Self Help Health Guides : Kidney Dialysis

Contents:

Preface
Acknowledgments

Part 1: The Basics

Questions 1-11 cover basic information regarding the kidneys and their functions, including:
 • What do the kidneys do?
 • Where are the kidneys located?
 • Can kidney disease be inherited?

Part 2: Dialysis

Questions 12-28 review general notes on dialysis, such as:
 • What is dialysis?
 • Can children be treated with dialysis?
 • What will happen if I skip a dialysis treatment?

Part 3: Preparing to Begin Dialysis

Questions 29-43 provide an introduction to the dialysis procedure and the medical personnel involved:
 • What is a nephrologist?
 • How does my doctor know I need dialysis?
 • What is a shunt or access for dialysis?

Part 4: Living Well on Dialysis

Questions 44-56 focus on continuing your lifestyle, with topics such as:
 • Since beginning dialysis, I feel tired all the time. Will this improve with time?
 • Can dialysis patients be sexually active?
 • Can I travel as a dialysis patient?

Part 5: Nutrition on Dialysis

Questions 57-66 offer information regarding your diet and nutritional needs while you are on dialysis:
 • Why do I have to watch what I eat?
 • What is a renal diet?
 • Why are potassium and phosphorus so important?

Part 6: Complications on Dialysis

Questions 67-77 present methods of coping with day-to-day problems associated with dialysis, such as:
 • What should I do if I develop bleeding from my access?
 • Why does my blood pressure fall too low during my hemodialysis treatment?
 • Why do I feel weak after my hemodialysis treatments?

Part 7: Dialysis: A Healthy Lifestyle

Questions 78-89 address ways by which you can maintain a healthy lifestyle while receiving treatments:
 • How can I lose weight as a dialysis patient?
 • Can dialysis patients participate in sports?
 • How will being a kidney dialysis patient affect my teeth?

Part 8: Getting Off Dialysis

Questions 90-100 provide information on ending dialysis as well as facts on kidney transplants, including:
 • Can I recover my kidney function?
 • What will happen if I decide to stop my dialysis treatments?
 • How can I get a kidney transplant?

Appendix
Glossary
Index

About the Author: 

Lawrence E. Stam, MO, is a native New Yorker who graduated from Columbia University and the SUNY/Stony Brook School of Medicine. The material in Kidney Dialysis comes from his clinical experiences at the New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, where he is the Associate Chief of Nephrology, and at the Rogosin Brooklyn Dialysis Unit that is located at the New York Methodist Hospital.

Dr. Stam is an active member of the Rogosin Institute, which is a world-renowned, not-for-profit medical treatment and research institution for kidney disease, including dialysis and transplantation, in New York City. Dr. Stam is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Well-Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. His academic interests include teaching students and medical residents. He recently co-authored a chapter on Acute and Chronic Renal Failure in the American College of Physicians" ACP Manual of Critical Care. He is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Nephrology.