Nearly a third of kidney failure patients are diabetics. When the blood sugar is high the excess sugar flows out through the urine. But Glucose cannot flow out by itself. It flows out with urine. Therefore diabetics tend to pass urine frequently.

Continued excessive sugar levels in the blood affect the glomeruli, or the blood filtering units of the kidneys. In a diabetic the flow of blood through the kidneys increases and the glomeruli have to work harder. This is called hyperfiltration. The kidneys get larger in size than normal.

If the diabetic is also hypertensive, the stress is greater on the kidneys. The stress begins to show, in those small amounts of protein that leak into the urine. The body begins to lose valuable nutrition.


If blood sugar is in poor control the kidneys become less and less efficient. The problem progresses through five stages and the fifth stage is called End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). At this point symptoms of kidney failure occur. The patient needs to undergo dialysis or transplantation.