Do diabetics not get diabetic nephropathy as long as their kidneys are functioning normally? The answer is no, the terrible thing about diabetic nephropathy is that it erodes your kidneys “unknowingly”. Diabetic nephropathy has a long course, generally divided into five stages: Stage 1 and Stage 2 patients do not have any kidney symptoms, blood and urine routine tests are also normal. If the blood sugar can be controlled at this time, the function of kidney can be stable for a long time. Stage 3 is called early diabetic nephropathy, and patients also do not have any symptoms, but “microalbumin” can be detected in the urine. At this time, medication can reduce the microalbuminuria in the urine and even stop the progress of the disease. The fourth stage is called the clinical diabetic nephropathy stage. At this stage, protein can be found in the urine and the patient may have generalized edema. At this time, comprehensive treatment measures should be adopted to fully control the progression of diabetic nephropathy, otherwise the function of the kidney will deteriorate progressively. Stage V is called end-stage renal failure, which is commonly known as uremia and requires dialysis treatment or kidney transplantation. Therefore, patients with early stage of diabetes should also control their blood glucose and undergo appropriate treatment.