Re: Message found in backup.

Posted by Webmaster (12.82.254.190) on August 13, 2001 at 18:33:28:

In Reply to: Crash posted by Webmaster on August 13, 2001 at 18:28:23:

QUESTION

Please tell me more about creatin in the urine and if it is serious. My
mother has diabetes and i am worried that she might soon be on dialysis for
this. I have been told she will if much is in her urine.

ANSWER

Actually creatine is a normal body product that supplies energy for muscles
to work and contract. It is normally cleared from the blood stream and
excreted by the kidney. Creatinine is a byproduct of creatine. A Creatinine
Clearance test measures the kidney's ability to filter the creatinine from
the blood. Creatinine is excreted by the normal kidney at about the same
rate all the time. When kidney function is less than normal the creatinine
level becomes low.

You did not mention in your question the Creatinine level in your mother's
urine. Be sure to have her ask her physician about the test, and what the
result of her microalbuminuria test is and means.

The test that is recommended at least once every year to check for kidney
function is called a Microalbumin test. It checks for albumin (or protein)
that spills into the blood. Kidney disease may be present if more than 30
mg/24 hours spills into the urine. Sometimes both the Microalbumin test and
the Creatinine Clearance test are done.

To protect the kidney an individual with diabetes should not smoke, keep
blood pressure in the target range (130/80 for healthy adults is the 2001
recommended goal), and take a blood pressure medicine that helps protect
kidney function. That medicine is known as an ACE inhibitor
(angio-converting enzyme inhibitors).

There are several stages of kidney disease. It develops over time with
diabetes especially when blood glucose levels and blood pressure have not
been controlled. If your mother can keep her HbA1c level between 6 and 7 %
and her blood pressure in target range, she may be able to avoid not only
kidney complications but also damage to other body tissues as well.

Linda C. Pearce, RN,C, BSN,MEd, CDE