Kidney Function

In some cases, uremia, the building up of waste products int he bloodstream between dialysis treatments, can affect thinking. Sometimes, a person may experience difficulty in remembering things, inability to concentrate and confusion. On rare occasions, they may lose contact with reality or experience hallucinations. Experiencing things, like seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling or smelling things that do not exist, can be very frightening. If this happens, it is important for you to tell your physician. Some people who experience hallucinations do not tell anyone for fear that they are losing their minds, when in reality, the hallucinations can be caused by inadequate dialysis treatments, the need for medications or by fever and infection (delirium).

Kidney Failure and Sex
Sometimes, your desire for sexual activity, or sexual appetite, changes with chronic illness. The ability to enjoy sex, on the part of the male or female, depends on you as an individual. Impotence, or the inability of a male to have an erection or to maintain an erection, can occur. Problems with ejaculation are also a possibility. However, your ability to participate in sexual activity and to enjoy sex is still possible. If you find your sex life changing, talk to your doctor or social worker, because these problems may be treatable. Very often, the stress and anxiety that is related to kidney failure and the subsequent treatment can affect your sexual appetite and ability to enjoy sex.

Counseling
A social worker has the necessary skills and training in counseling and family therapy. If you think that counseling for you or your family members is needed, you should talk with a social worker. This professional member of the medical team can help determine if counseling can benefit you or other members of your family.

Famous actor/comedian Tracy Morgan is now in recovery after successfully receiving a kidney transplant on December 10th. The 42 year old star was diagnosed with diabetes nearly 15 years ago. While he lived with the disease for several years, it wasn’t until recently that Morgan started taking his condition seriously, after his doctor informed him that he may end up losing a foot.

“That was it for me,” Morgan explained. “Now I take my insulin every day. My blood sugar doesn’t get over 120.”

People that suffer from Type 2 diabetes (the most common type) are particularly at risk for kidney failure. This type of diabetes inhibits the body’s natural ability to properly produce insulin. Insulin is a vital hormone that is necessary to get glucose into cells so that it may be used as energy. If this process is obstructed, the glucose may build up in the bloodstream which may lead to eye, nerve, and kidney damage. If this problem is neglected, there may be serious consequences such as loss of limbs, stroke, or heart disease.

Along with frequent doctor visits, there are many ways for people with Type 2 diabetes to minimize their risk of experiencing kidney failure. For instance, eating fish twice a week is believed to significantly reduce the risk of kidney disease for diabetics. Poor diet is one of the biggest risk factors.

Tracy Morgan is expected to recover quickly, and will probably only have to be absent from a couple episodes of 30 Rock, his current hit television show. Upon returning, Morgan will be welcomed by his fellow cast members such as Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and fellow kidney transplant recipient Grizz Chapman.

The 1972 kidney disease provisions of Medicare of Public Law 92-603 were effective as of July 1st, 1973. Since that time, amendments have been made to expand the program, including the 1978 provisions of Public Law 95-292, which were effective October 1st, 1978, and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981. The Omnibus Budget Act of 19990 has expanded Medicare coverage of self-administered EPO for home dialysis patients effective as of 1991, while the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 extends immunosuppressant coverage from one year to three years.

These Medicare benefits consist of two types of insurance: Part A, or hospital insurance, and Part B, or medical insurance. Almost everyone who is eligible for Medicare is covered by hospital insurance without paying any monthly premium. Hospital insurance covers medically necessary inpatient hospital care and, under certain conditions, medically necessary post-hospital inpatient care in a skilled nursing facility, and home health care provided by a home health agency. The hospital insurance part of Medicare, for example, helps pay for an inpatient stay in an approved surgery. Hospital insurance has an annual deductible, and Medicare payments for services are made directly to the participating facility providing services.

When a person becomes entitled to Medicare hospital insurance because of chronic kidney failure, they are also enrolled for medical insurance or Part B of Medicare. Although they do not have to take this part of Medicare, most of the services and supplies required by chronic kidney failure are covered only by the medical insurance and not by the hospital insurance. The monthly premium for medical insurance protection covers physicians’ services; outpatient hospital services; outpatient maintenance dialysis treatments in an approved dialysis facility; durable medical equipment for use in the home, such as dialysis machine; and almost all items necessary for home dialysis, as well as many other health services and supplies. In addition to monthly premium payments, medical insurance also carries a small annual deductible payment and a 20 percent co-insurance liability.

Note: There is no minimum age required to receive Medicare benefits under the kidney disease provisions, as long as all other eligibility requirements are met.

How to Find Out if You’re Eligible for Medicare Benefits

The law states that you must be a Social Security or Railroad Retirement beneficiary or be “fully or currently” insured in order to be eligible for the kidney disease provisions of Medicare. You are currently insured it you have at least six quarters of coverage during the full 13-quarter period ending with the calendar quarter in which dialysis or a transplant occurs. A patient is fully insured when they have one quarter of coverage under the Social Security program for each year elapsing after 1950 (or after the year the patient attains age 21, if later) to the year in which dialysis or transplant occurs. In no case is more than 40 quarters of coverage required. The spouse or dependent child of an insured individual is also eligible. For more information on eligibility, contact your local Social Security office. A social worker is best suited to assist you in determining whether or not you are eligible for Medicare benefits.