Diabetes Kidney Failure Disability

Diabetes Kidney Failure Disability Minnesota

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for around 45 percent of new cases. Social security benefits are available for people who are unable to work because of kidney failure caused by diabetes. Each year in the United States, more than 100,000 people are diagnosed with kidney failure, a serious condition in which the kidneys fail to rid the body of wastes.

Kidney failure is the last stage of kidney disease, also referred to as nephropathy.

Even when diabetes is controlled, the disease can lead to nephropathy and kidney failure. Most people with diabetes do not develop nephropathy that is severe enough to cause kidney failure. About 18 million people in the United States have diabetes, and more than 150,000 people are living with kidney failure as a result of diabetes.
People with kidney failure undergo either dialysis, which substitutes for some of the filtering functions of the kidneys, or transplantation to receive a healthy donor kidney.

African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics/Latinos develop diabetes, nephropathy, and kidney failure at rates higher than Caucasions. Scientists have not been able to explain these higher rates. Nor can they explain fully the interplay of factors leading to diabetic nephropathy—factors including heredity, diet, and other medical conditions, such as high blood pressure. They have found that high blood pressure and high levels of blood glucose increase the risk that a person with diabetes will progress to kidney failure.

The Course of Kidney Disease

Diabetic kidney disease takes many years to develop. In some people, the filtering function of the kidneys is actually higher than normal in the first few years of their diabetes. This process has been called hyperfiltration.

Over several years, people who are developing kidney disease will have small amounts of the blood protein albumin begin to leak into their urine. At its first stage, this condition has been called microalbuminuria. The kidney’s filtration function usually remains normal during this period.

As the disease progresses, more albumin leaks into the urine. This stage may be called overt diabetic nephropathy or macroalbuminuria. As the amount of albumin in the urine increases, filtering function usually begins to drop. The body retains various wastes as filtration falls. Creatinine is one such waste, and a blood test for creatinine can be used to estimate the decline in kidney filtration. As kidney damage develops, blood pressure often rises as well.

Overall, kidney damage rarely occurs in the first 10 years of diabetes, and usually 15 to 25 years will pass before kidney failure occurs. For people who live with diabetes for more than 25 years without any signs of kidney failure, the risk of ever developing it decreases.

Fields Law diabetes disability attorneys will assist you in getting the medical records and supporting documentation you need to provide the SSA with evidence of your diabetes kidney failure disability. If you are unable to work because of diabetes kidney failure complications we can help you apply for social security benefits. If you have been denied disability benefits we can appeal your case.

We offer a Free case review. Our Minnesota diabetes disability attorneys understand how difficult it is to have kidney disease or kidney failure and be denied disability benefits when you are unable to work. There are never any fees unless we win your disability case.