A diagnosis of kidney failure may be a time filled with overwhelming angst. It is important to know that you have choices and to take the opportunity to explore your options. Many patients automatically assume that a kidney transplant is the best option, but this is not necessarily true for everyone.
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Protecting Your Hemodialysis Vascular Access
There is an increased focus on vascular access in our health care delivery system. Several major government initiatives underway are focused on improving vascular access outcomes. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
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Sleep, Do You Dream About It?
The prevalence of sleep disorders in the United States is exceedingly high. Sleep disorders cause a high number of health problems, are associated with high healthcare costs and are frequently linked with cuts in quality of life that negatively impact social and work relationships. In particular, chronic kidney disease (CKD)
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Taking Charge of Self
Self-care, self-modalities, self-cannulation…what do these mean to you?
Are you familiar with the phrases above? Many of you are already practicing at least one of the three, but use a different term.
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The Genetics of Fabry Disease
What is Fabry disease?
Fabry disease is a rare inherited disorder first described by Drs. Johann Fabry and William Anderson in 1898. It is one of a large family of diseases known aslipid storage disorders. The enzyme that causes the disease was identified in the 1960s and since then much progress has been made in its treatment.
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What I Learned from PD
In November of 1997, my body started to change. I found myself tired all the time. I was only 17 years-old and working at a local restaurant. Little by little, I started to notice a change in my body. I started to gain weight; at least that’s what I thought.
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Who Needs An Advance Health Care Directive
It was a sunny day at the beach in Southern California. Allana and Trent were paddling out to enjoy their first wave of the day. In an instant everything changed. A wave knocked Allana off her surfboard. The board hit her on the back of her head. She was unconscious. She began breathing in salt water. As her lungs filled, she sank.
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Is Home Dialysis An Option For You? Should It Be
When you started dialysis were you told about the option of treating yourself at home either with an artificial kidney or with peritoneal dialysis? A survey of more than 1,000 patients showed only about 12 percent were offered the option of home hemodialysis.
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Nocturnal Dialysis Offers Better Health While You Sleep
Imagine an in-center hemodialysis program that doesn’t intrude on your daily schedule, delivers better results and makes you feel better than conventional dialysis. That’s nocturnal dialysis.
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Pregnancy and Renal Replacement Therapy
In order to understand why pregnancy in the setting of renal replacement therapy constitutes a significant medical event, it helps to understand how pregnancy affects women with normal kidney function. During pregnancy blood vessels become dilated leading to lowered blood pressure.
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