Nephropathy: what’s that, you say? Because of the extra stress that diabetes puts on the kidneys, people with diabetes can be more prone to getting kidney disease, also known as nephropathy. It’s mostly caused by the long-term effects of hyperglycemia, which happens when your blood glucose levels are consistently above normal. Nephropathy can damage how waste is filtered out of the body and can potentially lead to kidney failure, but you shouldn’t worry too much: diabetes and kidney disease don’t have a mutually exclusive relationship. Nephropathy can also be caused by genetics, and only 30% of PWD Type 1 and 10-40% of PWD Type 2 will be diagnosed with the disease. Damage to the kidneys can occur several years before you start feeling symptoms. You can keep your chances for getting nephropathy in check by monitoring your blood sugar closely, following your doctor’s instructions for medications, exercising, and eating habits, and keeping track of your blood pressure–and the easy-to-use tools at My Diabetes Home can help! Log in to keep track of your blood glucose numbers and blood pressure–by recording your numbers, you can easily keep track of your health progress. When it’s time for your doctor appointment, My Diabetes Home lets you print out a handy report with all of your details to make sure you’re getting the most out of your doctor visits. Your doctor will be able to let you know whether you’re at risk for nephropathy and recommend a good plan to prevent or treat it. If you have any questions about your own personal risk of nephropathy, we recommend that you contact your doctor or ask for a good recommendation for a nephrologist. What steps are you taking to make sure your health is in check? Sound off in the comments.