I am so sorry I've been so delayed in responding. Things have been incredibly busy with the end of the term and lots of OT at work. Plus, I have 3 weeks to get everything done that I need to get done before the next trimester starts (May 13th). I'm taking a little time to breathe today, but not by much!!
My final grades were A, B, B-. I am so incredibly excited I can't even explain it! I'm attaching the term paper for kidney disease for those who requested it and anybody else who wants to read it. It's not very technical, more of a history/where it's going type thing. I didn't want it to be technical, I wanted somebody to read it who has never dealt with kidney disease to get a taste of what it's like, what happens. We're all there, we know. I want more people to understand it. It's also a little more cookie cutter than I would have liked, but sadly, my research came up with basics and we all know everybody, every situation is different.
natnnnat, I am loving school, just as you are. This was my first trimester in more than 30 years, weird to be a freshman at age 50!! lol!! I never thought I would get to this point in my life where I could do something like this, never mind enjoy it! It was a dream on the back burner. Care taking for my husband came first and that was it. My ankle is back to normal, I slipped on a blanket I had dropped on the floor, there was a pop and it's been fine ever since then!! Go figure!! lol!! The boyfriend is amazing. I never thought I would find somebody else in my life, we really enjoy each others company and make each other laugh all the time. We are perfect for each other. I haven't been this happy since I don't know when!
What are you studying natnnnat?? I'm studying medical billing & coding, I'm loving every second!!
Enjoy the paper everybody, if you have any comments, please let me know. I may have to do this again, (I really hope not!!!!!) but if I do, I could use the comments.
Have an awesome day...
I couldn't place the attachment here, so I'll try and put the paper in this space...
One of the leading diseases affecting Americans is kidney disease. Currently, there
are 96,645 people awaiting kidney transplants. On average, nearly 3,000 people are added
to the kidney transplant waiting list. 13 people die each day while waiting for their life saving
transplant. Last year, 4,903 people died while waiting for a kidney transplant. Last year,
16,812 kidney transplants took place in the U.S. Of these, 11,043 kidney transplants came
from deceased donors and 5,769 came from living donors. The National Kidney Foundation,
Inc. N.p., n.d. Web.(no date)
Most people are unaware that they have any type of kidney problems, until they are
unhealthy and the person needs to have advanced help, such as dialysis. There are
symptoms that should not be ignored:
1. Leg and back pain. The most typical sign of chronic kidney disease is a pain in the legs
and upper back, near where the kidneys are located. Normally, you will feel pain in the side
of the affected kidney. It is a terrible pain that you are unable to ignore.
2. Urinary urgency. You may find yourself getting up much more in the middle of the night
to urinate. The pressure on the bladder can be so strong that you may not feel that you are
completely able to empty your bladder. This can feel like a urinary tract infection, however, if
there is blood involved, a doctor’s visit is needed immediately.
3. Fatigue. Healthy kidneys produced EPO (erythropoietin) hormone, which commands
oxygen-carrying red blood cells to energize the muscles and brain. Without EPO, you will be
fatigued and need to sleep more often. It can feel like you have the flu by worn out you feel.
4. Swelling. While kidneys are failing, they are unable to eliminate all the fluid necessary to
keep the body running in hemostasis. The excess fluid pools in your body creating swelling
in the hands, feet, legs, ankles. It can be bad enough that you may not be able to put on
your shoes or rings.
5. Irritated skin. Breakouts, such as acne or itchy rashes occur because of the excess
waste floating around in the body.
6. Nausea. The increase of waste that cannot be eliminated through blood (dialysis) or
urine, will result in a feeling of nausea as well as a lack of appetite and weight loss. In
severe cases, vomiting will make it difficult to keep food/nourishment down.
7. Metallic flavor. Patients, whose kidneys fail, often describe a metallic taste that lingers in
the mouth prior to actual kidney failure. This metal flavor is due to uremia (excess waste bi-
product present in the bloodstream). Your Daily Dose of Health Headlines." ActiveBeat.
N.p., n.d. Web.(no date)
Kidney damage and decreased function that lasts longer than 3 months is called
chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD is dangerous because you may not have symptoms
until considerable, often irreparable kidney damage has occurred. The most common
causes of CKD are diabetes, types 1 and 2, high blood pressure. Other causes are immune
system conditions such as Lupus, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B and C. Urinary tract infections.
Multiple infections can lead to scarring and eventual kidney damage. Inflammation in the
glomeruli within the kidneys. this occurs after strep infections. Polycystic kidney disease.
PKD-fluid filled cysts form in the kidneys over time. This is the most common form of
inherited kidney disease. Congenital defects. These are present at birth, often the result of a
urinary tract obstruction or malformation that affects the kidneys. Drugs and toxins. Long
term exposure to some medications and chemicals overuse of NSAIDS such as ibuprofen
and naproxen and use if IV street drugs. Better Information. Better Health." WebMD.
WebMD, n.d. Web (no date)
There is a lengthy history to dialysis, it goes back as far as 100 AD. The first dialysis
took place in the Roman baths. People who suffered from a build up of urea in their systems
soaked in the baths to “sweat out” the toxins. Thomas Graham described the
process of dialysis. Then in 1869, Swiss surgeon Jacques Louis Reverdin performed the
first documented human tissue grafting. In 1912, French surgeon Alexis Carrel developed
methods of joining blood vessels, opening the door to transplantation. He also developed
fluids and a way of circulating them in order to keep transplanted tissues alive outside the
body. 1913 John Abel developed an artificial kidney for dialysis with animals. However, the
substance removed was salicylic acid, not urea. And he used hirudin (crushed leech heads)
as an anticoagulant, a substance with negative side effects. 1918 the first blood transfusion
took place. 1928 the anticoagulant hirudin was replaced by heparin, which is still used to
this day. 1943 Dr. William Kolff created a crude kidney machine, he is known as the father
of dialysis. 1954 Dr. Joseph E. Murray completed the first successful living-related kidney
transplant at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. 1962 Drs. Joseph Murray and David
Hume performed the first successful kidney transplant from a cadaver. These were the
earliest steps into present day dialysis. "KIDNEY DISEASE AIN'T FUN...." Welcome To My Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web.(no date)
Now that our kidneys have been damaged, we need to start dialysis. Why? Because
approximately 1500 liters of blood are filtered by a healthy person’s kidneys every day. A
person who has kidney damage and does not do dialysis, will build up waste in their blood
stream and eventually levels will become high enough that coma then death would occur.
There are 3 types of dialysis that can be done: Peritoneal. A tube is surgically placed into
the peritoneal cavity. Once this has healed, a fluid exchange takes place, (the solution is
rich in minerals and glucose), sometimes more than once a day, to absorb the waste that
the kidneys can no longer filter. The solution is left in the peritoneal cavity, after a certain
amount of time, the fluid is drained from the cavity to be discarded. CAPD. Continuous
ambulatory peritoneal dialysis requires no machinery and the exchanges are done by hand.
The solution is left in the cavity for up to 8 hours. It is then replaced with fresh solution right
away. This happens every day, four to five times a day. CCPD. Continuous cyclic peritoneal
dialysis. A machine does the fluid exchanges. It takes place at night while the patient
sleeps. Each session takes from 10-12 hours. Hemodialysis. This takes place in a hospital
or dialysis center. It requires a special machine (hemodialyzer) that removes the blood from
your body, cleans it and returns the cleaned blood to your body. a special vein is
constructed surgically called a fistula. The fistula is an enlarged vein so that the catheters
can be inserted to use this process. There is another type of fistula, mostly used when the
patient needs to start dialysis before the fistula has had a chance to heal. This is called a
Perma Cath.This can become infected easily because it is directly in the jugular vein and
can’t get wet. it is to only be used as a temporary catheter. Prescription Drug Information,
Interactions & Side Effects." Drugs.com | Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side
Effects. N.p., n.d. Web and "Health Articles, Health Videos and Other Health Information." Health Articles, Health Videos and Other Health Information. N.p., n.d. Web.(no date)
Hemodialysis takes place 3 days a week, up to four hours per session. This depends
on the amount of fluid the patient has gained since the last session and how well the
patient’s kidneys work. Hemodialysis filters out the waste products from the blood
through a catheter, into the machine that cleans the blood, just as a kidney would, returning
the cleaned blood to the body through the second catheter. In effect, the patient is
connected to an artificial kidney. Dialysis is not the optimum solution to kidney failure,
however, it will extend your life until a transplant can occur. At this time, the waiting list for a
kidney transplant is between 5 and 10 years. This depends on the blood type and factors,
such as immune system activity will determine how long you are on the waiting list for a
cadaver kidney ."National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health." U.S National
Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web.(no date)
Other types of transplant are effective also and may shorten the length of time on the
transplant list. If you can find a living donor, who may be a family member with the same
blood type. There are a number of criteria that need to be met, that can qualify or disqualify
you as a donor. Such things as smoking, drinking, obesity and other factors can disqualify
you even if you are a perfect match. The transplanted kidney does not goin the same area
as the current kidney. It goes into the abdominal area in the front of the body. once you
have had your transplant, you are required to take immunosupressants for the rest of your
life to prevent rejection. The new kidney will generally start to make urine quickly.
Sometimes it takes a little longer if the kidney was shocked while being transplanted. A
patient with a transplanted kidney has a life expectancy of 10-15 years that he/she would
not have had without this transplant. A living donor kidney will reach optimum function within
3-5 days while a cadaver kidney takes approximately 7-15 days. Many people who have
had a transplant become much more active than they were before. The National Kidney
Foundation holds walks and also their own form of Olympics for transplant patients.
"Dartmouth-Hitchcock." Patients & Visitors. N.p., n.d. Web.(no date)
The future for kidney patients looks a little brighter with experimentation creating
laboratory created rat kidneys. This can potentially create a bioengineered kidney for
human. It is many years away yet, the experiments are still in their beginning stages. The
University of California San Francisco, is in the process of creating a very small dialysis
machine. This is something that could be implanted. It is considered an artificial kidney and
the FDA is putting it on the fast track for testing and approval. This could give a person the
ability to move around and enjoy their life style without being strapped to a chair as they
have been. It will be exciting to see these products form and start being used to help kidney
patients be able to enjoy their lives as some have not been able to for a very long time.
"Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, & Tools." Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, &
Tools. N.p., n.d. Web.(no date)
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