Just wanted to let everybody in on this...
If you have had to turn to lifelong dialysis to support your failing kidneys or if that decision is around the corner, results of a new study might be just what you need to hear.
The study, published in a recent issue of the Nephrology Nursing Journal, gives people living with kidney failure new hope and offers tips for how to live a happy life for many years to come in spite of the need for dialysis.
Researchers talked with people who had lived at least 15 years on dialysis in order to find out what tricks they have used to deal with their enduring medical problem.
The answer appears to lie in being actively involved in making decisions about your treatment and exercising your rights as a patient living with kidney failure and dialysis.
Here's a list of tips telling how 18 people say they have kept going. Hopefully, this advice will offer you some ideas on how to approach your life as well.
"Put on a happy face" to improve your relationships and smooth your frequent interactions with those caring for you, such as doctors, nurses, and dialysis technicians.
Report only symptoms that are most serious in order not to "bother" your healthcare providers.
Watch your caregivers "like hawks" to prevent mishaps and complications.
Seek out information and bring it back to your doctor to get treatments you think are right for you.
Confront your healthcare providers when you think you absolutely need to.
One of the people living with kidney failure and dialysis sums up her feelings very well.
"I say ... 'You are my doctor. You are in charge because you are my doctor. But when I talk to you, I want you to listen to me and give me the time, because I have been so many years in this business that I am very much in tune with my body.'"
Living With Kidney Dialysis
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