People who receive hemodialysis, cleansing of their blood of toxins because their kidneys can’t, spend hours at a time, usually several days a week in a dialysis unit at a local hospital or clinic.
On one hand, having the dialysis is a good thing, because it keeps them alive. On the other hand, dialysis is very difficult on the body and people often take at least a day to get over the exhaustion brought on by the treatment.
For people who are able to work or go to school, having dialysis digs into their productive time, their valuable time. So, is doing …read more

One of the most devastating things about diabetes is that in getting this one disease, it puts stress on your entire body. Simply by being diabetic, your body can be attacked by a multitude of other diseases, like kidney failure.

Diabetes is hard on anyone, but the elderly have an especially difficult time because of the maintenance required to keep the disease in check. Now, a new study suggests that elderly diabetics also have a “higher level of residual renal function when they start dialysis,” which means more are starting dialysis than ever before. In addition, they generally …read more

As a cardiac nurse, I see many procedures and types of treatments that question “ethics”. You know that whole quantity or quality? The thing is there is so much technology and advances in medications that we can keep a very sick heart going for a very long time. Is that to say that very same heart is effectively working without discomfort, compromising one’s lifestyle, hospitalizations and every day worries? No, not at all.
Researchers found that 16 percent of these patients reported refusing one or more medical or surgical interventions recommended by their physician. The most frequently …read more