Dialysis & CKD Blog Report 12/3

By Miriam Lippel Blum

There are 14 days left to make your comments to CMS regarding the proposed payment rules.  Make your voice heard!  It matters.

Here are the CKD related blogs updated since my last report on 11/30. If you have or know of a blog that should be on the list let Bill know. Comments in parentheses are my reactions or opinions.

• Dialysis from the sharp end of the needle  Bill reports that DSEN's Peter Laird, MD does an excellent interview for Kidney Talk where he describes his experiences being a physician with CKD5, Trading Places - What Happens When a Doctor Becomes the Patient? ;  the blog report.
• Kamal Shah's Blog Kamal is experiencing intense pain from his arterial sites during dialysis, is going to use sharp needles and establish a new buttonhole site; his new buttonhole site works well, he has no pain and finally gets a good night's sleep. 
• Kaply, Inc. Tracy loves Christmas, is looking for guest bloggers to write while she is away; a list of things that make her angry; she goes shopping for jeans expecting not to find any she looked good in but at Lane Bryant found two great pairs and a raincoat to boot.  (Enjoy!)
• Toastiest Toastie feels wiped out by dialysis like he did pre-dialysis and thinks it "sucks." (We agree with you, but you should check in with your doctor to see if he can help. Maybe there is some imbalance or anemia that can be corrected.); makes fun of a story headline; a photo of him at 1:36 AM on nocturnal dialysis.
  
• Birdman Sparrow spends  a few days in the hospital after being found unconscious outside his home, after release he sees an ophthalmologist about an eye problem and the doctor examines the wrong eye.
  
• Transplant, Tantrums, & Tiaras Holly mourns the death of a young friend who was waiting for a lung transplant that never came.
• On the Road to a Lupus Cure The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), Greater Washington Chapter celebrates its 35th anniversary with a luncheon on Sat., December 5; the LFA's next "Medication"  webchat is Wednesday afternoon, December 9, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Dr. Graciela S. Alarcón will serve as the guest expert.
• Really, I'm as Old as I Feel? has photos from a joyful Thanksgiving.
• I Am. Are you? Donate Life Illinois started a two month advertising campaign with ads on trains and buses around Chicago. Snap a photo if you see one around town and post it to their Facebook page; heart and kidney transplant recipient Bill Coon shares thoughts about Thanksgiving one month after his transplant.
• The Ins and Outs of Dialysis Gayle took a CPR class, remembers an encounter with Santa Claus from  Christmas in 2002 when John had a stroke and his kidneys failed.
• Dialyse This Cassie coughed so hard she damaged her ribs and was in great pain.
• Linda Gromko MD kidneycare Linda and Steve are willing to do a donor exchange to get Steve a kidney.  He needs a Blood Type A or O kidney, and Linda has a Blood Type B kidney to offer. Contact information is in the post; Linda's two books Arranging Your Life When Dialysis Comes Home: 'The Underwear Factor'and Complications: A Doctor's Love Story are now available for Kindle at Amazon.com.(Definitely worth reading.)
• Renal Fellow Network has a post on Restless Leg Syndrome in dialysis patients.
• Uremic Frost Davita and Fresenius are accused of Medicare fraud; new research establishes the link between stress and hypertension.
• UKidney The Kidney Foundation of Canada conferred the 2009 Founder's Award to all Québec nurses who have worked in dialysis and/or transplantation for 25 years or more and have devoted their careers to the care of nephrology patients. A Gala was held to honor and celebrate them. (Congratulations to all those great nurses!); a Japanese doctor who helped develop a new transplant method has taught the technique at a hospital in China that has come under international criticism for its use of organs from executed prisoners.
• Renal tsar's blog writes about the benefits of peer-review for renal unit personnel.
•  Dialysis and Me Barry is having a bone scan to diagnose an aberrant liver enzyme, his phosphorus and thyroid hormone levels are off, too. (We hope the tests will help you resolve it all soon.); will be participating in his first Warhammer tournament.
• Kidney Notes - Exploring the Intersection of Medicine and Technology links to an article  from the NEJM entitled "The Emotional Epidemiology of H1N1 Influenza Vaccination."
• Lemonade and Kidneys Ruth loved the bloggerfest she attended but had some unexpected expenses from the day.
• The inner game of PKD Richie writes about how he deals with PKD frustration; "Mind Games" for PKD patients.
• 3 1/2 Hours of Free Cable Jason shares memories of his 25-year old cousin who was just killed in a car crash. (Our hearts go out to you and your family.)
• Unfiltered Hope Darren develops severe pain in his hands/arms/shoulders/neck and spiked a temperature, he's in the hospital to determine the cause. (We hope all resolves well and quickly,)
  
• DailyHemo - Home Dialysis Advocates has a new look to his blog; New Video: Bell Tolling for the Swine Flu.
  
• NephrOnline Blogs Mark E. Neumann reports that the National Renal Administrators Association(NRAA), concerned with many aspects of the bundle, has suggested a second public review and comment period before the bundled payment system goes into effect in 2011. (Great idea.) 
• Renal BizBlog shares quotes from AAKP President, Roberta Wager, and NxStage CEO Jeff Burbank, about home training and the bundle, links to their full interviews.
• Kevin’s Blog Kevin describes the hermeneutics class he is taking through his church.

Comments

[Dr Sidharth Sethi]

Hi,

I am a pediatric nephrologist in India, have started a Blog for education in Pediatric Nephrology http://www.pediatric-nephrology.com and related fields.

Your Blog is nice and informative. Congrats!

I am linking to you, do visit me and link up

Regards
Dr Sidharth Kumar Sethi
MD Pediatrics
Fellow (IPNA), All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Fellow (ISN), Cedars Sinai Medical Centre, LA