| Author | Subject: Re: Welcome New Bulletin Board Members |
| Beth Witten | Posted At 22:40:05 07/22/2003 Patients with kidney failure on all types of treatment can and do work. About 24% currently work or in school, but Life Options did research that showed that another 21% of unemployed people felt they were physically able to work and wanted to work. What helps is is someone on dialysis is getting good dialysis (URR >65%), has anemia well controlled (hemaglobin 33-36%), is well nourished, physically active, and if they have support from their healthcare team and family. Dialysis clinics can prioritize shifts to help patients work and/or teach patients how to do home dialysis. There are work incentives in federal disability programs that help people ease back into the workforce. There are vocational rehabilitation programs that can help people get trained in new careers if that is needed because of kidney failure and demands of treatment. If you haven't told your doctor and healthcare team that you'd like to get well enough to work, do. Here are some other tips: 1) Don't miss or shorten any dialysis treatments. 2) Keep track of your lab values. Ask questions if your labs not within the normal limits for people with kidney failure. 3) Ask for educational materials to help you do the best you can. Many are free and online. Besides Life Options materials, check out www.kidney.org and www.aakp.org. 4) If you've become weak because of your illness, start slowly to build up your strength. The Life Options web site has information on exercise in its print materials at www.lifeoptions.org/combined/materials/indexpa.shtml 5) Life Options just posted an updated booklet called "Employment: A Kidney Patient's Guide to Working and Paying for Treatment" and can be found on the web site in #4. Don't overlook the resources section. 6) Check out Kidney School (www.kidneyschool.org). Some of the modules may help you get well enough to work. Good luck! |