first in the worldy e a r s

 

Transplant Connection Volume 3, Issue 1 · March 2012

Create an emergency stockpile of your medicines By Tom Montemayor Northwest Kidney Centers pharmacy manager

Your medications, especially immunosuppressants, are critical for keeping you and your transplanted kidney healthy. That means you should always be prepared for unexpected problems with your medicine supply. It may be something big, like a natural disaster, or something relatively little, like a lost or stolen purse.

How to build a medication stockpile:

Most insurance plans let you refill a 30-day prescription every 21 to 30 days. So, to collect extra for an emergency, refill your prescriptions as early as possible for several months. Continue this until you have about six weeks worth of extra meds.

Safety tips:

Know your current medications, dosages and directions. These may not be recorded on the medication bottle. If you are not sure about a medication, dose or directions, contact your transplant team.

Throw away medications you no longer take. Don’t risk getting confused and taking the wrong one.

Rotate your medication stockpile so that you always use the oldest ones first. Medications expire. Don’t get caught with an outdated stockpile!

Store medications properly. Unless specific instructions say otherwise, store medications in a clean, cool (room temperature), dry place, away from direct sunlight.

Questions? Contact the pharmacy:

Email: pharmacy@nwkidney.org

 

Tony Tse is one of the Northwest Kidney Centers pharmacists ready to fill

your prescription.

Healthy chicken nuggets — A fast-food makeover!

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Nutrition information (per serving): calories: 247, carbohydrates: 20 g, protein: 31 g, dietary fiber: 3 g, fat: 1

Transplant Connection 2

1. Which type of cholesterol is “good”?

LDL

HDL

Triglycerides

2. Olive oil, canola oil, almonds and avocados are all higher in what type of fat?

Saturated

Monounsaturated

Polyunsaturated

Transfat

3. If you could take one of these as a pill, which one would reduce your risk of stroke or heart attack by 40 to 60 percent?

Pomegranate juice

Aloe vera

Exercise

Vitamin D

4. If they are the same weight and prepared the same way, which is higher in fat?

Pork tenderloin

Chicken thigh, without the skin

5. Eating 20-25 grams of fiber per day can help lower cholesterol. Which foods are high in fiber?

Barley and brown rice

Bread and pasta with the first ingredient “whole wheat”

Fruit and veggies

Beans

Heart health quizHeart health and kidney health are closely linked. How much do you know about what’s good for your heart? Grab a pencil and find out!

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

! cup Dijon mustard

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Pat chicken dry and cut into bite-size pieces.

Dip chicken pieces in mustard.

Roll in bread crumbs.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 500 degrees for 15 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

To keep active and healthy, patient John Morgan plays

basketball with his son Jayman.

Answers on page 3

Transplant Connection 3

1. HDL. Do you know what your HDL number is?

2. Monounsaturated fat. Replacing less healthy fats with monounsaturated fat may help increase your HDL, the good cholesterol.

3. Exercise. It won’t ever come in a pill, but walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol.

4. The chicken thigh has more fat – 10 grams total (3 grams saturated fat). A pork tenderloin has 4 grams of fat total (1 gram saturated fat). Saturated fat increases your bad cholesterol, or LDL.

5. All of the above. Also consider whole grain cereals (like oatmeal), nuts and seeds, lentils and split peas.

Answers: Heart health quiz

Ask the experts! Northwest Kidney Centers now offers a class for kidney transplant patients taught by a pharmacist and a dietitian. Even if you’ve had your transplant for a while, the class can help you stay motivated to keep a healthy lifestyle.

The focus is on tools to live long and live well with your transplant:

How to understand and manage all those medications. About 36 percent of transplant failures are due to patients not taking their pills.

How to cut your risk of heart and blood vessel disease. Transplant patients are at high risk of death from these causes.

Plus, information on infection and cancer risk.

Class details:

Offered every month at Northwest Kidney Centers Haviland Pavilion, 700 Broadway, Seattle

2 " hours of class with a pharmacist and dietitian

Family and friends are welcome

Interested? Call 206-292-2771, ext. 1082 to sign up.

Living Well with a Transplant A new class for you

Dietitian Lacey Stroomer teaches about nutrition to preserve

your transplant.

www.nwkidney.org Phone 206-292-2771

Northwest Kidney Centers is celebrating 50 years as the first dialysis program in the world. Join us for these special events!

May 15: Breakfast of Hope, 7:30 a.m., Westin Seattle Hotel

June 2: Kidney Health Fest for African American Families, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Van Asselt Elementary School, Seattle

Nov. 10: 50th Anniversary Gala, 5:30 p.m., Grand Hyatt, Seattle

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first in the worldy e a r s

50th anniversary events Mark your calendar!

Supporting transplant patients — Keeping the gift alive

Join us on Facebook and Twitter. Hear the latest news as it happens!

We do all we can to get kidney transplants for our patients, and our transplant rate is 75 percent higher than the national average.

To support patients and transplantation, we offer:

Access to Dental Program. To fix any dental health problem patients may have so they are eligible for a transplant.

Specialty pharmacy. Full-service pharmacy that specializes in kidney care and transplant medications, so you stay healthier.

Living Well with a Transplant class. Gives transplant patients needed health information so they can care for their transplant.

Medical Nutrition Therapy. Nutrition counseling with a registered dietitian to establish a healthy eating plan for you and your transplant.

Pharmacy:

Transplant class and nutrition counseling:

Laurence Gouveia received his

transplant in 2011 after taking advantage

of the Access to Dental program.