Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is divided into five stages according to glomerular filtration rate (GFR). When a person is diagnosed with Stage 1 CKD, what does it mean? Is it serious? Let’s have a look at the passage.

As I said at the beginning, kidney disease have five stages and each stage has both different GFR levels and clinical symptoms as well as complications. However, stage 1 kidney disease is not as serious as you might imagine.

Well then, what does stage 1kidney disease indicate?

A person with Stage 1 CKD has slight kidney damage with a glomerular filtration rate at a normal or high level greater than 90ml/min. Usually, there are no any symptoms to indicate the kidneys are damaged. Because kidneys still do a good job even when they are not functioning at 100 percent. Why? That’s because our kidneys are endowed with a strong compensatory ability and about 50 percent of kidney function can guarantee our body’s normal work. That’s why most people will not know they have stage 1 kidney disease.

However, how can I find stage 1 kidney disease?

Patients do find out they are in stage 1, it is usually because they were being tested for another condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure which are two leading causes of kidney damage). Or they can find our the evidence of kidney damage in an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), CT scan, ultrasound or contrast X-ray. In addition, if you have a history of family disease such as Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), the damage may have formed on your kidneys.

How to treat kidney disease stage 1?

Actually, the stage 1 is an early stage and it can be well controlled if you take treatment timely. Most patients with stage 1 CKD just need occasional testing to be sure things are no different, but a few people need further investigation because there are pointers to a disease that could benefit from treatment or lead to serious condition. In addition, diet plan is also essential for protecting remaining renal function and recovering kidney health. You can talk with our online doctors or leave a message below for an individualized diet and possible treatment.