Life Options Free Materials
Life Options has made our free print materials available here. You may download PDFs of all of our booklets, newsletters, and fact sheets. We are no longer shipping free materials. Check out our other free materials by clicking through the "Additional Free Materials" links in the right column.
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Patient Interest Checklist: Starting Dialysis (0-3 months)
I would like to know more about...
My medical condition:
- How do my medications help my condition?
- What is EPO and how does it help my anemia?
- How can I protect my vascular access?
- How long will it take me to get used to my treatment?
- How does dialysis clean my blood?
- How does the dialysis machine protect my safety?
- What happens to me if I miss some dialysis?
- What will happen to me if the power goes out during dialysis?
- What should I do if the dialysis center is closed for an emergency?
- What supplies should I always keep on hand for emergencies?
- What is adequate dialysis and what does it have to do with time?
- Why are dialyzers reused?
- Who should I talk to if I want a kidney transplant?
- What can I do to make dialysis go smoothly?
My relationships with family and friends:
- Can my friends and family visit me during dialysis?
- Who can help me explain dialysis to my family and friends?
- Who can I talk to about changes in my body that upset me?
- Is there another patient I can talk to about what to expect?
My work/school/insurance:
- When will I feel well enough to work?
- Can dialysis be scheduled around my work/school hours?
- What happens to me if I can't do the same job any more?
- How do I decide whether to apply for disability or not?
- Should I tell my employer about my kidney disease?
- Who can I talk to about my insurance or work/school questions?
My eating:
- When will I get my appetite back?
- What can we cook that everyone in my family can eat?
- Where can I find recipes/meal plans that are okay for me?
- How can I cope with the thirst or food cravings?
- How do I know how much sodium or potassium is in a food?
- How can I afford to buy the foods I'm supposed to eat?
- What can I do about constipation?
- Who can help me with questions about what to eat or drink?
My future:
- How long can people live on dialysis?
- What is likely to happen to my health as I get older?
- When will I start feeling like "myself" again?
My feelings:
- How do I get over feeling like my body has let me down?
- How can I get used to the changes in how my body looks?
- What can I do if I feel less useful than before my kidneys failed?
- Do most people with kidney failure feel the way I do?
- Will I ever feel less ________ than I do now?
- Will I ever feel more ________ than I do now?
My responsibilities:
- What do I have to learn to help me stay as healthy as I can?
- What can I do to be sure I can keep doing my favorite things?
My lifestyle and everyday activities:
- Who can help me find food and a place to live?
- Why is exercise important for me?
- What kinds of exercise can I do safely?
- Where can I find a safe place to exercise?
- When will my life start to seem "normal" again?
- What can I eat if I go to a restaurant or someone's home?
- Who can teach me how to make travel plans?
- What can I do to sleep better than I do now?
My relationships with staff:
- What does the technician do for me?
- What does the nurse do for me?
- What does the social worker do for me?
- What does the dietitian do for me?
- What does the nephrologist do for me?
- Who is the best person to talk to about ________?
Other:
Want to use or translate our materials? Read our licensing agreement.
Additional Free Materials
We are no longer able to ship free materials. All of our available resources are free downloads from this site.