Diagnosis
If your doctor suspects that you
have any kind of kidney disease, you’ll undergo a number of tests including:
- Urine test. This involves peeing in a
cup and having the urine analyzed. One of the key indications that
something is wrong with your kidneys is if there’s too much protein in
your urine.
- Blood test. Your doctor will also
likely order some lab work to look at your creatinine levels. Damage to
the kidneys results in less ability to filter creatinine from the blood,
so higher levels could signal a problem with the kidneys.
- Imaging tests. Depending on what’s going
on, your doctor might also order ultrasound or MRI imaging tests to get a
better look at the structures inside your kidneys.
- Kidney biopsy. Not all conditions will
require a kidney biopsy, but some, including glomerulonephritis and cancer
of the kidney, will likely entail a biopsy so your doctor can get a better
understanding of what’s happening with the cells in your kidneys.
