up or get puffy, too, especially around your eyes.
10. Kidney Failure
Kidney failure is the last stage of chronic kidney disease and occurs when your kidneys shut down and can no longer function at all. Your kidneys are essential for removing waste from your blood, so without treatment, this can be fatal. When your kidneys fail, you may experience weakness, lethargy, shortness of breath, or confusion. Kidney failure can also lead to other conditions and issues, like reduced urination and hormone changes. To treat kidney failure, you must either have dialysis or a kidney transplant. Other medications and lifestyle changes can also help to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life when your kidneys fail.
