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8 Things About Living with A Chronic Disease That Others May Not Understand

2024-03-28T21:00:57-04:00August 27th, 2019|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Physical Health, Stress Management|

"If you see us 'enjoying' ourselves, it doesn’t mean we aren’t sick." This is one of a handful of ideas shared by a woman who has lived with a chronic illness for the past 12 years. She decided to create a blog to share her experience and spread awareness about others that may be going through something similar. If there are friends or family in your life that are having trouble relating to what you are going through, it may be helpful to share this article with them. Or perhaps it will inspire you to put your thoughts on paper and [...]

Caregivers for People with Chronic Illness

2024-03-28T20:59:08-04:00May 31st, 2019|Categories: eNews, Fact Sheet, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Stress Management, Support|

By Amy Walters, PhD, Licensed Psychologist Below is a summary handout about understanding and helping the caregivers in our life. What We Know About Caregivers Report feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and lonely Report high levels of stress and depressed symptoms Are tired and sleep deprived Have higher rates of illness (2x higher) but seek medical attention less often Often neglect their own self care Experience more relationship conflicts Feel a sense of loss – independence, freedom, dreams for the future Attitude matters – those who believe they are not effective have higher levels of stress and depression Strong social support systems [...]

Free Monthly Webinars/Conference Calls

2024-03-28T20:59:20-04:00March 21st, 2019|Categories: About DPC Ed Center, Costs for Treatment, Diagnosis of Kidney Disease, Early Intervention, Employment, Home Hemodialysis, Humor and Laughter, Immunizations, In-Center Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Lifestyle, Medication, Mental Health, Music, Nutrition, Pediatric Kidney Disease, Peritoneal Dialysis, Physical Health, Sex and Intimacy, Stages of Kidney Disease, Stress Management, Support, Symptoms, The Kidney Citizen, Webinar, What Causes Kidney Disease|

The DPC Education Center invites people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), end-stage renal disease (ESRD), their families and professional staff to join us for our monthly webinars. You can also join by phone or view the recordings online at a later time. The webinars are planned for the fourth Thursday of the month at 2 p.m. Eastern time zone, except for November and December when they will be held during the third week of the month. You can download monthly webinar fliers to share with others and/or register for webinars at www.dpcedcenter.org/news-events/education-webinars. Join by phone by calling 1-877- 399-5186 and [...]

25 Ways to Find Joy and Balance During the Holidays

2024-03-28T20:59:45-04:00December 1st, 2018|Categories: Blog, Fact Sheet, Mental Health, Stress Management|

By Steve Wilson (download PDF) Feeling down during the holidays can be tough, especially since you seem so out of step with the world. Everyone else seems to be beaming, ruddy-cheeked, bursting with holiday spirit. You’re feeling wretched and exhausted. But here’s something to cheer you up the next time you’re stuck in a room of revelers at a holiday party. Plenty of them are probably unhappy, too. Recommendations Related to Depression Are You at Risk for Depression? Knowing what factors increase your risk of having major depression may help you get the best medical help when you need it. Depression [...]

Everything You Need to Know About Beating the Holiday Blues and Post-Holiday Let Down

2024-03-28T20:59:53-04:00November 1st, 2018|Categories: Blog, Mental Health, News & Events, Quality of Life, Stress Management|

By Steve Wilson (download PDF) Emotionally Loaded Months You probably can guess why October, November and December are called the “emotionally loaded” quarter of the year. The post-holiday period has emotional perils, too, but probably not what you think they are. What can you do to have an easier time of it all? To do a really good job of managing holiday stresses, you will need some sense of control, some sense of predictability, some optimism, and some solid practical strategies. The information in this article will help you be smarter about holiday stress, so you can beat it before it beats [...]

Bad News for Individuals with Kidney Disease That Use Marijuana

2024-03-28T20:59:55-04:00October 27th, 2018|Categories: eNews, News & Events, Physical Health, Quality of Life, Stress Management, Treatment|

Individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) that use marijuana may lose function of their kidneys more rapidly than non-users, as found in one study. Researchers compared the mean annual rate of decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) among the two groups of participants. The eGFR was 3.22 mL/min/1.73 m2 among marijuana users and 1.42 mL/min/1.73 m2 among non-users. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measures kidney function effectiveness by documenting how well the kidneys are filtering the blood. Scientists did not observe a decline in kidney function among individuals that use marijuana and do not have CKD. Read the full article.

The Waiting Game: How to Endure the Transplant Wait List

2024-03-28T21:01:08-04:00September 1st, 2017|Categories: Fact Sheet, Kidney Transplant, Mental Health, Stress Management, Support, The Kidney Citizen|

By Kirsten Weir If you are on the organ transplant waiting list (or hoping to be listed soon), you have probably experienced all kinds of emotions: Excitement, nervousness, anxiety, fear, joy, guilt. Maybe all in one day! The average time spent on the waiting list for a kidney varies from region to region. But for most patients, that wait is measured in years, not months. As the years go by, some people go about their daily lives and forget they are waiting for a life-changing call. Others feel mounting anxiety and hopelessness. All of those feelings are completely normal, says Heather [...]

Next Education Seminar: Depression and Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T21:01:19-04:00May 3rd, 2017|Categories: eNews, Mental Health, Stress Management, Webinar|

Life with a chronic illness can be a bumpy road with many hurdles to navigate along the way. Emotional ups and downs due to stress are common among people undergoing dialysis treatments. If you find yourself experiencing issues of depression, anxiety, fear and anger, you are having a normal reaction to stressful circumstances. And you are not alone in this. Yet, despite being surrounded by other people, a sense of isolation may arise. There are ways to address these normal feelings. This webinar will present some guidelines for coping with the array of emotions common to life with dialysis and chronic [...]

Celebrating Special Days or Holidays

2024-03-28T21:01:35-04:00December 3rd, 2016|Categories: Lifestyle, Stress Management, The Kidney Citizen|

By Kathi Niccum, EdD, Education Director, DPC Education Center Holidays and special days, such as birthdays and anniversaries, occur throughout the year. You may have recently celebrated Thanksgiving and are looking forward to the December holidays. Initially, though, some people new to or struggling with dialysis may find it challenging to celebrate and to feel the joy of the day. They may worry about how to eat a healthy, kidney-friendly meal if visiting friends or relatives or eating at a restaurant. They may find that they get tired easily and have to figure out how to fit dialysis into their special [...]

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DPC Education Center

1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1230 Washington, DC 20036

Phone: 1-855-291-3725

Fax: 1-888-423-5002

Web: Dialysis Patient Citizens Education Center

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