KidneyTalk - An Online Radio Show By Renal Support Network

Jim Dineen is no stranger to adversity. His quick wit and outlook on life is contagious. In this interview, Jim explains some of the obstacles he has undergone while living with kidney disease and provides tips and strategies from his new book that was recently published.

Denise Eilers, RN talks about a subject that is not warm and fuzzy. She went through it with her husband and shares her story of why she would have liked her husband to have prepared a written document. End of Life issues are important to discuss with your family and healthcare team so that your wishes are carried out and it ensures your family they are carrying out your wishes. A member of the Network 5 Kidney End of Life Coalition, she is an advocate of advance care planning and tells you the ins and outs of what is involved.

Cynthia West, MD and Allyson Almeida, RD know that good nutrition is one of the most important factors for living well on dialysis. Often patients need to make major changes to their diet once they start dialysis and that can be a daunting task. Stephen and Lori talk about the difficulties of adhering to the dialysis diet and learn tips from the authors that are in their new pocket size booklet that provides information on foods you can eat at restaurants and buy at the grocery store. This episode will make you hungry without the guilt.

The dialysis industry will be encountering one of the biggest financial payment changes in decades. The term is called "bundling of care." Medicare pays one lump sum for dialysis services and the dialysis providers need to figure out how to deliver quality care and sustain profit margins to stay in business. Diane Wish, RN, President of the National Renal Administrators Association and CEO of Dialysis Centers of Ohio, explains what the bundle is and the potential impact it may have on patient care and outcomes. Will this new payment system deliver?

In 1986, Ed Hearn fulfilled his childhood dream as a member of the World Champion New York Mets. The following year with the Kansas City Royals, he was set to make those big "million dollar bank deposits" today's professional athletes are accustomed to, when suddenly, a serious shoulder injury brought a premature end to a very promising and brilliant career. Today, after three life-saving kidney transplants, a successful bout with cancer, the aid of a breathing machine each night, a costly IV treatment once a month, and up to 50 pills per day, Ed has come back to live a life that is truly an inspiration. Listen to the incredible comeback of his life.

Valen Cover has an inspiring story of making lemons into lemonade, which made her the focus of an award winning book called, My Favorite American. She was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease at a very young age. Her triumphs and challenges of growing up with this illness taught her what is important in life and has lead her to a path of educating others. She shares her inspiring story, coping strategies and what her goals are for the future.

Who said dialysis requires water limits? Bill Peckham's adventures on the water say it's not so. Listen to an interview with the 20 year dialysis veteran, as he shares his travel stories, and see why, with dialysis, you can still have an adventurous life.

When you have an illness it can be tough to find a loving partner to share your life with who understands the unique challenges kidney disease presents. Marissa and Tom Carr reveal their journey from friendship to courtship to marriage. As Elizabeth Browning said, "Love doesn't make the world go around, love is what makes the ride worthwhile."

Susie Gonzalez is in the process of her kidney transplant puttering out and will need dialysis again. Lori and Susie share their journey of how they are coping with losing a beloved kidney and some of the warning signs they encountered. They also share coping strategies and what you can do to delay the progression of kidney failure.

Supplemental Medigap insurance is a must when you have kidney disease. Unfortunately, dialysis patients are denied access to Medigap insurance in over 20 States. Wendy Funk-Schrag and Lori Hartwell discuss how this impacts patients and what you can do to educate your elected officials to help change this unfair public policy.

This is a tough topic, but a necessary one to understand how the dialysis providers measure the quality of your care. Vincent Dennis, MD explains the proposed quality measures (anemia, bone and mineral metabolism, dialysis adequacy and infection) that are monitored carefully and overseen by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It is important that people with kidney disease understand that when a measure is set, it becomes the target for the healthcare provider and patients can suffer if they get it wrong.

Kidney chains, trains, exchanges and paired donation of kidney transplants are gaining media attention and helping people find life saving organs and expedite transplantation. Garet Hil, the President and Founder of the National Kidney Registry describes his journey with trying to find his daughter a kidney and how he was inspired to help solve the problem of incompatible donors for all.

Have you struggled with trying to decide what foods have phosphorus and which ones have potassium while maintaining a vegetarian diet? Chhaya Patel, renal dietitian, has an extensive background on the subject matter and provides insightful and practical tips on choosing a variety of foods. The vegetarian diet comes with many options and lots of spice. Don't miss this juicy episode.

Dialysis is known to cause increased inflammation due to the stress it causes to the entire body as a whole. Dr. Amit Sharma serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Nephrian and is President/Director of Clinical Research of Boise Kidney and Hypertension Institute. He explains what inflammation is and what tests help to detect it. He reviews various vitamins that patients need and describes why it is important to have the proper amount due to dietary and vitamin deficiencies caused by kidney failure.

Over 80,000 people in the United States are awaiting a kidney transplant. Living donation is becoming more common to help meet the critical need. Harvey Mysel is the President/Founder of the Living Kidney Donor Network and discusses with Stephen and Lori his mission on how to help people find a living donor. He describes how to approach this difficult topic that at times can seem taboo, and let people know that they are in need. Don't miss this informative interview.

Fluid management is a difficult science in hemodialysis. Dry weight involves a lot of guess work and if incorrectly addressed can cause cramping, crashing, fluid overload and impact your heart's overall health. Anne Diroll, CNN is a clinical support specialist for Hema Metrics. She explains the benefits of blood volume monitoring to help people with kidney disease dialyze to their optimal dry weight.

Donating a kidney to a friend or family member is becoming more common. Listen to Phillip Palmer, weekday morning anchor for KABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles and hear him describe his journey of what it was like to give the "gift of life" to his good friend Dale Wade Davis. Phillip describes how he made the decision to become a living donor and what inspired him to make this decision. Don't miss this extraordinary act of kindness!

Do you remember how you felt when you started dialysis?Anxious, scared, and with endless questions?This new pilot program called "RightStart," is designed to educate and help new patients feel better and more in control of their health during this critical time. Rebecca Wingard, Nephrology Nurse and Vice President of Quality Initiatives for Fresenius Medical Care, joins us today to talk about the RightStart Program.

Lori has a heart-to-heart with Dr. Maria Ferris, Pediatric Nephrologist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and specialist in treating adolescents and young adults with CKD. They discuss the unique challenges a young person can face, both those with childhood-onset CKD and those who develop CKD in their adolescence. Dr. Ferris and the team at UNC Kidney Center have developed helpful guidelines and tools for young people with CKD and their parents to help"smooth" what can often be a difficult transition; growing up can have a whole new meaning when you have CKD! All this and more, including discussion on the challenges of completing your education when you have CKD.

Lori and Stephen rap with Jane Neff Rollins, an Epidemiologist, medical writer and empowered healthcare consumer, and discuss several topics that are particularly vital to people managing a chronic illness. It's no secret that the health care system can be intimidating, and this episode of KidneyTalk! offers a big bowl full of helpful rules of thumb for the perpetual patient, including how to protect yourself from medical identity theft. Join us!