so
hello everyone and welcome to cck live my name is elise phillips and i am an attorney
at chisholm chisholm and kilpatrick today i'm joined with two of my colleagues alex gamache
um an accredited claims agent with the firm and alex sacks an attorney with the firm today
we're going to be talking about va disability benefits associated with kidney conditions
so specifically we'll be talking about kidney disease and a diabetic neuropathy um
just a little bit of background on the kidneys the kidneys are two organs that
sit on either side of the spine and they work to filter your blood through the body they help
the body dispose of waste and turn that waste into urine and kidneys these specifically can impact
the body's ability to regulate blood pressure filter waste and can cause serious health problems
so why don't we get started with just talking about the types of kidney diseases
alex you want to get us started yeah so the first one we're going to go over is acute kidney failure
so acute kidney failure can occur when the kidneys become unable to filter blood in the body this
means that high levels of waste can accumulate in the blood this condition occurs commonly in people
who have already been hospitalized often those who are critically ill and need intensive care
there are multiple causes of acute kidney failure and some risk factors can increase a person's risk
of developing acute kidney failure for example having a condition that slows blood flow to
the kidneys or injuries that directly damage the kidneys may lead to acute kidney failure cancers
affecting the urinary system can also lead to acute kidney failure complications can accompany
acute kidney failure such as chest pain muscle weakness permanent kidney damage and even death
it is important to seek treatment as soon as possible for acute kidney failure
the second one we'll go over is diabetic nephropathy so diabetic nephropathy is most
often a complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes diabetes can damage blood vessel
clusters in the kidneys such damage can limit the kidneys ability to filter water from the blood
high blood pressure may also accompany this kidney condition and could increase
the damage to the kidneys diabetic nephropathy may not display symptoms in the early stages
but as the condition progresses the symptoms can severe it's important to seek treatment
for diabetic nephropathy if displaying symptoms a doctor will be able to perform
a urine test and or a blood test to determine if the kidneys are functioning successfully
the best way to prevent diabetic nephropathy is to treat diabetes with medication manage high blood
pressure and maintain a healthy weight and refrain from smoking thank you very much alec why don't
you tell us a little bit about another two chronic kidney disease and end stage renal failure sure
chronic kidney disease or chronic kidney failure refers to the gradual loss of use of the kidneys
this essentially means that the kidneys can no longer function or filter weights from the body
as they should so without successful filtration from the kidneys dangerous amounts of fluids
electrolytes and waste can build up and this causes the disease the symptoms of chronic kidney
disease may not become noticeable until the kidney function is significantly impaired importantly
chronic kidney disease can progress into end stage kidney failure or renal failure which is fatal
chronic kidney disease is most commonly caused when another condition or disability damages
the kidneys over time such as diabetes or high blood pressure and then end-stage renal failure
or end-stage kidney disease that occurs when chronic kidney disease reaches an advanced stage
this means that the gradual loss of kidney function has progressed to the point that
the kidneys can no longer function and meet the body's needs so a person with end-stage
renal failure will generally need dialysis or a kidney transplant in order to survive
now let's talk a little bit about how kidney disease is diagnosed
uh so it's typically diagnosed through measuring um basically through a blood test blood tests
will measure the glauclomular filtration rate and that can determine how well the kidneys are
functioning to filter your blood um other blood tests might include a bun test so a bun level is
typically a range between 7 and 20 if the kidneys are not functioning normally you see a higher bun
than that 7 to 20 range sometimes we'll also use urine tests um and that can be used to determine
if there's protein in a person's urine if there is a significant amount of protein
in the urine then it might indicate that a person is experiencing kidney disease
other tests might be an ultrasound or a ct scan to actually get pictures of the kidneys
and the results of these tests might be used to determine if there's any abnorm abnormalities in
size shape or position of the kidneys uh alex why don't you tell us a little bit about the kidney
condition treatments sure so the first one we're going to talk about is dialysis care
so dialysis care is a covered benefit under va's medical benefits package for veterans enrolled
in va health care this includes veterans who have been previously diagnosed with a kidney condition
um self-care dialysis performed by a patient or designated caregiver in their home is also an
alternative to an in-center dialysis if the veteran chooses va as their health care
provider so veterans who desire this option and who are medically acceptable candidates
must be provided with the necessary training medical equipment and supplies and home support
required to perform the home dialysis care the second is regarding kidney transplants
transplant services are available for those who are eligible and veterans should visit va
national transplant program page or contact their local vha dialysis facility for more information
great thank you very much um alec could you tell us a little bit about ratings that you
could get with kidney disease yeah the va rates kidney disease under the genital urinary system
the janitor urinary system includes both organs of the reproductive system and the urinary system
specifically kidney diseases are rated under regulation 38 cfr section four point one five one
one five a which rates the genital urinary system and the rating contemplates evaluations from
totally disabling one hundred percent down to zero percent 180 60 30 and zero and there's also
the option to become service connected secondary service connected for kidney disease if you're
service connected already for diabetes so diabetes is a disease in which a person requires insulin
because their body does not produce enough insulin or cannot use the insulin produced properly
insulin is the hormone that regulates the amount of sugar in the bloodstream at any given moment
and there are two common types of diabetes type 1 and type 2 type 2 is the leading one of the
leading causes of kidney disease and probably the more common of the two at least that we see in our
practice in order to file a claim for secondary service connection for kidney disease due to
service connected conditions such as diabetes veterans should submit to va a claims form a va
form 21 526 ez is the name of the form evidence of a current diagnosis of their kidney disease
and then medical evidence showing the relationship between the type 2 diabetes and the kidney disease
thank you both so much before we wrap up today i did just want to mention one other thing
if you were exposed to agent orange during your service and you did later develop diabetes
that's going to be another way for you to potentially qualify for service connection
um for a kidney disease so if you do believe that your agent orange
related diabetes has caused kidney disease you might qualify through secondary service connection
which is what alec was just telling us a little bit about um and that will wrap it up on kidney
disease today so thank you very much for watching um and please be sure to check out our blog
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