Introducing myself

[Diane]

Well, I confess - I'm not a person with kidney disease.  I am a renal dietitian and I have been so for over 13 years.  I heard about IHD and I thought it would be a good way for me to get some honest feedback from people who have to deal with this disease every minute of their lives.  When I meet with my patients I really want to get to know them as individuals and hear about their struggles, but for various reasons, I often don't think this happens.  Chair side in a dialysis unit is not exactly the most private place to have a conversation; many times people think of me as the diet police and don't want to share much with me; and, let's face it - a dialysis center is not a place where most people feel they can be totally themselves - like at home or among friends. 

So, I hope you don't mind me eavesdropping into your conversations.  I promise I won't say anything unless I think I can make your lives a little easier.  I'm just looking for ideas on ways I can help my patients.  I love this site and the support you give one another.

[boxman55]

Glad to have you Diane. I have been on Hemo since 8/06 your insights will benefit this forum. Welcome...Boxman

[Joe Paul]

Welcome Diane, good to have you aboard.

[MyssAnne]

Glad to have you! It really does help to have dialysis clinic employees on here, so they can get an honest look at our lives. You are absolutely correct by the way, about us feeling as if you guys are the diet police. One thing I DO hate is the 'you are doing so well'' talk, or the "you really need to do better! talk"  That and the comments on the lab results sheet. I play the game, as you'll find out many of us do. If you want honest feedback from your patients, it's gonna take some time, and a lot of trust before they give it to you. The only person I am totally honest with is my nurse, and that's because she's proved she is worthy of it.

[goofynina]

Hi Diane,  Welcome to ihatedialysis.com.  Thank you for your interest in us,  believe me, you will find alot of feedback here    Some positive and well, some, umm, not so positive   But that is what is so great about our site, when it was created, it was created for that fact alone, that we could speak our minds (and believe you/me, we do) lol.  Not only have we become a very awesome support group, we have become "family" So, with that said, welcome to the family
Looking forward to hearing more from you. 

Goofynina/Admin.

[Romona]

 

[Sluff]

Hi Diane, 
Welcome to ihatedialysis.com.  Thank you for taking an interest in us,  when this site was created, it was created so that we could speak our minds . Not only have we become a very awesome support group, we have become "family" to, so welcome to the family. There's no way out. 
See ya in the forums. 


Sluff/ Admin

[paris]

   Glad you found us!  I am sure you will have alot of information to share with us, too.  Diet is always an issue with this disease.  Hope you enjoy our family!

[angela515]

 

[kitkatz]

Welcome to the site.  It is always good to have the dialysis staff come on aboard and share their perspectives with us.




kitkatz,moderator

[Bajanne]

Welcome to our community.  Thanks for caring about your patients enough to come here.  Feel free to speak as frankly as you want too - we will also be doing so.  You are free to share in any section you find interesting, but there is also a section especially for you when you want to vent concerning patients! - Dialysis - Workers.  There is also a section Dialysis - Diet and Recipes where I know your input will be particularly appreciated.
Looking forward to hearing from you.   


Bajanne, Moderator

[keefer51]

 

[willieandwinnie]

Diane,
Please don't take this personally, but I think renal dietitians in general are useless. They all have the standard one size fits all sermon. Instead of telling patients not to have all kinds of foods, you should try telling them that once a week on a dialysis day or night before dialysis that certain foods should be a treat. Patients and family aren't given enough credit in the involvement of their own health. I look forward to seeing more of your posts. This site is a great source of information and we really do listen.

Kathy
willieandwinnie

[Hawkeye]

Hello and 

[RichardMEL]

G'day Dianne & Welcome! You sound like a great dietican and sadly there don't seem to be many out there with your attitude - I am sure many of us apprieciate your concern and desire to connect with your patients as more than just a number and a set of labs! I am sure your own patients apprieciate your efforts specially if they have had to deal with others perhaps not so like minded.

I had a review with a dietican just a week or so ago and she wasn't too bad. I liked that she was willing to sit with me for 30 mins or so and not just say "don't eat this" or "don't eat that" but was understanding and somewhat supportive (within reason, of course!) of my contention that if you can't enjoy anything you eat or whatever there's not much point to going on. Of course I am doing pretty well with my own situation and although my diet is not sensational, and perhaps would give nightmares for some dieticans (hey nobody saw me eat that cheeseburger.. honest!) the thing that I point to is that my labs.. everything in the normal (well, renal version of normal anyway) ranges and so I feel that I'm doing a reasonable job of looking after myself dietwise... which I'm quite proud of

Anyway welcome... I hope the site can give you some insight into perhaps helping your own patients better.

[angellady07]

Hi Diane and welcome.

[donnia]

 

[okarol]

Hi Diane --
My daughter never got much guidance from the dietitian at her dialysis unit - they just kept telling her what NOT to eat, but never offered any real help with menu planning or recipes. I hope you will check out http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?board=32.0 - there are many different food and recipe related posts there.
Welcome!


okarol/moderator

[Jannie]

I love my Renal Dietitian at the center where I go. They test my blood every month and she gets the readings. She tells me "don't go crazy", "you can have some water and salt" "you don't have to weigh your food". she is just so kind and helpful.

[paddbear0000]

 

[Diane]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone!  Wow!  Being a renal dietitian for so many years has taught me so many things (probably more than I have taught!) about just being a human being, living with struggles, life, death, faith and the strength of the human spirit.  I consider my role in the dialysis center as more a resource to help people eat what they want without hurting themselves.  I find that the rest of the dialysis staff spends enough time telling people what they can't eat.  My job is to tell them HOW they can eat what they want - you know - the dietitian's favorite mantra - MODERATION, MODERATION, MODERATION!  I tell my patients that if someone who didn't have kidney disease asks me if it's okay if they eat 6 cans of coke a day (or fill in the blank), I would tell them - ABSOLUTELY NOT.  One is okay - six - not so good.  So, I will be browsing the rest of the site whenever I get some time.  Thanks again.
Diane

[KR Cincy]

Hi Diane...I've been fortunate to have great dietitians, whether in the hospital or in the center, or now the one I visit with during my monthly center assessments. They've all been supportive, informative, and most imporantly, understanding. Sounds like you are all of those. You're doing something important...please know you're appreciated.