What is renal failure?

1. They regulate the excretion of waste products and fluids from the body.

2. They balance the chemicals and minerals in your body.

3. They secrete hormones that affect the body’s ability to produce red blood cells (erythropoietin) and affect your blood pressure (renin).

Renal failure occurs when the kidneys can no longer provide these vital functions. We begin to retain fluid and develop swollen legs. Our electrolytes are no longer in balance; for example, the potassium may be high. We become anemic because we no longer produce enough erythropoietin. We develop higher blood pressure. With advanced renal failure we fail to excrete toxins such as urea, which makes us feel ill (nausea, fatigue).

The creatinine is a blood test that we use as a marker of kidney function. It is a natural breakdown product of muscle that passes freely through the kidney; it is neither reabsorbed nor metabolized by the kidney so it gives us information about the function of the kidneys. A normal creatinine is less than or equal to 1.3 mg/dL for men and less than 1.1 mg/dL for women.