I am over 60 years old, have had type 2 diabetes treated with oral diabetes medications for more than 10 years, and my urine protein came back high. What caused this? How can I get it back to normal?

There are different kinds of protein tests on urine. The old standard is usually a dip-stick test that tests for total protein. The test that should be used routinely by diabetes physicians and care givers is the urine microalbumin. and is the test preferred for use by doctors while following their patients with diabetes. It can predict abnormalities before the old standard urine dip-stick becomes positive.

The urine microalbumin test is now generally obtained as a random same and done in the lab. It is a trend away from the twenty-four hour collections that have been done in the past. In the big picture, the appearance of increased albumin in the urine is a marker for diabetes involvement in the kidney. If this microalbumin test turns positive and is confirmed, the patients should be considered for therapy with a renal-protection drug.

It has been shown that if this tests turns positive, drug therapy with an ACE inhibitor or an AII antagonist [Angiotensin II antagonists, another class of medications] can lower the amount of albumin in the urine and serve to protect the kidneys.

JTL

[Editor’s comment: See How to protect your kidneys.

SS]