Urine composition of a diabetic getting me down drain!

[Wiehan]

I need to compare the urine composition of a person with Diabetes with that of a healthy person. As of yet I have not found any exact information on the net.

What I have found was that a person suffering from diabetes's urine will have ketones and glucose and possibly proteins (not sure) due to the membrane of the nephrons in the kidney which leaks these larger substances in the blood into the urinary tract.

I need exact figures and percentage wise statistics of the urine (and filtrate in the glomerules of the kidney) of both a healthy person and of a person with Diabetes. I have found the urinary composition of a healthy person quite easily, i.e.: percentage of salts, water, protein, glucose, urea - but not that of a diabetic.

I know this information will be from experimental data and is hard to come by, but surely isn't impossible. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. PLEASE HELP!

[SueL]

I have recent diagnosis of Diabetes 2 and am also concerned about my urine.  I will be talking in a non-technical manner because I do  not have a medical background at all.  There appears to be small circles of "fat" or?? floating and the color is always moderately darker than what I am used to.  Wtih mdeication, my blood glucose levels have dropped markedly to the 110 to 135 range.  I was told that I might have kidney damage due to one reading on my last comprehensive blood test.  Yet I get no straight answers lately and the doctors want me to wait 3 months for another blood workup!!!  I'm trying to regain my health but have also read that ketones in the urine or tingling in hands and feet make exercise a "no-no".

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.  I sense that all is not well regarding the uring.  Thanks

[JDRF Team SGG]

One more comment to help you, for I realized that I did not offer any suggestions to you in my last comment, but only told you that I believe your premise is incorrect (that diabetics have different urine composition than non-diabetics) if you are assuming that this is true of controlled diabetics as well as uncontrolled diabetics. I apologize for not offering some practical research suggestions here. You might try continuing to do web research using www.alltheweb.com (my librarian believes that this is the most comprehensive search engine available) and searching on urinalysis in ketoacidosis. I did this and many articles come up which explain what happens in ketoacidosis, but I did not find actual numbers to compare with normal numbers. A better approach may be to call one of the respected local endocrinologists and explain that you are seeking this information (I assume you are a student?) and he may be able to give you numbers OR he may be willing to give you the number of the lab that he uses and you can speak with an actual lab technician who can tell you what numbers are considered normal and perhaps what kind of range he or she finds in diabetics who are obviously not controlled. But the average technician will not find any abnormal numbers in a well-controlled diabetic, so diabetes does NOT automatically mark the person with abnormal urninalysis numbers. If the person is well-controlled, his numbers should be within the normal range in all areas tested.

[JDRF Team SGG]

But what I am saying is that if the diabetic is well-controlled, there is NOT a clear difference in the urine composition of that diabetic and a non-diabetic. There is only a difference if the diabetes is uncontrolled. So you may try doing some searches on urine composition in keto-acidosis, which is what eventually happens if the bad control leads to ketosis. But in your paper or whatever you are writing, you would be incorrect if you make any kind of blanket statement that a diabetic's urine composition is different from a non-diabetic's. That is only the case if control is not good and the body is therefore not able to process the carbs that this person eats properly. That's when the sugars spill over into urine, and in worst cases, the ketones go high. Most diabetics are able to acheive good control and therefore when we have urinalysis done, the folks at the lab will find no difference between our urine and urine from a non-diabetic.

[Wiehan]

Very well, but where can I find this information then. I've looked everywhere! I've been to my local library, I've searched the net. I fully understand what you are saying, but there would be a clear difference. Is there anyway you can point me in the right direction?

[JDRF-Team-sgg]

Those of us who staff this site are not physicians, and so you may not be able to get the answers you seek on this website.

Furthermore, this kind of information is going to depend on the individual. Just because a person is diabetic does not automatically mean his or her urine composition is going to be different from a non-diabetic person. This depends on what kind of control the diabetic has on his or her glucose levels. If the person is tightly controlled and keeps glucose levels normal most of the time, the urine composition is going to be different from a non-controlled diabetic whose glucose is high or low as a general rule. Type 1 diabetes simply means that the pancreas doesn't function properly -- other effects on the body depend on how carefully that person keeps his or her glucose levels in the normal range. I don't believe you will find a one-size fits all answer to this question, for each individual controls his glucose levels differently.

Furthermore, each diabetic's control can change from week to week, depending on factors such as stress, viruses, allergies, activity, etc. The results are going to be different at different times as well as for different people. Many people with diabetes do not spill ketones if they are in good control. Perhaps you are seeking information on uncontrolled diabetics, for a controlled diabetic's urine composition should be normal.