In Case of Illness—Communicate!

Communication is a sharing of ideas, thoughts, concerns, feelings. It’s an important tool in your “medicine chest.” Illness, especially chronic illness, can be discouraging and frustrating for all involved. So it’s essential to:

· Communicate with your doctor. Learn all you can about your condition and what to expect. Discuss your symptoms, how medicines are affecting you, the effects on your life. Be active in the process—don’t let others make important decisions for you, but be sure you have all the information you need. And listen! Be sure you understand the doctor’s instructions and explanations. If you don’t, tell him or her. Don’t be embarrassed because you don’t speak “medicalese.” Misunderstanding a doctor’s words can be quite dangerous.
· Communicate with others. Develop a “support group” of folks who will encourage and understand. This might include friends, people at your church, your family certainly, and perhaps an actual support group of people experiencing the same problem as you.
· Communicate with your spouse. Don’t be a lone ranger. Your illness and changes in your life have profound effects on those closest to you. You may not be able to work or to physically care for yourself. Talk honestly about feelings and concerns. And listen—communication involves more than letting your own feelings be heard. This is a high stress issue for you both and not the time to be super-sensitive about what is said. Put yourself in your spouse’s place and make an effort to understand his/her concerns. It’s my belief that all couples ought to share their preferences about end-of-life treatments with each other as well.*
· Communicate with your children. Don’t try to hide the truth from them. Not knowing is often more frightening than whatever the truth might be.

Keep the channels open to those around you. Isolating yourself increases the depression and anxiety that may come with illness.


*For information on these decisions, I recommend http://wings.buffalo.edu/faculty/research/bioethics/lwill.html. While some of the information may be out-of-date, the article presents a clear discussion of the issues involved.

March is National Kidney Month

You probably haven't thought about your kidneys lately--that is, unless you have a problem with them. So what's the big deal about kidneys, you ask.

Your kidneys filter your blood and remove some waste products from your body as well as excess fluid. These are the most familiar functions of kidneys to most folks. But that's not all...

• Kidneys have some control over your blood pressure
• Kidneys balance the fluids and electrolytes in your body
• Kidneys produce active vitamin D to help keep your bones healthy
• Kidneys help in producing red blood cells--the ones that carry oxygen to all the cells of your body

One in nine Americans has chronic kidney disease, meaning their kidneys don't work as well as they should. These folks feel sick because waste products and excess water aren't being filtered out. They may have high blood pressure, weakened bones, or anemia. They are at higher risk to develop heart disease. If chronic kidney disease isn't diagnosed early and treated, the kidneys can fail so that a person has to have dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive.

Dialysis means that your blood has to be filtered in some other way. The most common is to spend four hours a day, three days a week, connected to a dialysis machine. I've personally known a lot of people on dialysis, and for many of them, it's not very pleasant. They cope with upset stomachs, blood pressure problems, fatigue, trouble sleeping, and itching. They have to severely limit how much liquid they drink and the kinds of food they eat.

Kidney transplant is another way to treat kidney failure. Right now there are more than 70,000 Americans on the national waiting list to receive a kidney transplant. If a person has a relative or friend who is willing to donate a kidney to them, they must be healthy and matched with them in several ways. This donor can function with one kidney but may run some risks to his/her health. Kidney transplant patients take a number of medicines, mostly with side effects, for as long as their transplanted kidney continues to function. There are increased problems related to infection and cancer that go along with kidney transplant.

So doesn't it make sense to take good care of your kidneys?

Some people are more likely to develop chronic kidney disease. These include:

• Diabetics
• People with high blood pressure
• Older people
• People with a family history of kidney disease

If you're in one or more of these categories, talk to your doctor. There are some simple tests to check how well your kidneys are functioning. Work with your doctor to keep your diabetes and/or high blood pressure under good control.

For everyone--you may have kidney disease and have no symptoms at all. The earlier your doctor finds the problem, the more likely that something can be done about it.

For more information, here are some helpful websites:

http://www.kidney.org/kidneyDisease National Kidney Foundation website.

http://www.nkdep.nih.gov/resources/kidney_problems.htm National Kidney Disease Education Program home page

http://www.transplantliving.org Organ donation and transplant information for patients and families.

Copyright © 2007 Jane Benjey