Welcome to Protecting Your Kidneys

Your kidneys work all day, every day. They filter your blood to remove waste and extra fluid. Each day, they filter about 200 liters of blood.

Think of them like a water filter that works nonstop. Clean blood goes back into your body. Waste leaves in your urine.

A kidney is drawn cut open with a sieve inside. Blood with protein, waste and water flows in through a red tube. Waste and extra water drip down a tube into a jar below, and protein stays in the sieve with the clean blood.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of kidney disease. The damage can build for years before it causes obvious problems.

You can feel fine while these changes happen. Tests, not symptoms, are often how these changes are found.

Finding kidney changes early gives you more room to act. Early care can mean more choices, and you and your team can plan together.

If you care for someone with diabetes, these checks can matter for them too. Ask your care team which checks you need and how often.

Key takeaways

• Your kidneys filter waste and extra fluid from your blood every day.
• Diabetes is one of the leading causes of kidney disease, and damage can build quietly.
• Finding changes early gives you more choices, for you and for those you care for.

Try it

Open your latest lab report and find the line that says eGFR or UACR. Circle it to ask about later.