The underlying problem of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is the formation of
cysts, or fluid filled sacs, in the kidneys. Symptoms tend to occur as the cysts
reach a size or number that damages kidney function. About 50% of patients with
this disease will develop kidney failure by the age of 60. In this case, you may
experience extreme fatigue, weakness and a generalized ill feeling. What are the
causes of these discomforts then?
"Being tired" may mean something different to each of person, so it is
difficult to define "extreme fatigue". Usually, extreme fatigue is characterized
by the inability to concentrate, enjoy normal activities, and in some
circumstances, even sleep at all. This is certainly a bad condition to be in,
and you will find that your energy is sapped and you have virtually no zest for
life.
Our body needs oxygen to generate energy, conditions that disrupt the
delivery of oxygen to body tissues often lead to serious fatigue.
In advanced stages of PKD, patients often present anemia, a common state
featured by an abnormally low number of red blood cells circulating in the
bloodstream. This frequently causes fatigue, and the level is in proportion to
the severity of the anemia. Extreme fatigue may appear among people with a
markedly low red blood cell count.
How does anemia occur in PKD patients?
The kidneys release a hormone called the erythropoietin that helps the bone
marrow make red blood cells. In people with advanced PKD, the kidney function
has been mostly damaged due to multiple enlarged kidney cysts, thus decreasing
the production of erythropoietin, and in turn diminishing the production of red
blood cells, causing anemia. Severe anemia leads to the occurrence of extreme
fatigue.
Since the fundamental cause of extreme fatigue in patients with PKD is due to
kidney damage, we must find an effective therapy to shrink the cysts, repair the
damaged renal intrinsic cells and tissues, and recover the kidney function. In
this way, your discomfort will disappear naturally.
