Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease: what to know

The kidneys filter waste and help balance fluid, salts and hormones. Persistently high glucose can injure the tiny filtering vessels; high blood pressure can add further stress. Early kidney disease may cause no symptoms. Later changes can include ankle swelling, tiredness, nausea, itching or changes in urination, but these symptoms have other possible causes and need assessment.

A clinician may compare kidney function in blood with protein or albumin in urine. These results help guide diabetes and blood-pressure treatment. Obesity, dehydration, infection and some pain medicines can also matter, so share all medicines and supplements.

Attend blood and urine monitoring at the intervals advised. Take prescribed diabetes and blood-pressure medicines consistently, but ask for sick-day instructions before illness occurs. Drink fluids according to your clinician's advice rather than forcing extra water, especially if swelling or heart problems are present. Avoid regular use of anti-inflammatory pain medicines unless a clinician approves them. Manage glucose, pressure, smoking and activity as part of one plan. Do not change doses without advice.

Get urgent help for severe breathlessness, chest discomfort, confusion, collapse, very little urine, rapidly increasing swelling, or vomiting that prevents fluids or prescribed medicines. Contact your care team promptly for blood in the urine, painful urination with fever, a sudden change in urine output or repeated low glucose symptoms.

Ask which kidney results are being followed, which pain relievers are suitable, how much fluid is appropriate, and what to do with each medicine during vomiting, diarrhoea or poor appetite.