Kidney disease often comes on silently. Many people start noticing symptoms when they lose 60–70% of their function. The following are the main symptoms:
1. Extreme fatigue and exhaustion
When your kidneys fail, toxins accumulate in your blood. This makes you tired all the time and makes it difficult to concentrate. In addition, a lack of the hormone ‘erythropoietin’, which helps produce red blood cells, causes anemia and fatigue.
2. Insomnia
When the kidneys do not filter waste properly, those toxins remain in the blood. This can cause sleep disruption. ‘Sleep apnea’ (breathing interruption during sleep) is more common in overweight people and kidney patients.
3. Itching and skin changes
When the levels of minerals and nutrients in the blood are not right, the skin becomes dry and itchy. This can be a sign of excess phosphorus in the blood.
4. Changes in urine
You should pay attention to the increase or decrease in the amount of urination. Frequent urination, especially at night, can be a sign of damage to the filters in the kidneys.
5. Cloudy urine
If you see excessive cloudiness while urinating, it is a sign of protein (Albumin) loss through the urine. This is similar to the cloudiness that occurs when you scramble an egg.
6. Swelling around the eyes
Excessive protein loss through the urine can cause swelling around the eyes. This is one of the early signs of kidney disease.
7. Swelling in the feet and ankles
When the kidneys are unable to remove excess salt and water from the body, it causes swelling in the feet and ankles (edema).
8. Loss of appetite
A buildup of toxins in the blood can cause a loss of appetite. Feeling tired at the sight of food is also a symptom of this.
9. Muscle cramps
A change in the levels of calcium and phosphorus in the body can cause muscles to tighten and cause severe pain.
10. Shortness of breath
Excess fluid in the body can accumulate in the lungs (fluid overload) or anemia.