#SlowItDownCKD 2012

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Let Us Hear Your Voice

You know of my passion for spreading awareness of chronic kidney disease for the last 13 years or so. After all, you read the blog every week. Years ago, at a meeting for those involved in dispersing awareness, I met Valen Keefer electronically… and met her again at another computer gathering… and again several times over. When Valen launched her podcast with Cristen, I was impressed. I knew she…

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The Odd Couple

No, I’m not referring to the television series starring Jack Lemon or the one starring Matthew Perry. I’m not even referring to the original Broadway play, movie, or take off with female leads. I won’t be giving you the details of each because, while interesting, this is not the odd couple I’m writing about. The odd couple I’m interested in is rheumatoid arthritis and chronic kidney disease.…

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Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Them Dry Bones

Thank you to the Johnson brothers, James Weldon and J. Rosamond, for writing the melody to this spiritual. While the song is based on a Biblical quote, it’s also used in teaching anatomy. And today, to introduce osteoporosis in chronic kidney disease. Ready for a definition of osteoporosis? Hello, my favorite dictionary for the last 70 years, the Merriam Webster: “a condition that affects…

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The Ayes, I Mean Eyes, Have It

I just had my annual eye exam. I count it as extra important since I’ve had both Lasik and cataract surgery. Maybe I should explain those two before proceeding. Of course, I turned to my favorite dictionary of all time, the Merriam-Webster, for both definitions: “Lasik – a surgical operation to reshape the cornea for correction of myopia [Gail here: that’s nearsightedness.], farsightedness, or…

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More Alphabet Soup: AKI

Most of us know that AKI is the initials for Acute Kidney Injury. Great! Now let’s learn what we can about that. Here’s the definition of acute from my very first kidney book back in 2010, What Is It and How Did I Get It? Early Stage Chronic Kidney Disease: “Extremely painful, severe or serious, quick onset, of short duration; the opposite of chronic.” I’m pretty sure after 13 years of reading…

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Kidneys and Genetic Testing

My upcoming cancer scan has brought up quite a bit for me. Genetic testing is one of those things. I did have genetic testing for cancer. That got me to thinking about the possibility of genetic testing for the kidneys. I soon discovered it’s not a possibility anymore; it’s a fact. Oh, thank goodness! Let’s see what we can learn about this. Remember, I’m learning along with you. The first thing…

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More Kidney Concerns

I’ve previously explained that things crop up in my mind just before I wake. Usually, it’s the solution to some problem I couldn’t figure out or the answer to a question that I didn’t know how to answer. This morning it was just two words: kidney cancer. Let’s not get nervous now. I don’t have it nor do I personally know anyone who does. But I had been wondering what to write about today.…

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Let’s Get to the Bottom of This

You may have heard the expression, “It’s all in your head.” Today, we’re going there and in the other direction: your feet. More specifically, today’s blog is about your feet, neuropathy, and podiatry. You all know I had pancreatic cancer and chemotherapy helped me survive. Here’s a shocker: chemotherapy is poison. As such, it does damage to different parts of your body in addition to reducing or…

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Hot! Hot! Hot!

If you’re tired of reading about climate change, better rethink that opinion. You have chronic kidney disease. Climate change affects CKD. I live in Arizona. Our temperatures the last week or so have gone up as far as 117 degrees. I haven’t seen my backyard in weeks. It’s just too hot to go out. I wanted some kind of scientific definition of climate change that I could understand so I turned to…

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There is a Best Time and More

Being chronic kidney disease patients, we take a lot of blood tests. They offer so much information to us and our nephrologists. I hadn’t realized there was a best time to take a blood test until I started fooling around on my computer. I’m in caretaker role today since Bear had surgery yesterday. So, this was my way of escaping my chores and his while he rested. Color me surprised. I try to…

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Trump’s is Not the Only Trial

To me, it was a logical jump from the legal actions for and about kidneys that I wrote about last week to kidney disease research, and then to the clinical trials involved in this research. Of course, the fact that there’s something in the news about the former president’s trials daily helped a bit, too. That’s why today’s blog is about clinical trials. [Nifty thought process here.] The American…

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Getting A Little Political

As a young woman, I was proud to consider myself non-political. I was working toward changes, not to further a political party. As I matured, I began to realize that life is political. There was a strong connection between the changes I sought and the political parties working toward these changes. I have noticed on social media that kidney life is also political. You’ve probably seen these…

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Two for One

I’ve just discovered that a family member has lupus nephritis. I need to remind myself what that encompasses. Looks like you’re coming on this quest with me this week. Just in case you’ve forgotten what lupus nephritis is, Doctors Health Press is here to help us out: “Lupus Nephritis  Lupus nephritis is inflammation of kidneys caused by the autoimmune disease known as systemic lupus…

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6/10   Not Fair!

One of my buddies texted to tell me that he is taking Ozempic. He had lost 40 pounds and is off insulin. In addition, his kidney numbers are back to normal. It’s having a positive effect on his heart, too. I want these results. I want to take this miracle drug, too. But I can’t. According to Healthline, “’It should be avoided in many populations, including but not limited to people with a…

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Yes, Sir! No, Sir!

You probably know already, since I’ve mentioned it numerous times, my husband Bear is a veteran. As an older [not old] man, his eGFR has slowly lowered. It’s normal for that to happen. But it got me to thinking about what the Department of Defense’s current attitude toward the kidneys might be since I haven’t written about this in quite a few years. My first attempt at finding out was to hit The…

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A Different Kind of Hero

Here in the US, today is Memorial Day. For most of the past 13 years, I have paid tribute to this day, its origins, and the celebrations of our fallen soldiers. This year, we’re going to do something a little different. I’m sure you remember Leesa Thompson who guest blogged last year. She is highly involved with helping others find kidney donors since she herself is a kidney recipient. This is…