My Dialysis Journey


Book Description

Personal and professional firsthand experiences of life on hemodialysis are depicted in this weekly devotional. The reader is provided with helpful and informative education as they journey through the many challenges associated with chronic kidney disease. It serves as an insightful companion to a life on hemodialysis. It brings a spirit of healing through scripture, prayer, and journaling. A must-read for every dialysis patient! It covers everything. Reading this book can make life easier and the hemodialysis experience much more successful for patients. -Ronald Farmer Fresenius Kidney Care, In-center Dialysis patient Rich in information and insight and complemented with encouragement and inspiration. A wonderful companion for any hemodialysis patient or their loved ones. -Dorene Holcombe, CRNP Department of Nephrology-Johns Hopkins University This book embodies compassion and empowerment for the dialysis patient. Going through the journey of dialysis can be scary and trying at times, but this book illustrates that you are not alone. The organization of this book allows you to hear other patient experiences, reflect through journal entries, get accurate information, and rely on your faith to help you through the process of dialysis. Whether you are Christian or not, this book will be an asset to helping you understand the experience you have faced or will be facing in the future. -Daphne H. Knicely, MD, MEHP, FASN Assistant Professor of Medicine-Johns Hopkins University







Renal Diet Cookbook


Book Description

Better eating for healthier kidneys — the renal diet cookbook and meal plan. While a kidney disease diagnosis can be overwhelming, you're not alone. Nearly 26 million adults are affected by chronic kidney disease, but there is hope: your diet. In the Renal Diet Cookbook, renal dietician Susan Zogheib, MHS, RD, LDN provides a 28-day plan to establish long-term dietary changes to slow the progression of kidney disease. She knows it can be confusing to figure out which foods to eat and which to avoid. In her comprehensive renal diet cookbook, she details weekly meal plans featuring recipes that keep your potassium, sodium, and phosphorous levels in check. The Renal Diet Cookbook removes the mystery and stress of figuring out what foods to eat, with: Targeted weekly meal plans to preserve your kidney health Recipe modifications for dialysis patients Helpful FAQs about managing chronic kidney disease Recipes in the Renal Diet Cookbook include: Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast, Baba Ganoush, Roasted Beef Stew, Baked Mac and Cheese, Herb Pesto Tuna, Persian Chicken, Honey Bread Pudding, and much more! More than a recipe book, The Renal Diet Cookbook is your 28-day action plan to kick-start a kidney-healthy diet.




What You Must Know About Dialysis


Book Description

Dialysis can be a life-saving technique for the individual whose kidneys are unable to remove toxic waste and excess water from the blood. But over time, the process can become both physically debilitating and psychologically difficult. To address these issues, kidney specialist Dr. Rich Snyder has written a complete guide to dialysis. This book not only provides answers to common questions about the process, but also offers practical advice and strategies, as well as complementary options that can help you deal successfully with the many aspects of your treatment plan. The book begins with an introduction to dialysis—what it is, how it works, and what types are available. It then goes on to discuss the importance of blood tests, common medications and their complications, and associated disorders. Crucial information is included on natural supplements, lifestyle changes, nutrition, and effective coping tactics. For most people, dialysis is an unplanned and uncharted journey. In this book, Dr. Snyder lights the path ahead by combining compassion with rock-solid information that can make a real difference in your health.




The Kidney Sellers


Book Description

Rarely does an adventure story carry such social significance as in this groundbreaking ethnographic research book. Dr. Fry-Revere's exploration of the medical ethics of compensating organ donors takes us deep inside Iranian culture to provide insight and understanding into how Iran has solved its kidney shortage. The Kidney Sellers: A Journey of Discovery in Iran addresses the question: How it is possible that in Iran there is a waiting list to be a donor, while in the United States hundreds of thousands of people have died for lack of a kidney? Dr. Fry-Revere is the first Westerner ever to witness firsthand Iran's organ procurement system. She shares what she discovered in this fascinating book: part diary of living in a dangerous country, part ethnographic essay, and part tale of people working together to overcome death and financial ruin. The Kidney Sellers is a shocking, thought-provoking true story.




Coping with Kidney Disease


Book Description

A revolutionary program that can indefinitely postpone the need for dialysis If you've been diagnosed with kidney failure, this book could save your life. If you suffer from diabetes, hypertension, obesity, or any of a host of conditions that put you at risk for kidney disease, you owe it to yourself to read what is in this book. If you are among the 60,000 North Americans who go on dialysis each year, the information in this book could substantially improve your quality of life. In Coping with Kidney Disease, a leading expert tells you, in plain English, what you need to know to: * Understand kidney failure * Recognize early warning signs of kidney failure * Get a proper diagnosis * Talk with your doctors about it * Confidently evaluate treatment options * Take charge of your treatment * Delay dialysis or even avoid the need for it altogether The centerpiece of Coping with Kidney Disease is Dr. Walser's revolutionary 12-step program for avoiding dialysis. Based on treatments he has pioneered with his own patients at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the program calls for a supplemented low-protein diet supported by treatments to control blood pressure and correct high cholesterol. So effective has this breakthrough strategy proven to be that in many patients it actually worked to slow or arrest the progression of kidney failure to the end stage. Knowledge is power. Coping with Kidney Disease empowers you with what you need to take charge of kidney disease.




Vitamin D in Chronic Kidney Disease


Book Description

Vitamin D deficiency, circulating levels lower than 15 ng/ml, is an epidemic disease worldwide with more than a billion people suffering of it in the beginning of the 21-century. Besides its impact on mineral and bone metabolism, these low vitamin D levels are also associated with a diversity of non-skeletal complications, among them cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, cancer, tuberculosis, and immune system dysfunction. Chronic Kidney Disease is also a very common disease, affecting more than 10% of the world population, ranging from stage 1 to stage 5 before dialysis. Approximately 1% of the population in industrialized countries is affected by end-stage renal disease (ESRD), needing a renal replacement therapy either hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, and ultimately by renal transplantation. Those CKD patients are more susceptible to exhibit reduced vitamin D stocks. Consequently, more than eighty percent of CKD patients have either insufficient or deficient vitamin D levels for multiple reasons.




That Damn Dialysis


Book Description

Cledus is an attractive, hardworking, 50-year-old man with a sense of humor and whose world is turned upside down when he becomes one of 20.6 million Americans who are diagnosed with chronic kidney disease each year. His girlfriend leaves him, his mother tries to take over his life, and his financial security is severely compromised as his world shrinks down to monitoring the buzzing sound of his ""lifeline"" that confirms he is alive. Cledus’ story is told with compassion and humor that encompasses the uncertainty, fears, and frustration of day-to-day living while coping with this disease. Readers will share the journey with Cledus as he faces his challenges, and relates his frustration, his feelings of isolation and his courage as he deals with the life-sustaining confinement of a dialysis machine. Through a maze of medical examinations, physician consultations, and endless diagnostic tests, he learns about his disease, treatment options, and how to trust his heart.




Automated Peritoneal Dialysis


Book Description

While continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has been the standard peritoneal procedure since the seventies, different schedules of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) have emerged during the eighties. Today, APD is considered a valuable tool in the management of ESRD patients, together with CAPD and hemodialysis. However, despite its frequent use, APD has not yet been well assessed, and most pathophysiological and clinical studies on PD refer to CAPD. In this book, major experts in the field therefore discuss and evaluate the insights gained on APD up to now, presenting a comprehensive review of all experimental, technical and clinical aspects related to the various treatments grouped under the definition of APD. The recent developments presented are divided into four sections: membrane permeability, transport mechanisms and kinetic modeling applied to APD; prescription and adequacy of different APD treatment schedules; dialysis machines and solutions for APD, and, lastly, different clinical aspects such as the possibility to maintain APD program and residual renal function. Physicians involved in ESRD care, renal fellows and scientists both in the academic world and in the hospital setting will undoubtedly profit from this timely publication.




My Choice, My Destiny


Book Description

Kidney failure, dialysis, and transplantation are three words that most people hope never to hear in their lifetimes. Mina Gonzales wasnt so lucky. In her memoir, she shares the story of her experiences, a story about choices, destiny, and the ultimate sacrifice that gives life. She knows the pitfalls and setbacks one faces when dealing with the realities of dialysis, organ donation, and kidney transplantation. She recalls those here, along with her journey of personal discovery, family strength, and community involvement. She faced trials and tribulations during dialysis but ultimately emerged victorious, having survived a kidney transplant for more than fifteen years. Her story could be anyones story. Along with her experiences, she focuses on facing the truth about life and recognizing the gift that it is. For anyone facing kidney failure, Gonzales provides the information that you need to know. She addresses not only broad questions of life through the lens of her personal experiences, but also specific questions relating to living with kidney failure: What is dialysis? What types are there? How long is a session? My Choice My Destiny: My Kidney Transplant Journey is intended to be used as a daily spiritual guide to help get through the long hours of dialysis. It is an honest expression of hope that you too will find your donor angel and live a long and healthy life.