Articles and Information: Professionals > Hopeful Living
Anemia and CKD: What Every Patient Should Know
Patients with chronic kidney disease often suffer from anemia. Anemia is a condition characterized by low numbers of circulating red blood cells. This condition is easily detected by measuring hemoglobin in the blood. How low should the hemoglobin be before the patient with chronic kidney disease experiences symptoms depends on the severity of anemia and the activity level and tolerance of the patient.
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Back to the Future: Returning to Old Ways of Dialysis - With Improvements Of Course! (Podcast)
Mike Paget, who has been in the renal community for thirty years and serves as RSN Director of Operations, reminisces about dialysis and dialysis machines in 1977 in England for which he provided service and maintenance as an electrical engineer . Home hemo and overnight dialysis were the norm back then in this country with socialized medicine. Mike tells some fascinating stories about the early treatment modalities along with a description of the English version of “Universal Healthcare”—something to hear about on Election Day!
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Gout and CKD - A New Era of Hope
It was not until 1962 that scientists discovered that gout is caused by the excess accumulation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in the tissues surrounding joints. Uric acid (also known as urate) forms in the body as the natural process of protein break down. Normal levels are less than 7.0 mg/dL. Many people who have chronic kidney disease experience their first attack as their kidney function progressively declines due to reduced urinary excretion of uric acid.
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Health Promotion, Disease Prevention, and Chronic Kidney Disease
These are but a few ways you can maintain a healthy lifestyle. As you take a more active role in your own healthcare, the benefits of increased energy, general well-being, and a potentially longer life are all possible.
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Holding Infinity in Their Palms: An Ode to Dialysis Patients
Time spent on dialysis is long, 12-to-15 hours a week, plus transportation between home and the dialysis unit; or setting and cleaning the machine if they perform the treatment at home. And, frequently, they feel tired and fatigued after treatment because of the rapid shift in body chemical composition and change in fluid volume. Many of them are in the hospital a lot of times for repeated infections or clotting of the bloodline, or for heart disease and shortness of breath.
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Just an Annoyance: Confronting the Dialysis 'Baggage'
When faced with a chronic disease, every person reacts differently. Becoming “the patient” is never as simple as lying down and gracefully submitting to whatever treatment is recommended. Entering the world of ongoing illness, we drag along a conglomeration of baggage—upbringing, past experience, relationships, culture, religion, and fears.
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My Experiences in a Renal Unit During the Vietnam War
During the past 40 years, vast improvements in dialysis techniques and practice have been made, greatly enhancing the management of acute and chronic renal failure. Further understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms of acute renal failure has been achieved, and work still progresses in this field. However, to the present time, it remains clear that, when dealing with combat casualties, the aim of paramount importance must be the prevention of acute renal failure (ARF) rather than treatment of established, or chronic, renal failure.
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Of Loss and Transcendence: Stories From "Healing Through Times of Trouble" (Part One)
Illness awakens an army of ancient thugs: family troubles, old hurts, guilt, fear, resentment of those in power, and our own powerlessness. When everything else has failed, decisions are sometimes delegated to an Ethics Consultation. The goal is to have those who consider themselves expert--nurses, doctors, therapists, social workers, chaplain, lawyers even and those facing the decision, [including] family, friends, and the patient--figure out what's "best."
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Of Loss and Transcendence: Stories From "Healing Through Times of Trouble" (Part Two)
Once we recognize that we all come to this work to heal one another, that we all are being taught and guided by those for whom we care, we establish true connection. At that moment, we are reunited with hope, support, and pleasure.
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Redsense is Ready to Make a Difference
In a world full of alarms and monitors, finally there is a FDA approved device to help detect the worrisome, potentially life threatening complication of dialysis, Venous Needle Dislodgement (VND) at home.
For those patients who choose the flexibility and freedom of home dialysis, the Redsense alarm is a welcome piece of mind. Few, if any, other serious complications of dialysis cause more concern than the unpredictable nature of a VND. It's known that it can occur without warning even under the best situations. Patients are educated on precautions that can be used to reduce the likelihood of having one, but the fact remains, it can't be accurately predicted.
Now that Redsense is available for home use, dialysis patients now have an additional layer of security to help ease their minds.
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Spring Fling: Earning Your Dialysis Dollars
"Have you earned your Dialysis Dollars today?"
That was a common question heard throughout the Jane Phillips Dialysis Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. We began this motivational program for our patients in November 2006. The social worker and dietitian worked together to develop a way to involve patients in their own healthcare and well-being. Our goal was to get as many patients as possible interested in their lab work and attitude in an effort to improve their health, increase happiness, and encourage hope.
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Two Trees in the Forest: A patient's perspective of quality of life.
I wrote a speech a few years back, based on a parable about “Susie,” a fictional character who lived with a chronic illness most of her life. She was in search of the key to a loving relationship. Susie exhausted all angles, to no avail. It seemed no one had the key to lasting love. She talked to her friends and family, and read many books, but nowhere did she find just the right words. Then one day, an old woman approached her as she took a break on her hike through the hills. “What is your problem, my child?” the woman asked, squatting down next to Susie. “Why do you sit with such a long face?”
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What is the Role of the Healthcare Professional in Linking Kidney Patients With Advocacy Opportunities?
As healthcare professionals, we know how important it is to advocate for the needs of dialysis patients. Patients, too, want to advocate for their own needs and should be the most influential advocates for patients with kidney disease because they are the ones directly affected by the disease and the public programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, that fund the majority of their care.
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