DIABETES AND YOUR KIDNEYS
Kidney damage from diabetes gives no pain and no symptoms until most of the kidney function is gone. A urine test and a blood test, once a year, find it years earlier, when it can still be slowed or stopped.
Both tests are done by our laboratory, Caspian Diagnostic Centre, in the same building and open 24 hours. It bills separately at its listed rates.
The kidneys filter the blood through millions of tiny filters. High sugar and high blood pressure over many years damage these filters. First they start to leak a protein called albumin into the urine. Later the filtering itself slows down.
About one in three people with diabetes develops kidney disease. It is one of the most common reasons people need dialysis in India. It also raises the risk of heart attack and stroke, which is why protecting the kidneys protects the heart too.
A small urine sample, best taken first thing in the morning. It measures the leak. This is the test that finds kidney damage earliest. A routine urine strip test can miss it.
A blood test. It is turned into the eGFR, an estimate of how well the kidneys are filtering. You can work out your own on our eGFR calculator.
Everyone with type 2 diabetes should have both tests at diagnosis and then every year. In type 1 diabetes, from 5 years after diagnosis. If kidney disease is found, more often, as your doctor advises.
| Urine ACR (mg/g) | What it means |
|---|---|
| below 30 | Normal |
| 30 to 300 | Moderately raised. An early leak, and the best time to act |
| above 300 | Severely raised. Established kidney damage |
An eGFR below 60 for more than three months is chronic kidney disease, whatever the urine shows.
One high result is not a diagnosis. Fever, a urine infection, heavy exercise the day before, very high sugar or periods can all raise the ACR for a short time. A raised ACR is confirmed when two of three samples taken over 3 to 6 months are high.
Diabetic kidney disease used to be something we could only slow a little. That has changed. Several medicines now protect the kidneys directly, on top of what they do for sugar or blood pressure.
Not every medicine suits every patient, and some of them can raise potassium. Your doctor will choose and check them with blood tests. If your potassium rises, read our page on high potassium and its treatment.
Our nutritionists plan a kidney-friendly diet built on the food you already eat. Do not start a very low protein diet or cut out fruit and vegetables on your own: most people with early kidney disease do not need that, and it can do harm.
We refer to a kidney specialist when the eGFR falls below 30, when the urine leak is heavy or rising, when the kidney function falls quickly, or when potassium or blood pressure cannot be controlled.
For our admitted patients, Dr. Praveen Kumar Etta, nephrologist, comes to the bedside. Emergency dialysis is arranged at Aster Hospital, Ameerpet, under his care. If planned dialysis becomes necessary, the options, including Aarogyasri, are discussed with you and your family.
Come in today, or call 108 if it is severe, if you have:
If you have diabetes and have not had a urine ACR and a creatinine test in the last year, book a visit. Bring your old kidney reports, so we can see the trend, and the list of every medicine you take, including painkillers.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Khizer Hussain Junaidy, Diabetologist & Bariatric Physician, Telangana State Medical Council 04937. Last reviewed 11 October 2026. General information for patients of Caspian Healthcare: your own doctor's advice comes first.