Early Symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease Patients

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of congenital hereditary Kidney Disease, with seldom obvious symptoms in early stage. But if obvious symptoms appear, it means that renal injury has been really serious. Here are some light symptoms appeared in early stage of Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Ⅰ.Abdominal masses. When kidneys grow to a certain degree, masses with various sizes can be touched in unilateral or bilateral midsection, moving with breathing. Patients may feel pressing pain when there is an associated infection. 50% to 80% PKD patients can have touched bilateral abdominal masses, while 15% to 30% patients have touched unilateral abdominal masses.

Ⅱ. Dull pain or discomfort on waist and part abdomen. This usually happens in the early stage of Polycystic Kidney Disease. Patients can always feel pressure on waist and back, and sometimes patients may get serious pain. This symptom appears intermittently or continuously, expressed by bellyache which can radiate to midsection, inguen, back, and chest. Patients have to have a bed rest due to worse pain caused by run, long-term sit and exercise.

Ⅲ.Anemia. Most PKD patients suffer a process of Anemia from light to serious, accompanied by night urination. This symptom is always related with reducing Erythropoietin and declined renal function.

Ⅳ.High Blood Pressure appears frequently among symptoms of PKD patients, with an incidence of 50% to 60%. It usually happens along with headache and dizziness before renal function declines, having a close relationship with hyperfunction of renin-angiotensin system.

Ⅴ. Urine abnormality, mainly manifested by Albuminuria and Haematuria, is one of the primary symptoms of PKD patients. Albuminuria which is related with glomerular barrier function is most common symptom. While Haematuria is an important factor for patients to judge that whether they are suffering from Polycystic Kidney Disease or not.

In the early stage of Polycystic Kidney Disease, light symptoms of frequent urination, urgent urination and nocturnal urination may appear, relating with renal concentrated function decline.

Ⅵ. Symptoms of urinary system, such as anuria, frequent urination, urgent urination, Odynuria, Haematuria as well as frequent nocturnal urination and Oliguria.


From the above, we can know that symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease can be manifested in many aspects. Patients can notice these symptoms if they observe carefully. But patients may have different symptoms with each other due to distinctive personal condition. Once there is any doubtful symptoms appears, patients should be sent to hospital for check and treatment as early as possible.

How to Cure Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney is a kind of hereditary disease. Main symptom of early stage Polycystic Kidney Disease is cysts growing. While in late stage, Symptoms of Hypertension, Renal Stone, and abnormal renal function can appear. Meanwhile, there also may be cystic changes in liver, pancreas, spleen and so on. The key to cure Polycystic Kidney disease is to shrink cysts.

Timely treatment is more needed if symptoms of Hypertension appear. It is very important to accept treatment for PKD patients who suffer from Hypertension. Because enlarging cysts caused by Polycystic Kidney can injure kidney, and then result in hypertension. If without timely treatment, with kidney injury deteriorating continuously, sooner or later, Polycystic Kidney must develop into Renal Function Failure and Uremia finally.

Presently, the preferred method in Western treatment is surgery treatment. But such operation can only reduce big cysts, which can leave more space for small cysts to grow. Without pressure from big cysts, small cysts grow more rapidly, which can cause illness recurrence easily, and aggravate renal injury further.
Polycystic Kidney disease can be treated by special Chinese Medicine Treatment which refers to treating internal disease by external application. Through method of osmosis on the skin of renal position, vessels on cyst wall are dilated, partial blood circulation is accelerated, and cystic liquid is cleared away quickly. Meanwhile, active material of Chinese Medicine can eliminate activities of epithelial cells on cyst wall , so as to prevent cystic liquid from being secreted and reduce cystic internal pressure.


Such treatment can shrink large cysts and prevent small cysts from growing, and symptoms disappear naturally. Meanwhile, patients should keep a daily diet with low-protein, and take fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins.

Diet Principle for Polycystic Kidney Disease Patients

Polycystic Kidney Disease patients should pay more attention on their daily diet which is a very important aspect in treating Polycystic Kidney Disease. As for diet of Polycystic Kidney Disease patients, some points should be noticed:

Protein limitation: In modern medicine theory, high or low protein ingestion is both harmful to human bodies, especially too much protein intake. High protein intake can produce more metabolic waste, such as urea, creatinine, guanidines and other nitrogenous metabolic wastes, all of which can be found in End Stage Renal Failure and toxin of Uremia.

Due to declined metabolic ability of Kidney Disease patients, besides protein limitation and avoiding greasy food, slated food and spicy food as well as pollutant food should also be avoided. A proper protein intake is beneficial to reduce kidney burden and decrease incidence of End Stage Renal Failure and Uremia, playing a significant role in relieving illness condition.

Salt limitation: salt intake should be limited according to patients’ illness condition and severity of renal function injury. But not all Kidney Disease patients need salt limitation.

Water ingestion: due to declined renal concentrated function, metabolic waste can be excreted out of human body with more water supply. If patients do not have obvious symptoms of Edema, Heart Failure and High Blood Pressure, they should take in water scientifically.


Generally speaking, Polycystic Kidney Disease patients should avoid salted food, spicy food, polluted food as well as broiled dishes. If patients’ illness condition has developed into Renal Failure or Uremia, patients should also avoid beans and bean production.

Causes of Hypertension in Polycystic Kidney Disease

Cysts of Polycystic Kidney Disease patients can compress normal renal structure, which can cause renal ischemia, anoxia and low renal perfusion, and then Hypertension appears. If Hypertension caused by PKD can not be controlled in time, it can worsen kidney pathological damage and aggravate Renal Fibrosis as well as increase serum creatinine. At the same time, worsening illness condition can also increase blood pressure continuously, which may cause heart enlargement and heart failure. Some patients may have a rapidly developing illness condition. With renal function injured, illness condition of these patients may develop into Chronic Renal Insufficiency, or even Uremia.

Renal Hypertension caused by PKD is different from Primary Hypertension. As for Hypertension caused by PKD, the key treatment is to treat Polycystic Kidney Disease in order to reduce cystic pressure on kidney and delay or block Renal Fibrosis. Only in this way, Hypertension can be treated from its primary cause. Therefore, Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy treats Hypertension caused by PKD starting with shrinking cysts and relieving renal injury from its root.

Through dilating renal artery, Micro-Chinese Medicine can increase kidney blood perfusion, improve whole micro-circulation and promote metabolism, thus changing activities of cells on cyst wall. Improving permeability and removing cyst fluid. Meanwhile, Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy can prevent cells on cyst wall secreting cyst fluid, reducing cysts fundamentally.

With active substances of Chinese Medicine playing their function, cystic pressure on surrounding renal tissue can be removed. Besides, renal ischemia and anoxia are also relieved, which delays the development of Renal Fibrosis. In this way, Hypertension invasion can be relieved. What's more, with less secretion of Angiotonin , more vasorelaxation factors appear, which can improve blood circulation of cyst wall and make blood vessel in a proper flexibility. For this reason, blood pressure can be controlled effectively.


In addition, active substances can target on injured fibrous tissue, myofibroblast and immune complex, secreting a series of useful medicine composition after compounding. This is beneficial to degrade fibrous tissue in lesion and block Renal Fibrosis. Besides, active substances of Chinese Medicine can also provide requested material for injured kidney to recover. Only renal structure is repaired, renal function can be rebuilt and restored. Then clinical symptoms can turn better.

Reasons of High Creatinine in Polycystic Kidney Disease

If PKD patients suffer from this disease for a long time, obvious creatinine increase can be found in clinical test; even serum creatinine can be higher than normal level, which means this disease develops into Renal Insufficiency or Uremia. All these can be expressed by higher serum creatinine than normal with lower urine creatinine than normal.

Renal cysts of PKD patients keep growing continuously, which can compress surrounding renal tissue and damage healthy nephron. In the end stage PKD, patients' kidneys are much larger than normal size, and no healthy nephron can be seen through microscope.


After kidney was damaged by these cysts, injured renal inherent cells can have phenotype change, forming pathological change, which can not only stimulate renal mechanocyte to turn into myofibroblast, but also cause healthy renal tissue to have the same pathological change. For this reason, such pathological change spread from spot to area, then the whole kidney. This means this disease develops into renal dysfunction stage. At this moment, due to continuous kidney injury, renal ability of excreting waste declines, which cause toxin like creatinine accumulation in body. Therefore, serum creatinine increases and urine creatinine decreases on one hand and on the other filtrating rate of bilateral kidneys reduce. Meanwhile, patients may also have symptoms of High Blood Pressure, serious Edema and so on.

Principles of Daily Life for PKD Patients

As for PKD patients, no matter they are in regular treatment time or in a convalescence stage, they should pay attention to their personal diet and related health care points, which is beneficial for PKD patients to get a relative better prognosis.

Ⅰ. Life care:

Firstly, patients should improve their both mental and physical rest. For example, Nephrotic Hypertension patients should check blood pressure regularly and adjust their bed rest time according to their blood pressure change.

Secondly, proper diet: special diet should depend on different illness conditions. For example, if patients are in Renal Insufficiency period, they should have a diet with proper high calorie and rational high-quality low protein. Besides, liquid intake should also be limited in order to keep water balance.

Thirdly, patients should keep their mouth care after a meal in order to eliminate bad breath, reduce nausea and prevent bacteria and mildew growing.

Fourthly, patients should pay more attention on skin cleanness in order to prevent skin infection. On point should be noticed that patients should avoid soap and alcohol. As for patients who suffer from serious Edema, they especially should care their skin cleanness and change lying position frequently in order to prevent bedsore.

Ⅱ. Mental and psychology:

This refers to adjusting mood and emotion in Chinese Medicine. Kidney Disease has a long course with frequent recurrence, so patients usually have heavy mental burden. For this reason, it is important to encourage patients to talk about their trouble and encourage them to have a healthy emotion and relaxing mind in order to avoid negative emotion.


From the above, we hope that it will be helpful for PKD patients. However, the key to treat PKD is to block Renal Fibrosis and recover injured renal inherent cells, which can control cysts growth effectively and prevent this disease developing into Renal Failure and Uremia.

Main Causes of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of familial hereditary disease. So inheritance is the main cause of PKD.

Ⅰ. PKD is a hereditary disease. According to genetics, it can be divided into Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) and Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD).

Firstly, ADPKD which belongs to autosomal dominant inheritance disease is common among PKD, with feature of familial aggregation. Both male and female can have equal incidence to get this disease, and this disease may be inherited for generations.

Secondly, ARPKD is also called infantile PKD which is not common among the disease of PKD. Most sick children die in a few months after birth. Only a few patients with lighter illness condition can survive from this disease to childhood, or even adult age.

Ⅱ. Symptoms of ADPKD usually appear when patients get to adult age, while obvious symptoms of ARPKD can be found in infantile stage. ADPKD is common among clinical cases, about 5% to 10% among end stage Kidney Disease. Main clinical symptoms of ADPKD are kidney enlargement, Haematuria, Albuminuria and High Blood Pressure, or even Renal Failure can be found in late stage of this disease.

Well then, what treatments are taken to treat PKD presently?

Firstly, operation: this treatment is not suggested to patients. Because after large cysts being removed, more space will be left for small cysts which can grow faster without pressure from large cysts. Repeated operation can cause serious injury to kidneys.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: through decocting, effective substances of Chinese Medicine can not be collected fully. Besides, after patients taken medicine, gastrointestinal digestion, whole body distribution and liver inactivation can all lead to a low medicine concentration at renal lesion, which can result in a slow effect, delaying illness condition treating.


Characteristic treatment of Chinese Medicine: Micro-Chinese Medicine solves the problem of stimulation on stomach and liver injury caused by oral medicine. During this treatment, medicine can effect on renal lesion directly which can offer a high medicine concentration at lesion. Through this way, cyst fluid can be absorbed more quickly and cysts can be reduced gradually, which can reduce pressure on kidney and relieve renal injury.

How to Prevent Complications of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Once complications appear in Polycystic Kidney Disease, difficulties of treating Polycystic Kidney Disease can be increased. For this reason, it is the same important to prevent and control complications of PKD when patients accept treatment to treat PKD actively. Well then, how to prevent complications of PKD?
Generally speaking, proper treatment is chosen according to categories of complications caused by PKD.

Firstly, normal measure: most patients needn’t change their former life style and limit their exercise. However, as for patients who have obvious kidney enlargement, they should avoid abdominal injury in order to prevent cyst rupture. If patients are in Uremia stage of Renal Failure, corresponding treatment should be taken to treat this disease.

Secondly, prevent Haematuria: when Haematuria appears, besides proper treatment based on exact causes, patients should take less exercise and have bed rest.
Thirdly, prevent infection: renal parenchyma infection and cyst internal infection are main complications of Polycystic Kidney Disease. Generally combined application of antibiotics it taken to treat infections.

Fourthly, treatment of complicated upper urinary tract stone: treatment should be taken according to stone site and size.

Fifth, prevent High Blood Pressure: renal ischemia and activation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system are main reasons of High Blood Pressure. Hypotensor should be chosen on this basis.

Besides, patients should pay attention on their illness condition at any moment. Effective control on these complications does not mean controlled illness condition of PKD. Instead, after controlled complications, treating PKD actively is the key to treat PKD and prevent related complications. Because once cysts exist, they can grow if there is no treatment is taken to control or inhibit cysts. For this reason, complications can appear continuously. Therefore, the most basic key to prevent complications of PKD effectively is to treat PKD.

Presently, combined application of Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine is taken to treat PKD, mainly with the treatment of Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy. This treatment can improve kidney blood circulation and promote reabsorption of cyst fluid, which can reduce cystic pressure. And then patients’ illness can turn better. With medicine playing their function, cysts begin to be shrunk and renal function can be protected effectively.


The root of preventing complications of PKD is to treat PKD. If cysts growth can be controlled and inhibited effectively, complications of this disease can disappear naturally. So when patients take Western Medicine to control complications, Chinese Medicine should be taken to treat PKD in order to achieve ideal therapeutic effect.

How about Operations on Treating Polycystic Kidney Disease

Operation can relieve pressure caused by big cysts on renal parenchyma and improve condition of renal ischemia and anoxia in a short time, which can reduce renal injury to a certain degree. However, operation still has some defects on treating PKD. Operation does not solve the root cause of PKD—cyst fluid secretion. Besides, operation can bring injury to kidneys when removing cysts. In addition, there are so many cysts in kidneys, and operation only deals with larger ones. So with large cysts removed, more space can be left for smaller cysts which grow more quickly without pressure from large cysts. Under such circumstance, these growing cysts can compress renal parenchyma again, causing kidney injury. What’s more, illness condition is easy to relapse and to develop into Renal Failure, or even Uremia.

Firstly, operation can only treat surface disease instead of treating real disease cause. For this reason, it can not treat this disease completely. When large cysts are removed, smaller cysts can grow rapidly without pressure from these large cysts. And with illness condition worsening, a secondary operation is needed, forming a vicious circle. Finally, kidney will be injured greatly.


Secondly, Kidney Transplant has not only high cost but also unpredictable consequence. To most people, Kidney Transplant is a good way to treat PKD. Actually, it is indeed. However, as a relative large operative trauma, Kidney Transplant is a severe test to patients’ standing ability. Besides extremely expensive cost and rare matched kidney, the probable rejection appeared after operation may make some patients shrink back.

Several Symptoms of Hereditary Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney Disease is caused by autosomal dominant inheritance. Cysts increase gradually with age. Epithelial cells on cystic wall secrete fluid without normal excreting channel, so cysts grow bigger gradually and cyst rupture may happen finally. Then acute abdominal infection caused by cyst rupture appears. Long-term pressure on renal parenchyma can cause renal injury inevitably, and then Renal Insufficiency, or even Uremia. Patients should pay enough attention to this disease.

Early symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease are backache, bellyache, and sometimes patients feel really painful. The disease attack constantly or intermittently, sometimes bellyache diffuses to back, chest, superior belly or groin. Pain can be more serious after exercise, running, and long-time sitting.
Urine abnormality: Haematuria or Albuminuria is one of early symptoms. Haematuria can present as microscopic or gross Haematuria, happening to more than 50% patients. Kidney enlargement and High Blood Pressure are more common among symptoms of PKD patients. Albuminuria can be found nearly in all cases, and most cases are mild but continuous.

Renal concentrated function decline: this symptom is mostly be found in early stage with light degree. 50%～60% patients can get Hypertension, usually appearing after renal function decline. 50% patients can get Renal Function Failure.


Firstly, in a certain time, Micro-Chinese medicine can block malignant progress of Kidney Disease which refers to blocking Renal Fibrosis. Secondly, on the basis of blocking Renal Fibrosis, Micro-Chinese Medicine can repair damaged renal inherent cells and kidney function as well as rebuild the renal normal structure. Thirdly, actively treating the other complications is helpful to achieve the effect of recovery gradually.

How to Prevent Renal Failure in Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a kind of congenital hereditary disease, mainly expressed by various sized cysts in bilateral kidneys, which can enlarge kidney obviously and cause shape abnormality to kidneys. With illness development, cysts grow bigger and more and finally Renal Functional Failure appears due to great damage of renal tissue. Well then, how to preventing Renal Failure happening in the course of PKD.

Firstly, discover illness condition as early as possible. PKD has a hereditary tendency, with equal incidence to both male and female. For this reason, there may be several family members suffering from PKD at the same time in a family with PKD history. PKD always happens among patients who are at middle age. Even some patients do not realize this disease until symptoms of Renal Function Failure appear.

Secondly, preventing and treating complications early. High Blood Pressure, urinary tract infection and cyst rupture are common among complications of PKD. Meantime, these complications are also significant factors inducing and worsening renal function damage. Therefore, these complications should be treated and controlled in time. When choosing medicine, patients should be care about nephrotoxic medicine.

Thirdly, Chinese Medicine treatment: Chinese Medicine has a good effect on treating Chronic Renal Function Failure, especially on treating early or middle stage patients. Chinese Medicine can improve patients’ clinical condition obviously and control illness development as well as reduce serum creatinine and urea nitrogen.

Fourthly, family care and nursing: Renal Function Failure of PKD is a kind of chronic progressive developing disease. It may be worsened by mood swings, extreme tiredness or improper diet as well as trauma and other related factors. Therefore, patients should keep a happy mood and adjust their work and rest properly as well as build confidence to overcome this disease and cooperate with treatment actively. As for diet principle, patients should take a light and fresh diet with rich nutrition. More fruit is OK. Besides, patients should limit their protein intake properly and avoid icy, uncooked and spicy food. Cigarette and alcohol are forbidden. If patients suffer from serious Hypertensive Edema, they should limited sodium salt intake. in addition, patients should take some exercise, but be cautious about compress on waist and abdomen in order to prevent cysts rupture. Patients suffering from serious illness condition should take a bed rest.


Fifthly, Kidney Replacement Therapy: due to renal function decline seriously, patients who are in late stage Renal Function Failure of PKD usually have a really bad reaction to medicine. Besides, these patients’ clinical symptoms worsen gradually and illness condition is so dangerous that Kidney Replacement Therapy, Hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, should be considered. Abdominal cavity reduces because patients’ kidneys enlarge obviously. Under such circumstances, peritoneal dialysis nearly has no effect, so hemodialysis is taken normally. As for patients with continuous bleeding or uncontrolled blood pressure, surgery operation can be considered to remove kidney. Kidney Transplant can be taken if possible.

Analysis of Traditional Treatment of Treating PKD

Traditionally, operations of Cyst Decortication and puncture sclerotherapy are used to treat Polycystic Kidney Disease. Though these operations can reduce cystic pressure on kidney and repair renal function in a short time, they can not treat this disease completely. With big cysts being removed, their pressure on small cysts is also reduced, which can make small cysts grow more rapidly. After these small cysts growing bigger, they can compress kidney again and renal function can be injured for a second time. Therefore, kidney can be injured by cysts continuously and renal function injury can be worsening more seriously.

Nephrectomy operation can be considered if PKD has involved bilateral kidneys and the function of one kidney is normal. Furthermore, as for PKD patients, Nephrectomy is not a good choice due to difficult post-operation care. Besides, cysts can also relapse after operation.

During the treatment of Polycystic Kidney Disease, the basic method is to improve blood circulation and permeability of cyst wall, which is beneficial to recycle cyst fluid. With decreasing cyst fluid, cyst size become smaller and pressure caused by cysts reduces. Through this way, pressure on healthy kidney caused by cysts can be solved completely, and renal function can be recovered gradually.


Theoretically, many treatment methods can be effective to treat PKD. But in fact, there are so many difficulties in treating process. As a parenchymal tissue, medicine is difficult to get into kidney. Kidney is different from gastrointestinal system which can accept medicine directly. For this reason, oral medicine only has a limited effect on kidney. Not only referring to PKD, in the treatment of other Kidney Diseases, how to make medicine play their maximum function is the most difficult problem.