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Conquering Dialysis Fatigue

2024-03-28T20:57:50-04:00October 27th, 2022|Categories: Physical Health, Quality of Life, Staying Healthy, The Kidney Citizen|

By Patricia McCarley, RN, MSN, ACNP and Felicia Speed, PhD, LMSW Patients on dialysis may complain of an intense feeling of tiredness or fatigue with 60-97% of patients finding it as important a health outcome as mobility or pain. While it may be difficult to identify the exact cause, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) or end stage renal disease (ESRD) have several factors contributing to fatigue, including uremia, an increased level of waste products in the blood, and anemia, a decrease in red blood cell production. Anemia is a condition in which your body does not [...]

Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)

2024-03-28T20:58:46-04:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: The Kidney Citizen, What Causes Kidney Disease|

By Mirjana Dimitrijevic, M.D. and Keith A. Bellovich, DO There are two major forms of PKD: autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). ARPKD is uncommon and is typically diagnosed in infancy or in utero. Autosomal recessive means that the mutated gene must be present in both parents (carriers) with a 1 in 4 chance that a child will inherit an abnormal gene from both parents and have the disease. In ADPKD each child of an affected parent has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. ADPKD is the most common inherited kidney disease, characterized [...]

“You Want to Slit My Throat?”: What is a Parathyroidectomy?

2024-03-28T20:59:33-04:00December 30th, 2020|Categories: Fact Sheet, Physical Health, The Kidney Citizen|

By Keith A. Bellovich, DO and Mirjana Dimitrijevic, MD Parathyroidectomy is the surgical removal of one or more of your parathyroid glands. It stems from the Greek ektomia = "cutting out" which means to surgically remove something from your body. The parathyroid glands are made of tissue slightly larger than a single grain of rice, located around your Adam’s apple that produce parathyroid hormone (PTH) and control the levels of calcium in your body. PTH stimulates the conversion of calcidiol (25-hydroxyvitamin D) to calcitriol (activated vitamin D) within kidney tubular cells, which leads to the absorption of calcium in your diet [...]

Spanish Resources

2024-02-26T13:08:18-05:00June 2nd, 2020|

Muchos pacientes renales de habla hispana son bilingües, conversan y leen con  facilidad tanto en español como en inglés. Sin embargo, algunas personas prefieren o disfrutan más, el leer en español. Esta lista de recursos proporciona varias categorías de artículos, muchos tomados de nuestro boletín para pacientes, Kidney Citizen. No incluye absolutamente todo y se seguirán agregando nuevos recursos. Las categorías te ayudarán a elegir tu tema de interés para que fácilmente puedas compartir los artículos con tus familiares y amigos. Como siempre, puedes usar la herramienta Google Language para convertir nuestras otras páginas al español. Many Spanish-speaking [...]

Diagnosis of Pediatric Kidney Disease

2020-04-28T09:21:45-04:00November 26th, 2018|

Non-invasive Methods Physical Exam - During the exam, if the doctor sees swelling, more tests may be ordered. Medical History - After reviewing the family medical history, more tests may be ordered.   Urinalysis - is a quick urine strip test that may or may not include microscopic analysis. It can quickly detect abnormalities such as traces of blood that may indicate inflammation or irritation in the urinary tract.  Urinalysis can also detect an excess of white blood cells, which is most commonly associated with infections. Microalbuminuria - is an additional more in depth urinalysis that is used to detect [...]

Diagnosis of Kidney Disease

2020-04-28T09:21:36-04:00November 1st, 2018|

A few simple tests can alert you and your doctor to early kidney disease for additional testing or diagnose you with the disease. Even if you only have one of the risk factors, it is a good idea to get a screening at one of the free testing sites or at your doctor’s office. There will be minor differences from place to place, but the basic tests used are blood, urine, imaging or biopsy. At a screening your healthcare provider will use a quick assessment to determine what tests make the most sense. Blood Tests These will range from [...]

Advisory Council

2024-04-09T12:56:36-04:00October 11th, 2018|

In addition to its Board of Directors, the DPC Education Center has an Advisory Council made up of renal health professionals representing virtually every scope of practice including transplantation, nephrology, social work and pediatric nephrology. Our board, staff and volunteers are truly dedicated to empowering kidney disease patients through education and bring a diverse set of skills and backgrounds that help sustain our mission. Kathy Aebel-Groesch, MSW, LCSW is a Manager of Social Work Services at DaVita Kidney Care, where she develops education and training for staff and patients. A nephrology social worker since 1995, Kathy’s areas of interest and publication include depression [...]

General Symptoms of Mental Disorders

2020-04-27T22:09:44-04:00September 7th, 2018|

If you had a sore throat, swollen glands, and a fever you would tell the doctor your symptoms so they could treat you properly, allowing you to get better. It is easy to tell the doctor symptoms of strep throat, a stomach bug, or any common condition because most of us are familiar with the symptoms. However, not everyone knows the symptoms of mental conditions. It is important for you to become aware of signs and symptoms of mental conditions so you know when it is appropriate to seek additional help. Early treatment of mental disorders is important, especially [...]

Physical Health

2020-04-27T22:09:37-04:00May 22nd, 2018|

CKD and ESRD will  often affect your physical quality of life. You may experience such conditions as fatigue or being more tired than usual, toxin build up in your body, sleep difficulties, anemia, bone loss, and additional chronic conditions. You may find that once the diagnosis of CKD or ESRD is made, you will be able to work with your physician or nephrologist to improve some of the physical conditions that you are experiencing. Although people may fear going on dialysis, it also can bring relief and they start to feel better. It will be necessary to look at [...]

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