CKD Symptoms: Recognizing Signs of Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a relatively common condition, affecting around 37 million people in the United States alone. This is roughly 15% of the adult population, or over one in seven adults across the nation.

Chronic kidney disease can present itself through many different symptoms, with the average kidney disease patient experiencing up to 20 different symptoms by the time they reach the later stages of the disease.

It’s important to note that chronic kidney disease is highly correlated with developing other diseases or negative health conditions, such as hypertension or diabetes.

If you are concerned that you may be suffering from chronic kidney disease, here is some of the foundational information regarding the condition, including common indicators and where to seek treatment following diagnosis.

What is Chronic Kidney Disease?

Chronic kidney disease is a long-term condition in which your kidneys don’t function to their full potential.

If you experience chronic kidney disease, there is a very high possibility that you will gradually lose kidney function. This disease often gets worse slowly over time, rather than there being any immediate or sudden changes to your condition.

There is currently no known cure for chronic kidney disease, although there are behaviors and actions that can slow the rate of kidney failure, including lifestyle behaviors like diet.

Symptoms of Chronic Kidney Disease

Early detection of kidney disease symptoms can help to prevent kidney failure. Unfortunately, many people do not realize that they have chronic kidney disease until later stages of the condition, as symptoms don’t tend to appear until the condition becomes more serious.

Sometimes, diagnosis is delayed because symptoms are ignored or assumed to be caused by a correlated condition. It’s important to keep an eye out for common warning signs.

Chronic kidney disease symptoms can include:

• Weight loss and poor appetite
• Swollen ankles, feet or hands
• Water retention
• Shortness of breath
• Tiredness
• Blood in your urine
• Increased need to urinate
• Insomnia
• Muscle cramps
• Itchy skin
• Nausea
• Headaches

Correlating Diagnoses

As many of the illnesses that correlate with chronic kidney disease are genetic, a diagnosis can be more easily obtained if you are aware of them.

If you know you are at risk of chronic kidney disease, or any of the common correlating ailments, you may want to get tested regularly, even if you aren’t showing any kidney disease symptoms.

Regular testing can help to catch the condition in its early stages.

People who are particularly prone to chronic kidney disease include those with or that are genetically predisposed to have: 

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Acute kidney injury
• Cardiovascular disease
• Kidney stones
• Enlarged prostate
• Lupus
• A family history of chronic kidney disease

What to do if You Have CKD

While the aforementioned symptoms are common in cases of chronic kidney disease, they are by no means exclusive to chronic kidney disease and could be indicative of other health issues.

If you find that you are experiencing kidney disease symptoms, it’s best to visit your doctor sooner rather than later.

You will need a professional diagnosis to officially determine whether you are experiencing the condition or not. A nephrologist specializing in chronic kidney disease will be able to run urine tests and blood tests that will give you a full diagnosis.

There are a number of treatments that can help you to manage chronic kidney disease and its symptoms, but they are most effective when put in place early in the disease’s progression. It’s important to be aware of the indicators of chronic kidney disease in order to spot them as early as possible so you can begin taking steps to slow its progression.