How can I slow kidney disease caused by diabetes?

If you already have some kidney damage caused by diabetes, it's not reversible. But you can slow down the rate of damage and keep it from getting worse. You'll want to keep blood glucose and blood pressure levels on target, lose weight if needed, and continue to take your medications. In addition, these steps can help:

Change the way you eat. Many people find that lowering the amount of sodium in their meal plan helps lower blood pressure. If you usually have large servings of protein-rich foods such as meat, chicken, and fish, your health care team may recommend that you eat fewer protein-rich foods to protect your kidneys. A registered dietitian can help you plan how to make these changes.

Watch out for your kidneys when you have special X ray tests. Some special X ray tests use a liquid dye for better images. However, these dyes can harm the kidneys. The doctor may decide to do a test without dye or take other measures instead.

See your doctor right away for bladder or kidney infections. If you have pain or burning during urination, a frequent urge to urinate, cloudy or reddish urine, nausea, a fever, or pain in your back or on your side below the ribs, you may have an infection in your bladder or kidneys. Left untreated, infections can damage your kidneys.