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As if the condition weren’t bad enough on its own, fibromyalgia sufferers are at a higher risk of developing a number of other conditions. In fact, people with fibromyalgia are more likely to develop everything from autoimmune disease to depression. And a lot of the conditions that are more common with fibromyalgia can cause kidney damage. That means there’s a good chance that if you’re suffering from fibromyalgia, you suffer from nephropathy as well.
So, let’s talk about what nephropathy is and what you can do about it.
What Is Nephropathy?
Nephropathy is pain that originates in the kidneys. Usually, this pain is the result of serious damage to the kidneys. There are a lot of different conditions that can cause kidney damage, such as chronic alcoholism, autoimmune inflammation, or often, diabetes.
Diabetes is probably one of the most common causes of kidney disease in the developed world, due to how common diabetes is. And people with fibromyalgia are at a higher risk of diabetes than most people.
In these cases, long periods of high blood pressure or blood sugar gradually damage the small blood vessels that feed the kidneys. As a result, the tissue inside the kidneys begins to harden and die. This is similar to what happens with other conditions. In cases of alcoholism, damage to the kidneys leaves scar tissue that gradually reduces the function of the kidneys. And in autoimmune conditions like lupus, the immune system attacks the kidneys, gradually causing inflammation that destroys the tissue.
It usually takes around five to ten years before the symptoms of kidney damage become noticeable. But the early signs are chronic fatigue, frequent urination, nausea, vomiting, and pain in the lower back. This pain is usually mild to severe and radiates in waves along the body.
And kidney pain can be a sign of other complications. As your kidneys get damaged, they cause your blood pressure to rise. Over time, high blood pressure can lead to complications like heart disease or strokes.
How Can You Treat It?
There are a few different ways to treat kidney pain. The first step is to protect the kidneys from further damage. That means addressing the underlying issues that are causing the damage.
For instance, if you’re suffering from alcoholism, finding a way to get treatment and stop drinking is the most important thing to do. And for diabetes, keeping your blood sugar at safe levels can really help protect your kidneys from damage.
On the other hand, if you’re suffering from an autoimmune condition, there are a number of different medications that you can use to protect yourself from inflammation. Basic over-the-counter medications like aspirin or ibuprofen are often effective for limiting inflammation. These drugs are called NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. And another option is corticosteroids.
And another option is corticosteroids, these are a natural hormone that your body produces to treat inflammation. But your doctor can also prescribe synthetic corticosteroids to help bolster your body’s natural immune response.
To treat kidney pain, your doctor can also prescribe drugs called ACE inhibitors. These drugs work by limiting the amount of an important protein your kidney produces from being lost in the urine. This protein helps to keep your kidneys functioning and prevent further damage. But damaged kidneys often lose their ability to retain this protein, so ACE inhibitors can help.
But if the damage to the kidneys gets severe enough you may have to go on dialysis. Basically, a dialysis machine works by filtering toxins from the blood in the way that your kidneys usually do. Essentially, they function like an artificial kidney. They can keep you alive by performing the role of the kidneys, but they require you to essentially have your blood filtered and replaced in weekly or bi-weekly sessions. And the treatment can often leave you feeling very tired or drained. So dialysis is not the ideal long term solution for kidney damage.
But the only other option to treat severe kidney damage is with a transplant. Obviously, this can be difficult, as the waiting list to get a transplanted organ is long. There is a chronic shortage of donated organs across the world. So, it can be months or years before you’re able to get a replacement kidney. Instead, patients usually find themselves on dialysis while they wait for a transplant.
But if kidney damage is often treatable enough to make sure you never reach the point where a transplant is necessary. That’s why it’s important to get to a doctor as soon as possible if you think you have kidney damage.
So let us know, do you have kidney pain with your fibromyalgia? What do you do about it? Tell us in the comments.
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