Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Centers of Excellence
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic disorder that can lead to chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and kidney failure. Affecting between 500,000 and 600,000 Americans, treatment targets symptom management with diet, medications, and, if needed, dialysis or a kidney transplant.
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What is Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)?
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) affects about 600,000 people in the United States, according to the PKD Foundation. It is one of the most common genetic kidney disorders, yet many people don’t even know they have it until later in life. Today, we’ll break down what PKD is, how it’s diagnosed, and how people can live well with it.
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Kidney Stones
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of Let’s Talk About Kidneys, Dr. Jayasree Grandhi of Dallas Nephrology Associates breaks down kidney stones—what they are, what causes them, and how to prevent and treat them. Affecting up to 1 in 5 men and 1 in 10 women, kidney stones are common but manageable with the right care.
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Pregnancy and Kidney Disease: What to expect?
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a condition that affects how the kidneys work over time. For women with CKD who are planning to have a family, there are important factors to consider to ensure the best possible outcomes. Can I have a baby if I have CKD?
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Kidney Disease: From Diagnosis, Staging and Common Lab Tests
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of Let's Talk About Kidneys, Dr. Lauren McDonald, a nephrologist with Dallas Nephrology Associates, discusses the diagnosis, staging, and common tests for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dr. McDonald explains how kidney disease is diagnosed, common symptoms, and some of the key tests, including BUN, creatinine, GFR, hemoglobin A1C, kidney biopsies, and more. She also discusses the importance of being your own healthcare advocate, family histories, how to maintain health records, and the importance of monitoring your diabetes, and...
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What is New in Kidney Transplant?
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
This episode of Let's Talk About Kidneys, Dr. Saim, a nephrologist with Dallas Nephrology Associates, discusses what is new in kidney transplant. The podcast discusses advancements in kidney transplantation, focusing on the benefits and risks of living and deceased donor transplant. Dr. Saim highlights that over 25,000 transplants were performed last year, with nearly 7,000 from living donors. Living donor transplants offer better survival rates and shorter waiting time. The waiting list has nearly 100,000 patients, with blood group O having the longest wait. ...
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Dialysis Patients and Their Diet
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
Let's Talk About Kidneys Dialysis Patients and Their Diet In this episode of Let’s Talk About Kidneys, Dr. Rao, a nephrologist at Dallas Nephrology Associates, discusses the importance of diet for all dialysis patients. She emphasizes the need for dietary modifications even before dialysis, focusing on reducing salt intake, managing potassium and phosphorus levels, and maintaining adequate protein consumption. Introduction Dr. Rao shares her background, mentioning that she joined Dallas Nephrology Associates fifteen years ago and sees patients mostly in Mesquite, Sunnyvale, and...
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New Treatment Therapies In Kidney Care
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dr. Roberto Collazo addresses the development of new treatments for kidney disease that are essential for slowing disease progression, improving patient outcomes, and preventing kidney failure. Throughout his discussion, he will examine various therapeutic options currently available, as well as those expected in the future. What types of treatments have there been in the past for patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)? Dr. Collazo addressed the medications available during the 1990s and early 2000s. He also discussed newly...
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Weight Management Strategies with CKD
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dallas Nephrology Associates Dietitian, Nadiya Lakhani, RDN, CSR, LD, FNKF, explains why weight management is important to the general population and how it affects the kidneys. How does weight affect the kidneys? When the body carries more weight than it can handle, it increases the demand on the kidneys to hyper filtrate. In other words, it forces your kidneys to work harder, which will eventually cause them to be overworked. On the flip side, unintentional weight loss increases the risk of that person having increased...
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Kidney Transplant - Getting Started
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dr. Muhammad Qureshi talks about the benefits of a kidney transplant, why it’s a good choice after kidney failure, and what the process looks like before, during and after. Why should a CKD patient consider a kidney transplant? Dr. Qureshi talks about the fact that there are both mortality and morbidity benefits of a kidney transplant. In other words, not only do you live longer, but you live better. Who qualifies for a kidney transplant? Anyone who has a kidney function less than 20% or someone who has already...
info_outlineIn this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dr. Lauren McDonald talks about the types of dialysis that can be done successfully in your own home including home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. She puts extra emphasis on the fact that choosing the right dialysis modality is a very personal choice and should be made based on a patient’s lifestyle and what is most important to them.
Overview of Home Hemodialysis
Home hemodialysis is done in the home. Currently, the dialysis machine is about the size of a nightstand and everything is self contained. It does require 3.5 to 4 hours of time each day, but you can read, watch TV, interact with family and friends, etc.
Disadvantages of Dialysis at Home
Privacy is one potential drawback of home dialysis. Family or friends may see the equipment or even the treatment itself if they stop by, neighbors might see delivery vans bringing supplies, etc. So for patients who prefer to keep their health and medical treatments private, home dialysis may not be the best choice.
Patients must also be comfortable handling the equipment and other minor medical procedures like sticking themselves with needles.
Overview of Peritoneal Dialysis
One of the primary benefits of peritoneal dialysis is how portable it is. During treatment you can leave the house, go to work, go to school, run errands, etc. This also makes it very easy to travel since you just need to take masks, gloves and your exchanges.
How to be Successful with Home Dialysis
Dr. McDonald believes that confidence and strength are key to doing dialysis at home. It can be overwhelming in the beginning, but once you go through training and get the system down, you will get comfortable with it.
The Dallas Nephrology Associates dialysis care team spends focused time ensuring each patient is trained on how to perform their dialysis treatment at home. For peritoneal dialysis, there is at least a 5 to 7 day training period one-on-one with a nurse and with home hemodialysis training will be six weeks. Plus, someone is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help with questions or issues that may arise.
The Role of Loved Ones
There must be a family member or friend available to provide support and assistance when performing dialysis at home. They will also go through training to be sure they are prepared, plus Dallas Nephrology Associates care team helps to address caretaker burnout by orchestrating a break and bringing the patient to an in-center facility for a week occasionally.
Home Dialysis Timeline
From the time they make the decision, it generally takes about six weeks for a patient to be up and running with dialysis at home. This includes arranging for their access, running labs, a week or two of in-center dialysis to make sure everything goes well, training, and a home visit. Even after dialysis begins at home, the patient will still see their doctor at least once each month for labs and an examination.
Your healthcare team at Dallas Nephrology Associates will be there to support you throughout the home dialysis process.