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Finding Your Voice – The Importance of Advocacy

2024-03-28T20:58:51-04:00December 1st, 2021|Categories: eNews, Quality of Life, Support|

Including the patient voice in healthcare is something that most people don’t have to think about. You realize how essential it is though if you are sick - something that Christina Fuhrman experienced firsthand when she got an infection. After being in the hospital for seven months, her doctor thought that the best course of treatment would be to remove her colon; however, Christina was worried about the impact on her quality of life. By doing her own research, she learned about another, possibly risky, treatment and decided to seek a second opinion when her doctor said she did not have [...]

Understanding Depression Throughout Your Life

2024-03-28T20:58:52-04:00November 10th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Mental Health|

As people grow and change throughout the different stage of their lives, so do their signs of depression. The commonly thought of signs, such as feeling sad or hopeless, can appear in people experiencing depression in every age group, but there are additional signs to lookout for in family and loved ones. Children – some tell-tale signs in children can be a loss of interest in previously loved activities, difficulty with family members, problems at school (including socializing), and changes in diet or weight. Teenagers – teens may exhibit the same signs as children, but more unique to this age group [...]

Sifting Through the Many Options for Integrative Chronic Pain Treatment

2024-03-28T20:58:57-04:00October 8th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Medication, Mental Health, News & Events, Physical Health, Quality of Life, Staying Healthy, Stress Management|

For the more than 50 million Americans who experience chronic pain every day, trying to create a treatment plan can be an exhausting battle. Due to the complex nature and differences in individuals’ pain, it is usually most effect to have an integrated or multidisciplinary treatment plan, which is the use of different methods of treatments together in order to manage/reduce pain. Although there are a wide range of integrated treatments that exist, multidisciplinary specialists are hard to come by, causing most of the research to fall onto the patient. While it is still important to work closely with your doctor [...]

We’re Masking Up Again, But is a Cloth Mask Good Enough?

2024-03-28T20:58:58-04:00October 5th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Mental Health, News & Events, Quality of Life, Staying Healthy|Tags: |

During the start of the pandemic, when both surgical masks and N95s were in short supply, cloth masks began to make an appearance. Even when the supply of disposable masks began to improve and were more widely available to the public again, cloth masks continued to grow in popularity due to their ability to be personalized to the wearer. Like a certain sports team? You could find a mask with their logo. Want everyone to know your affinity for gardening? Wear a mask printed with different plants and flowers on it. Now that we are having to mask back up due [...]

For Dialysis Patients: Update on COVID-19, Delta Variant and Vaccination

2024-03-28T20:58:59-04:00September 4th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Physical Health, Staying Healthy|Tags: |

Written by: Alan S. Kliger, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, and Co-Chair, American Society of Nephrology (ASN) COVID-19 Response Team. COVID-19 continues to be a dangerous infection for dialysis patients. Here are some facts every patient should know: Why should I get vaccinated now if I’ve been waiting so far? The vaccines clearly protect dialysis patients, particularly by greatly reducing hospitalizations, complications and death from COVID-19 infection. If you’ve been waiting to see if the vaccine is safe, there have now been hundreds of millions of people vaccinated, with almost no severe complications from the vaccine. Did [...]

Anxiety and Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T20:59:00-04:00August 30th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Stress Management|Tags: |

By Kathy Aebel-Groesch, MSW, LCSW It will come as no surprise that anxiety has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (not to mention the political and social climate).  Even those of us who have never experienced anxiety may be finding ourselves affected. Anxiety can affect how we function in daily life--imagine yourself in a situation where you have felt extremely anxious… How did you feel physically? How clearly could you think or concentrate? How thoroughly could you have learned important information or skills? The interdisciplinary care team at the dialysis clinic is there to support you if anxiety could be affecting your [...]

Mind Over Matter – How Mindfulness Can Help Improve Both Mental and Physical Health

2024-03-28T20:59:05-04:00June 22nd, 2021|Categories: eNews, Mental Health, Physical Health, Stress Management|

With a million things all going on at once in our lives – work, family, friends, school, health, news, etc., it’s hard to think about focusing on just a few things at a time, let alone just one. However, it is possible to train yourself to focus in just on what you are thinking or how you are feeling in the present moment (without judgement); this is mindfulness. While not a new concept, mindfulness has been gaining more attention in today’s society as a way to increase awareness between the mind and body and to help improve concentration. Additionally, it also [...]

New Online Course for Parents and Caregivers of Children with Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T20:59:07-04:00June 2nd, 2021|Categories: eNews, Mental Health, Online Courses, Support|

The DPC Education Center is proud to announce a new free course, in partnership with the American Psychological Association, for parents and caregivers of children living with kidney disease. It explores the changes that happen within families due to a chronic illness and offers tips to help your family cope and thrive. Check out the Course

Staying Safe in Summer Heat

2024-03-28T20:59:08-04:00June 1st, 2021|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Physical Health|

It is finally summertime! After a long winter of being cooped up indoors, it’s great to finally be able to go to the park, the beach, or even just a nice little walk around your neighborhood. As temperatures around the country are rising though, it’s important to be mindful of the risk of heat-related illness, especially if you have kidney disease or another health condition. Hyperthermia is a illness that happens when your body becomes overheated. Mild cases can cause muscle cramps or swelling in the feet, whereas a more serve form, heat exhaustion, means that your body can no longer [...]

Ask Your Nephrologist: What is happening to my skin and nails?

2024-03-28T20:59:08-04:00May 19th, 2021|Categories: Dialysis, Kidney Transplant, Physical Health, The Kidney Citizen|

Keith A. Bellovich, DO There is a broad range of skin manifestations when having to depend on dialysis. Skin disorders can affect a patient's quality of life and can negatively impact their mental and physical health. Itching (uremic pruritus) is by far the most common complaint that patients suffer. But dry skin (xerosis cutis) and skin discoloration are also common complaints in patient with severe loss of kidney function. Dry skin is caused by reduction in the size of sweat glands and atrophy of sebaceous or oil producing glands. Dry skin increases the susceptibility to infections and this is aggravated by [...]

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