http://www.cancerplans.com/news/rss/ Articles en-ca http://www.cancerplans.com/news/kidney-failure-male-side-effects 2012-09-29 00:00:00 If you are a man at risk for kidney disease, you may be focused more on the immediate consequences of renal failure, including the possibility of hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and/or kidney transplant. You may not be thinking about the potential sexual side effects of chronic kidney disease – but you should. Kidney disease causes profound chemical changes in many of your body’s systems, altering your hormones, nervous system, energy level and blood circulation. As you can imagine, many of these problems can have a direct effect on your sexuality. Some of the most common male side effects of kidney disease include: Fatigue. In the early stages of CKD (chronic kidney disease), higher levels of waste in your system can make you feel too tired for sex. Once your dialysis treatment starts, the waste levels in your system go down, but the treatment can still leave you feeling drained. A renal dietitian can help you make diet choices that counterbalance some of the fatigue. Low libido.The kidneys are part of your endocrine system, and contribute significantly to your sexual desire. The adrenal glands, located at the top of the kidney, produce hormones that regulate your libido; kidney disease may change your hormone levels and significantly decrease your sex drive. If your doctor does blood work and determines that your low sex drive is due to kidney disease, he may prescribe medicine that brings hormone levels back to normal. Erectile dysfunction. Chronic kidney disease can weaken blood vessels and inhibit blood flow, making it difficult for you to maintain an erection. Sometimes erectile dysfunction is also a side effect of kidney failure medicines. If you think you may be at risk for kidney failure, you should take out a critical illness insurance policy in order to cover disease-related expenses. CancerPlans provides a broad range of supplemental insurance policies that offer a lump sum benefit upon first diagnosis of acute renal failure. (1) http://www.davita.com/kidney-disease/overview/living-with-ckd/male-sexuality-and-chronic-kidney-disease/e/4900 http://www.cancerplans.com/news/what-is-dialysis 2012-08-01 00:00:00 When you experience total renal (kidney) failure, your kidneys can no longer perform their usual task of filtering waste from your bloodstream. Dialysis artificially replaces your kidneys by hooking you up to a mechanism that performs kidney functions for you. A dialysis system helps to control blood pressure; removes waste, salt and extra water from your body; and maintains a safe level of bloodstream chemicals like sodium, potassium and bicarbonate. Dialysis can be performed in a hospital, in a separate dialysis unit, or at home with the proper equipment. There are two major types of dialysis: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Hemodialysis attaches you to an outside-the-body “artificial kidney” (hemodialyzer) by connecting a tube to your bloodstream and cycling your blood through the machine and back into your body. A typical hemodialysis treatment takes about four hours and is performed three times a week. During peritoneal dialysis, the blood is cleaned inside the body. A catheter (plastic tube) is inserted into your abdomen and your abdominal area is filled with a cleaning fluid (dialysate). The fluid remains in your abdomen for a few hours and is then flushed out and thrown away. You can perform this type of dialysis manually (Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis) or with the aid of an automatic cycling machine (Continuous Cycling Peritoneal Dialysis). If you are at risk for kidney disease or kidney failure, you should consider a critical illness insurance policy from CancerPlans.com. Dialysis and related kidney drugs and treatments are extremely expensive, and planning ahead financially is a wise idea. CancerPlans.com provides a wide variety of critical illness insurance policies that pay a lump sum upon first diagnosis of kidney failure.   (1) Dialysis. July 2012. The National Kidney Foundation. July 17 2012. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/dialysisinfo.cfm