#SlowItDownCKD 2012

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Your Kidneys in Your Mouth… Or Something Like That

I love it when readers ask me to cover specific topics. Today’s blog was written due to just such a request. Everyone needs to take care of their dental hygiene, but we – those with chronic kidney disease and/or diabetes –  have to do that in a very specific manner. DaVita, a dialysis center which also educates about CKD explains:  Photo by Evelina Zhu on Pexels.com “Both tooth decay and gum…

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It’s Good for Your Teeth, But…

Bet it didn’t take too much for you to figure out what I’m talking about. Yep, that’s it: fluoride. Just in case you forgot what that is, let’s take a little trip to my all time favorite dictionary for the last 50 years or so. That, of course, is the Merriam Webster: “a compound of fluorine” Even I have to admit that doesn’t help much. Let’s try this another way. I looked at the uses of…

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Women Only Today

I’ve heard the term ‘endometriosis’ tossed around for years and thought I understood what it was. Since I keep exploring anything that might affect the kidneys, I finally started wondering if endometriosis does. Surprise! It does, but only rarely. I found this fascinating. The logical place to start was the Endometriosis Foundation of America. I was certain I could find a definition of…

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I Know You  Want to, But You Can’t

I’m lucky. I get to speak to my New York daughter every day. The other day, she was telling me about a documentary she’d seen concerning altruistic donation. This is a grown women whose mother has been writing about chronic kidney disease for 14 years. Nima is very smart, yet she didn’t know if some of her medical conditions would prevent her from donating a kidney should she ever decide to do…

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Grey’s Anatomy and Your Kidneys

Without a doubt, I am addicted to Grey’s Anatomy, a hospital soap opera which deals with some pretty important topics. I’ve even gotten Bear addicted. I’ve watched all 21 seasons and eagerly await the next episode each week. It all started when the song of a girl my kids grew up with was used on the show. Ingrid Michaelson, I owe you one. The show has periodically dealt with kidney disease. In…

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It’s Time to Get Shot

When I had surgery to remove the pancreatic cancer tumor, the spleen went too [and the gall bladder, but that’s a story for another day]. The spleen is a small, but important, organ that: “Stores blood. Filters blood by removing cellular waste and getting rid of old or damaged blood cells. Makes white blood cells and antibodies that help you fight infection. Maintains the levels of fluid in…

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10/7    The Behind the Scenes Member of Your Healthcare Team

Many of us, possibly most of us, use medications to help with our chronic kidney disease. It’s been 14 years since I started writing about CKD, yet I’ve been remiss in exploring the pharmacist’s role on our healthcare teams. Then I met Dr. Soo Jang online… and I started thinking about the pharmacist’s role on our healthcare teams. She’s known as The Kidney Pharmacist on social media. So, I did…

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Another Surprising Connection

I often receive requests from readers to write about certain topics. Last week, a reader asked me if I’d ever written about chronic kidney disease and dementia. I checked the blog’s topic list, which is on the right-hand side of the blog post. Dementia was listed. I looked at each blog post that mentioned dementia, but that’s all each of them did – mention dementia. I’d never written a blog…

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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…