Renal Failure - Symptoms

Symptoms

Symptoms can vary from person to person. Someone in early stage kidney disease may not feel sick or notice symptoms as they occur. When kidneys fail to filter properly, waste accumulates in the blood and the body, a condition called azotemia. Very low levels of azotaemia may produce few, if any, symptoms. If the disease progresses, symptoms become noticeable (if the failure is of sufficient degree to cause symptoms). Renal failure accompanied by noticeable symptoms is termed uraemia.

Symptoms of kidney failure include:

• High levels of urea in the blood, which can result in:
  • Vomiting and/or diarrhea, which may lead to dehydration
  • Nausea
  • Weight loss
  • Nocturnal urination
  • More frequent urination, or in greater amounts than usual, with pale urine
  • Less frequent urination, or in smaller amounts than usual, with dark coloured urine
  • Blood in the urine
  • Pressure, or difficulty urinating
  • Unusual amounts of urination, usually in large quantities
• A build up of phosphates in the blood that diseased kidneys cannot filter out may cause:
  • Itching
  • Bone damage
  • Nonunion in broken bones
  • Muscle cramps (caused by low levels of calcium which can be associated with hyperphosphatemia)
• A build up of potassium in the blood that diseased kidneys cannot filter out (called hyperkalemia) may cause:
  • Abnormal heart rhythms
  • Muscle paralysis
• Failure of kidneys to remove excess fluid may cause:
  • Swelling of the legs, ankles, feet, face and/or hands
  • Shortness of breath due to extra fluid on the lungs (may also be caused by anemia)
• Polycystic kidney disease, which causes large, fluid-filled cysts on the kidneys and sometimes the liver, can cause:
  • Pain in the back or side
• Healthy kidneys produce the hormone erythropoietin that stimulates the bone marrow to make oxygen-carrying red blood cells. As the kidneys fail, they produce less erythropoietin, resulting in decreased production of red blood cells to replace the natural breakdown of old red blood cells. As a result, the blood carries less hemoglobin, a condition known as anemia. This can result in:
  • Feeling tired and/or weak
  • Memory problems
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Dizziness
  • Low blood pressure
• Proteins are usually too big to pass through the kidneys, but they can pass through when the glomeruli are damaged. This does not cause symptoms until extensive kidney damage has occurred, after which symptoms include:
  • Foamy or bubbly urine
  • Swelling in the hands, feet, abdomen, or face
• Other symptoms include:
  • Appetite loss, a bad taste in the mouth
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Darkening of the skin
  • Excess protein in the blood
  • With high dose penicillin, renal failure patients may experience seizures