Friday, June 28, 2013

Parsley Juice for Kidney Cleansing

I haven't tried this yet, but I plan to today or tomorrow. So far I have about 1/2 of the ingredients, and plan to pick up the rest today. It doesn't look too bad - in fact, it looks like it might be kind of good... the smoothie, anyway. :) If I can just get my blender to get that parsley nice and finely hidden in there...

http://superfoodprofiles.com/parsley-juice-kidney-cleansing-liver-detoxification

Just updated link - hopefully it will work now. If not, just google superfoodprofiles and search for the Parsley Juice Kidney Cleansing Liver Detox! :) This is where it takes me: You are here: Home > Vegetables & Greens > Parsley > Parsley Juice for Kidney Cleansing and Liver Detoxification

Naturally, none of this is FDA approved. And you may want to check with your doc. I figure since I am not ingesting anything outright forbidden or known to harm myself, my kidney or interact with my meds (I've been doing this 20 years), I can go ahead and do it. If worse comes to worse, I see my nephrologist in a couple of weeks and she will know in a heartbeat by my labs.

I will let you know if I'm affected.

By the way. I also just began taking CoQ10. So.... who knows what great things might happen? :)

Let me know if you try it, and what you think! If you make any adustments to make it taste better, tell me that, too! I am big on texture...

Cheers!

Hospital celebrates 1,000th kidney transplant

"National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) celebrated Friday its 1,000th kidney transplant since it began doing the procedure in 1988, with a survival rate of 95.2 percent."

Hospital celebrates 1,000th kidney transplant | Latest | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Inspiring Blogger Award - Thank you, Leah Oviedo!

Today I was honored to receive the "Very Inspiring Blogger Award" from someone who inspires me more than she realizes, apart from her ImpowerYou blog (that can make you say "ouch!" when you realize you may not be living up to your potential) and the books of hers that I have read (such as the one I purchased for my niece, I Am More Than Just A Girl and the one I read more recently, How Will You Create Positive Change?). Leah Oviedo, presenter of this award, has been in my life more years than I can say, and her words truly mean something, for I have seen her evolve from a cocoon into a butterfly, and know that she is truly the deserving one.


ImpowerYou.org is about empowering women of any age - but it seems to me especially the pre-teens and up, when they are most impressionable - to recognize themselves, ourselves, as more than society might have us believe. Women are different in every fathomable way, and that's okay. In fact, it should be celebrated! Beauty and goodness come from within. Empowerment comes from within. None of these things is something anyone - man or woman - can give us. It is something we bestow upon ourselves. At least, this is the message I get from Leah's blog. Please, read it for yourself, and correct me if I am wrong!

Leah asserts that she nominated me for this award "Because of your commitment to health and a better organ transplant system." I hope to live up that, and keep working toward my commitment, with the help of my readers, my friends, my family. People like Leah, and people like you. So thank you, each and every one! You have helped to make this blog and my commitment stronger and more real each time I see the number count of readers go up on this blog. Truly.

Like most blog awards this one requires each participant to follow a few rules which are posted below. Enjoy! The rules: 1-Display the Award logo on your blog. 2-Link back to the person who nominated you. 3-State 7 things about yourself. 4-Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link back to them. 5-Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award requirements.

Seven things I am:
  1. Empathetic
  2. Thoughtful
  3. Funny
  4. Kind
  5. Creative
  6. Accepting
  7. Interested
Unfortunately, I don't know of fifteen inspiring blogs (although I'm sure they are out there), but here are some that I have found) in no particular order as they are all great blogs to follow:

  1. The Collection Cup - - Articles having to do with the mind, body, and soul; connection
  2. The Better Man Projects - - My vision is that “The world needs better men.
  3. ImpowerYou - - empowers individuals with real life tools
  4. Happsters - - Happsters are all about happiness
  5. Advocacy in Action|NKF - - National Kidney Foundation
  6. Happy Wives Club -- On a journey to prove love and marriage still go hand-in-hand
  7. Time to Start Loving Yourself - - Images and words to inspire
  8. Lori Hartwell - - After... 4 kidney transplants... being taller than I look is a state of mind
  9. My Chronic Kidney Disease - - A personal blog chronicling the experiences and learnings of a person diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) 
  10. Food Babe - - achieving health, happiness and ultimate wellness  

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Follow Up on Child Needing Lung Transplant

The 11-year-old Murnaghan child who only had a few weeks to live unless she received a lung transplant made news across the media. Her story pulled at our heartstrings. Even I shared it on Facebook, as what I read made it sound like it was only her age that was keeping her from getting a transplant, despite her condition being dire enough for her to be at the top of the transplant list otherwise.

We forget, when emotions come into play, just how many factors are involved. Even multiple transplant recipient patients like myself. Until, perhaps, reading some of the comments and follow-ups to the story.

The good news for the little girl is that she received the much-needed lungs. The controversy seems to have arisen for a number of reasons: 1) people think she was bumped to the top of the list because of her parents' intervention alone - when it seems that in reality when her age was reconsidered that is what removed the barrier from having kept her from being at the top of the list where she would have been anyway, and 2) people are convinced the next-in-line automatically perished, when they may not have, and 3) that people that do not understand the ins and outs of organ procurement and transplantation - i.e.; society in general and government, be it legislative, judicial or, executive - should not be making decisions on these types thing, and the list goes on.

My personal opinion is to 'fix' the issue at its root is to adopt what many other countries have done to increase organ donation: have an 'opt-out' policy rather than an 'opt in' policy. It is my observation that the majority of people don't care one way or another about where there organs go and don't care to discuss it. It's a non-interest topic.

The ones who do care to donate are, sadly, not enough. (Roughly 18 people die every die awaiting an organ transplant. That's babies, toddlers, school children, young adults, college students, new parents, the middle-aged, grandparents, great-grandparents...

The ones who are against organ donation will be able to opt out of this program.

Comments? Thoughts?

Here is more on the Murnaghan story.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Must herbs and medication be in opposition to one another?

Must herbs and medication be in opposition to one another? Must medication always have the last say in Western society? As in many scenarios, the answer is, "it depends."

Much of it depends on the patient. Much depends on the doctor. And from there, it completely depends on the doctor-patient relationship.

Throughout my 20 years dealing with CKD, or chronic kidney disease, none of the many doctors I have seen have agreed to alternative medicine. And by that I mean herbs, whether in pill form or tea form. Some things I have approached them with have been kindly researched by the hospital pharmacist, while other suggestions of mine have been (just as kindly) laughed out of the room. (Let's just say the doctor who did that is very lucky I like her so much and that we have such a great rapport!) A few vitamins have been approved here and there over the years. My doctors and pharmacist (the entire support team) are concerned about drug/herb/etc interactions because there has not been 'enough' research.

I have met a few people who indicated that their doctors do not forbid anything. It is because of these people that I post the following information on Brahmi, or more commonly known (in my circles, anyway) as Gotu Kola. I had no idea that it has so many wonderful healing aspects, even according to WHO - the World Health Organization.

Rather than reiterate the whole thing here, I will give credit where credit is due and enable you to click on this link for The Collector's Cup, which is an excellent site.

Remember to check with your doctor first if this is something that you are interested in, even though you can get it in tea form.

May good health come to us all and remain so, for with that we can do so much!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Kidney Failure & Acupuncture

How does natural Chinese medicine work in relation to serious health conditions like stage 3 renal failure?

According to kidneyfailureweb.com, acupuncture can actually improve renal function, even once it gets to stage 3. The author of the article does include the caveat that this should not be considered the only treatment, however. Still, this is good news, if accurate!

I am not certain of the credentials of this site, and am currently on a 'live chat' with them, trying to find out. The person is too busy trying to find out about me to bother answering my question about the site's validity, which is quite bothersome. The "About Us" page simply explains how helpful the site is to users. It is only as useful as it is credible. Still waiting. When I switched pages I lost the first person. Starting over with a new automatic chat.

They are in the US and Australia. There is an option to speak to an 'expert.' I have yet to reach anyone, 10 minutes later. But then again, it is just after 6 a.m. It is an automated pop-up block asking how they can help you. Although I did have a live person, once, asking for my information, before I accidentally lost them by switching pages within their site.

At any rate, the information sounds promising, and the website does look legitimate. I had hoped to find out more information before passing it on to my readers. But you can check it out and discern for yourselves.

In the end, it is really all about how our individual bodies respond to things, anyway, I've realized.

Enjoy this day - rain or shine, windy or still - it is another day to breathe in deeply the wonders of the earth and exhale the worries of yesterday.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

IS IT SUICIDE TO STOP OR REFUSE DIALYSIS TREATMENT?

Someone recently posed this question, "Is is suicide to stop dialysis?" and most people I saw that responded did not end up answering the question. As a matter of fact, at last check, only one person had directly answered.

It is a difficult question to read, even for me; I do not know this person, and I have been in his/her shoes, nearly refusing it myself. I cannot imagine being the family member who has not been in our shoes having this discussion with a loved one.

The end-of-life decision is one many people must face, at one time or another, not transplant patients alone. Some people attempt to make future decisions, such as DNRs, or Do Not Resuscitates, in the event that a medical team would deem it necessary otherwise. It's opting out of treatment. Just like choosing not to dialyze, or have a transplant, or have chemotherapy treatments, is opting out.

It is our right to choose. Our right to choose to cease suffering. When the treatments has ceased to work for us. When the treatment becomes more unbearable than letting go of life. I appreciate our right to choose this path. Just like I appreciated Dr. Kevorkian helping people that wanted to move on out of this life, to move on. (I only heard tidbits about him, and this is what I understand - I don't mean to start controversy!)

I heard about a man who lost both of his legs and one of his arms due to his long duration of dialysis treatments while awaiting a kidney transplant. He finally decided to discontinue diaylsis, knowing full well the outcome. It had become unbearable, despite having his grown son and grandchild to live for. He was only 40 when he passed away.

Next time you hear someone posing this question (that is in the U.S.).... if it comes down to a time that s/he makes a decision not to have treatment... the silver lining, or tension reliever, for this person or the family is that, apparently, Medicare covers home care for this. I, for one, am very much relieved. Finances are just one thing my husband has to handle completely because it is just one more stressful thing on my plate that causes me to have a meltdown.

I just hope that it helps someone out there, should it come down to this.

http://kidneyfoundation.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/are-there-home-care-or-palliative-care-options-for-someone-with-esrd-who-wont-consent-to-dialysis/

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Congressman Marino re fight with kidney cancer, future of xplt

Congressman Tom Marino (PA-10) talks about his fight with kidney cancer and his hopes for the future of transplantation in America.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/CQjpqjZAIhI?hd=1&autoplay=1

If the link above does not take you directly to the video, please click here to visit the website and view the video.

ORGANS ON THE BLACK MARKET

Organs on the black market, or selling and buying organs - is illegal. It's a topic we hear about but don't want to talk about. Surely it doesn't happen here. Not in our country. At least not to or by people that we know, or know of... It's mostly the unknowns that participate in this kind of thing, like when people talk about the Mafia, it's almost... fiction, if you can wrap yourself up in a nice little pollyanna-ish bubble.

The sad truth is, because there are not enough organs available compared to the number of people in need of them, people right here in our own back yards are becoming desperate. Yes, desperate enough to go into the black market in search of a potentially life-saving organ.

CTV has the story.

1 in 9 Americans are living with kidney disease and most don't know it. NKF