Dialysis on Road Could Be In Your Own RV

For folks who face a regular regimen of kidney dialysis, trips to the dialysis center can really kill the dream of any sort of RV lifestyle. One woman has shown that the lifestyle may be more in reach of RVers than they'd dreamed.

Diane Rachey has been on regular, three-times-a-week dialysis treatments since the end of 2005. Needless to say, while both she and her husband are retired, getting to use an RV seemed out of reach. But not long ago, Diane and hubby hopped in their RV for a two-week trip--and never stepped in a dialysis center. What happened?

Diane is now working with a new portable dialysis system called NxStage that takes dialysis out of the clinic and into the home--even if that home is on wheels. Says Diane, “Once I started using NxStage, I felt great! I am 100% better both mentally and physically. Going to the center was extremely restrictive. My whole outlook on life now is much more positive, especially because I am able to spend more time enjoying life!”

As opposed to 3-a-week treatments, the NxStage system calls for 6-a-week at home treatments lasting around two and a half hours each. The firm that produces the system has equipment and supplies available throughout the US. Learn more about Diane's story here. Or for more information about the NxStage system, visit their website here.

Don't Ignore Health Danger Signs

When we got into the fulltime lifestyle, we spent more and more time away from our "usual haunts," including the doctors we'd developed relationships with over years of "land locked" living. When you're on the road, it's sometimes easy to lose track of regular health maintenance. For those without any ties to the medical docs, health care "issues" can plain get away from you.

No matter who you are, or where you are, though, problems can come up. Here's a list of 10 health issues you should NOT ignore, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic. This might be a good list to print and post inside the bathroom cabinet door--assuming you have one.

1. Unexplained weight loss — Experiencing a 5 percent weight loss in a month or a 10 percent weight loss within six to 12 months could signal a number of different conditions such as an overactive thyroid, depression, liver disease, cancer or other noncancerous disorders that interfere with how well your body absorbs nutrients.

2. Persistent fever — A persistent low-grade fever — over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit — should be evaluated if it lasts for a week or more. Fever can signal underlying infections. Some underlying cancers and other medical conditions can cause prolonged, persistent fever. A fever accompanied by violent chills or greater than 103 degrees Fahrenheit should be evaluated right away.

3. Shortness of breath — Gasping for air or wheezing are medical emergencies. Causes vary widely and can include asthma, heart problems, anxiety, panic attacks, or a blood clot in the lungs.

4. Unexplained changes in bowel habits — Bowel habit changes may signal a bacterial infection, a viral infection, inflammatory bowel disease or colon cancer. Seek care for any of the following:
-- Severe diarrhea lasting more than two days -- Mild diarrhea lasting a week
-- Constipation that lasts for more than two weeks

-- Unexplained urges to have a bowel movement -- Bloody diarrhea
-- Black or tarry-colored stools

5. Mental status changes — Changes in behavior or thinking may be due to infection, head injury, stroke, low blood sugar or medications. Immediate medical care is warranted for any of the following:
-- Sudden or gradual confused thinking -- Disorientation -- Sudden aggressive behavior
-- Hallucinations in someone who has never had them

6. New or more-severe headaches (especially for those over age 50) — Medical attention is needed right away for:
-- A sudden and severe headache, often called a thunderclap headache, because it comes on suddenly like a clap of thunder.
-- A headache accompanied by a fever, stiff neck, rash, mental confusion, seizure, vision changes, weakness, numbness, speaking difficulties, scalp tenderness or pain with chewing.

Causes vary for headaches that are considered medical emergencies and may include stroke, blood vessel inflammation, meningitis, brain tumor, aneurysm or bleeding on the brain after head trauma.

7. Short-term loss of vision, speaking, movement or control — Minutes count because these are symptoms of a possible stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Seek immediate emergency care for any of the following:
-- Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm, leg on one side of the body
-- Sudden dimness, blurring or loss of vision

-- Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech
-- A sudden or severe headache -- Sudden dizziness, unsteadiness or a fall

8. Flashes of light — The sudden sensation of flashing lights may signal the beginning of retinal detachment. For that condition, immediate care is needed to save vision in the affected eye.

9. Feeling full after eating very little — Feeling full sooner than normal after eating or having persistent nausea or vomiting for a week might indicate possible gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer or ovarian cancer.

10. Hot, red or swollen joints — These warning signs may occur with a joint infection, which requires emergency care to save the joint and prevent the spread of bacteria. Other causes could include gout or certain types of arthritis.

Photo: New York City Fire Department

Tel-a-Doc--When You Can't Get to Your Regular Physician

For fulltimers, keeping up with health care often means returning to a "home state" or home base for those annual checkups and consults. But out on the road, far away from the regular physician, things can and do happen. Emergency rooms are frightfully expensive, and even those neighborhood "walk in, we'll see anybody" clinics can run up a big bill, especially when weighed against what may just be a simple problem. Enter http://www.teladoc.com/.

Tela-Doc provides a nationwide network of licensed physicians. You have a problem, you pick up your phone and call in. The company says a licensed doc will call you back, usually with in 30 to 40 minutes--wait more than three hours and the consult fee is waived. Since you pre-register with Tela-Doc, you have a "prior relationship" with the service, and you've already provided medical records that your doctor will look over before calling you. By knowing your previous history, then by consulting directly with you, Tela-Doc physicians can often prescribe treatment and order prescriptions for you to bill filled wherever you are. Of course, if your condition needs "hands-on" care, your doc will advise you to get thee to an ER, urgent care facility, or other center as needed.

What's it cost? Members of the service pay an $18.00 registration fee. When and if a consultation is required, the consult fee is $35.00. To keep your membership active, a single individual pays $4.25 per month; a member plus one dependent pay $5.75 for two per month. If you're interested in enrolling, be sure to review the website thoroughly including the Frequently Asked Questions section.