Sleep plays a vital role in overall health, yet for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) or end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), achieving restful sleep can be a constant battle. Conditions like Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), sleep apnea, and nocturia further disrupt rest, leading to cycles of fatigue, diminished appetite, and muscle loss. As clinicians [...]
Think about your favorite food. It could be a deliciously ripe raspberry fresh off the vine; maybe it’s a favorite family dish that’s made with love every holiday season, or a recipe you have created on your own, tweaking it carefully throughout the years so the flavors come together perfectly. Now imagine having that [...]
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s important to acknowledge this food-centric holiday can be tricky to navigate for our dialysis patients, especially if they have comorbid conditions like diabetes. Whether they will be hosting or attending a get-together, it can be difficult to stay focused on controlling diet and exercise routines. As providers, [...]
September is Malnutrition Awareness Month, and as Renal Dietitians we understand that the nutritional assessment of dialysis patients is among the most complex of any disease state. Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA) has gained traction as a valuable tool for assessing fluid balance and nutritional status. While BIA offers valuable insights into body composition and fluid [...]
Healthy eating often comes with its fair share of misconceptions. Today, with so much information from non-reputable and non-evidence-based sources, it’s easy to mix up sound advice with myths and misinformation about nutrition. These myths range from harmless misunderstandings to potentially dangerous misconceptions. For example, in this month’s PCA webinar we discuss several nutrition myths [...]
The national forecast for the US predicts this may be one of the hottest summers on record. Across the country heat waves and heat domes are expected to hit, meaning everyone will be looking for a way to stay cool. For a dialysis patient, this could mean reaching for more fluid than is recommended. [...]
The liver is a large organ in the abdomen, the size of a football, that performs over 500 functions per day. It is defined both an essential organ, necessary for life, and a gland, which produces hormones and proteins for the rest of the body. To highlight a few things the liver is responsible [...]
Every May in the United States the nation recognizes Women’s Health Month. The goal of this month is to empower women to prioritize their health and educate them on the steps they can take to improve their health. Empowering women who have chronic kidney disease and kidney failure can make all the difference in [...]
As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), I had the pleasure of working with people on dialysis for many years. During this time, I witnessed many success stories for my patients on hemodialysis (HD) with intradialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN). However, it was not until I began working with Patient Care America, where I collaborate with [...]
Every patient in the healthcare system is part of a team, whether they know it or not. Behind the scenes of every appointment or clinic visit is a world of conversation and collaboration intended to support better health outcomes. Dietitians and nurses serve as critical components of many such interdisciplinary teams (IDT). In dialysis, [...]
