Medicare's "You Can Live: Your Guide For Living With Kidney Failure"

Your Family or CaregiverWhen kidney failure affects you, it affects your whole family.At first, your family or caregiver may feel helpless because theycan’t change the fact that you have kidney failure. They may beangry because this has happened or fear that you may die. Ithelps for you and your family to talk about these feelings.Treatment needs to become part of the family’s daily routine.Your family or caregiver may do some things for you to help youfollow your treatment plan, but they can’t do everything for you.Just as you need their support, they need yours. Understand yourfamily’s and caregiver’s needs as well as your own.Your family should also get checked for signs of kidney disease,especially if they have high blood pressure or diabetes. Kidneyfailure can run in families. If found early, there are ways to slowor prevent it. Your family members can check how well their kidneysare working with the following tests:• Blood pressure check• Blood tests for urea and creatinine• Urine dipstick test for hematuria, microalbumin, and pyuria• Calculated creatinine clearance“Treatment needsto become part ofthe family’s dailyroutine.”Your Kidney DoctorYour kidney doctor has special training in treating people withkidney disease and is called a nephrologist (nef-RAHL-oh-jist).Your kidney doctor works with your family doctor to monitoryour health and to plan your treatment of care. You can also askyour kidney doctor how to put your name on a transplant list.Your Family DoctorYour primary care or family doctor will still see you forcheck ups and for health problems. If any doctor other than yourkidney doctor treats you for any health problem or gives you anynew medicines, tell your kidney doctor right away.19