Understand Your Options. Make Informed Decisions. Live Well With Kidney Disease.
Being told that you may need dialysis can feel overwhelming.
What exactly is dialysis? When should treatment begin? What is the difference between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis? Can dialysis be performed at home? Is kidney transplantation an option? And how will treatment affect your work, family, travel, and everyday life?
The Dialysis Options Workbook, developed by practicing nephrologist Andrew Kowalski, MD, FASN, provides a comprehensive, evidence-based guide to understanding kidney replacement therapy and choosing a treatment approach that fits your medical needs, lifestyle, and personal goals.
This 36-page interactive kidney education workbook explains the different dialysis and kidney failure treatment options while helping patients and families participate confidently in shared decision-making. Through nine educational sessions, practical comparison tools, interactive worksheets, and personalized planning activities, you'll gain the knowledge needed to understand your choices and prepare for treatment.
What You'll Learn
1. Understand When Dialysis May Be Needed
Learn what happens when the kidneys can no longer adequately remove waste products, excess fluid, potassium, and acid from the body. Discover why the decision to begin dialysis depends on symptoms, laboratory results, complications, and overall health, not simply reaching a particular eGFR number.
2. Explore All Your Kidney Failure Treatment Options
Learn about the major approaches to managing kidney failure, including:
In-center hemodialysis
Home hemodialysis
Peritoneal dialysis
Kidney transplantation
Conservative kidney management without dialysis
Understand the potential benefits, limitations, and practical considerations of each approach.
3. Choose a Treatment That Fits Your Lifestyle
Kidney replacement therapy affects more than laboratory results. Learn how treatment schedules, independence, home responsibilities, transportation, employment, travel, and personal preferences influence dialysis decisions.
4. Understand In-Center Hemodialysis
Discover how traditional hemodialysis works and what to expect during treatment at a dialysis center.
Learn about:
How a dialysis machine filters blood
Typical treatment schedules
Vascular access
Fluid removal and common symptoms
5. Explore Home Hemodialysis
Learn how home hemodialysis differs from traditional in-center treatment. Understand the importance of training, equipment, home support, treatment schedules, and safety planning.
Discover why home hemodialysis may offer greater scheduling flexibility for appropriately selected patients.
6. Understand Peritoneal Dialysis
Explore how peritoneal dialysis uses the lining of your abdomen to remove waste products and excess fluid. Learn the differences between:
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD)
Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD)
Understand how exchanges work, what equipment is needed, and how peritoneal dialysis may fit into daily life.
7. Manage Nutrition, Fluids, and Laboratory Results on Dialysis
Learn how dialysis affects your body's fluid balance, electrolytes, nutrition, and overall health.
Understand why monitoring potassium, phosphorus, fluid status, and dialysis adequacy matters.
8. Protect Your Dialysis Access and Prevent Infections
Understand the different types of hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis access. Learn why access protection, hygiene, infection prevention, and recognizing warning signs are essential parts of safe dialysis care.
9. Learn How to Live Well With Dialysis
A diagnosis of kidney failure does not mean giving up everything you enjoy.
Explore practical considerations involving:
Employment and daily routines
Travel and transportation
Physical activity and exercise
Fatigue and symptom management
Emotional health
Personal independence
10. Prepare Questions and Review Your Treatment Choices
Learn how to participate in treatment decisions and communicate effectively with your nephrologist and dialysis team. Use structured questions and planning tools to review your options as your health and personal circumstances change.
More Than a Dialysis Guide...A Personalized Decision-Making Workbook
The Dialysis Options Workbook helps turn complicated medical decisions into understandable choices.
Inside, you'll find:
Nine comprehensive educational sessions
Easy-to-understand explanations and illustrations
Dialysis treatment comparisons
In-center and home hemodialysis education
Peritoneal dialysis information covering CAPD and APD
Home dialysis readiness exercises
Dialysis access and infection prevention education
Questions to discuss with your healthcare team
Tracking tools, knowledge checks, and a medical glossary
Most sessions take approximately 20–40 minutes and can be completed at your own pace.
Who Is This Workbook For?
This workbook is designed for:
Adults living with advanced chronic kidney disease
Individuals recently told they may need dialysis
Patients comparing peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis
People interested in home dialysis options
Individuals already receiving dialysis who want to better understand their treatment choices
Family members and caregivers helping someone navigate kidney failure
Anyone seeking reliable, physician-developed dialysis education
Developed by a Practicing Nephrologist
Created by Andrew Kowalski, MD, FASN, the Dialysis Options Workbook reflects the Kidney Strong mission of empowering patients through practical, understandable, and evidence-based kidney education.
Dr. Kowalski believes patients should understand their treatment choices and have an active voice in decisions that affect their health and daily lives.
The best treatment decision considers medical evidence alongside each patient's goals, preferences, responsibilities, and available support.
Your Treatment. Your Life. Your Choice.
Kidney failure changes many aspects of life, but it does not eliminate the possibility of living meaningfully, maintaining independence, or pursuing the things that matter most to you.
Understanding your options can help you prepare for treatment, ask better questions, and make more informed decisions with your healthcare team.
Don't Let Fear Make Your Dialysis Decision. Let Knowledge Guide Your Next Step.
Get Your Dialysis Options Workbook Today and Start Exploring the Treatment Choices That Fit Your Life.
Educational use only. This workbook does not replace medical advice or individualized treatment recommendations. Decisions about dialysis, transplantation, or conservative kidney management should be made with your nephrologist and healthcare team.