Health & Fitness

Early symptoms of kidney failure include such problems such as fatigue and frequent headaches. Loss of appetite and insomnia may start to become a problem as well as kidney function decreases. At more advanced levels, such as when the kidneys are only functioning at 20% or less of their normal capacity, symptoms of kidney failure begin to become more specific.

Basic Symptoms of Kidney Failure
These symptoms might include itchy skin, frequent urination, nausea, water retention, skin darkening and muscle cramps. At very advanced stages, when actual kidney failure occurs, these symptoms of kidney failure become particularly acute. However, before that stage, some chronic kidney disease sufferers might not display any symptoms at all.As a matter of fact, early symptoms may not appear to kidney disease sufferers until the person has lost 70% or more of their kidney function.

For this reason, doctors have to screen you for kidney disease beforehand, especially if they belong to such risk groups as diabetes or high blood pressure. These tests for kidney function loss use blood and urine tests to measure changing levels of chemicals. The level of these chemicals determines how well the kidneys are working.

Urea and creatinine levels in specific begin to increase as healthy kidney function declines. Besides these tests, doctors may perform ultrasound scan to check the kidneys for physical abnormalities. If kidney disease is caught in time, there is a good chance that medication and diet changes can slow its progression greatly.