| Author | Subject: Re: Employment with kidney disease |
| Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW | Posted At 14:07:52 09/20/2001 Hi Kerry, I am sorry that you are having problems with your job. There are several levels on which this can be addressed: 1) You need to discuss with your nephrologist how your physical symptoms affect your ability to work so he/she can look at whether malnutrition, anemia, or other physical problems could be treated and make you feel better. 2) You probably need to be talking with the doctor about what your treatment options are for kidney failure. I'd suggest you contact your National Kidney Foundation affiliate to find out if they offer People Like Us, Live classes that provide an unbiased explanation of these options. Some types of treatment make it easier to work than others. 3) People with kidney disease often become weak and lose muscle strength as their disease progresses. Perhaps you could build up your strength by doing some mild exercise. Life Options has a booklet on exercise posted under information for patients on our website. 4) Even though you're not yet on dialysis, your creatinine is 6.5 and you could be considered disabled by Social Security and thus protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need accommodation to keep your job, such as fewer hours, more breaks, a chair to sit in while you do certain aspects of your job, or even transfer to a job that you are physically able to do, you should ask for these accommodations. 5) Your local Vocational Rehabilitation office may be able to help you negotiate with your employer to look at energy conserving approaches that will help you keep your job. VR can also help you look at your options for working, including education or vocational training that may be available if you can't keep your current job. 6) If Pizza Hut offers disability leave, you may want to consider taking a brief leave of absence to allow you to build up your strength and health. 7) Finally, you can talk with Social Security about your eligibility for cash and/or work incentive programs for people with disabilities. Look for information for beneficiaries on the SSA website at www.ssa.gov/work/index2.html. Not surprisingly, if you're able to work, your financial situation will be much better than if you're not and employer provided health coverage is generally more comprehensive (especially for medications) that coverage you will likely become eligible for under Medicare. If you haven't read the booklet on Medicare for dialysis and transplant, you might want to read it. It's posted with other publications on the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov. I've known a number of people with kidney failure who were able to work. Some had to get different training and jobs while others were able to keep the jobs they had before they developed kidney failure. I've also known people who felt ill in the months before they started dialysis or had a transplant. They quit their jobs, became depressed, worried constantly about finances, and later felt much better and wished that they had kept working. I hope that you're able to resolve your concerns so you and your family can live well even though you have kidney disease. |
| Mike Hansen | Re: Employment with kidney disease (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 07:24:48 05/08/2003 Hello my name is Mike and I work while dong Dailysis and as long as I watch myself what I eat and drink and keep off large fluid gains I'm fine. But anyways I work around 37-40 hrs a week and don't find it to bad. I'm kinda decide what to do about a transplant not sure you know with all the blood problems out there. My wife and I are both scaried about the transplant deal. Its a big step in life to decide. |
| Beth Witten | Re: Employment with kidney disease (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 16:36:42 05/08/2003 Just like dialysis, transplant is a treatment...not a cure...and it has its own pros and cons. It sounds like you're coping well with dialysis and living a pretty full life and you're concerned about "rocking the boat." I've known several people who felt just the same as you. Some have remained on dialysis. Others have eventually decided to go for a transplant. Only you can make this decision. To help you make a decision, you probably should find out more about transplant. I'd suggest that you talk with a transplant nurse coordinator and with one or more transplant patients about their transplant experience. If they're honest, they'll probably tell you about both the good things as well as the not-so-good things. There may be education classes in your area put on by the National Kidney Foundation, a dialysis clinic, or another organization. These can give you an opportunity to learn from professionals and patients about the transplant experience. You might also find information from transplant organizations helpful such as: * TransWEB (www.transweb.org) * Patient information on the United Network for Organ Sharing web site (www.unos.org You might also want to join an online listserv support group and post questions to other members, many of whom have had transplants. One of the most popular is Dialysis_Support at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dialysis_support. |