Should we have a special kidney disease group?

[tonyb286]

My good friend and mentor, Connie (TwoBits), has encouraged me to start a special Group for canine kidney disease. This would be a place where owners could get information and help during the disease and support in bereavement. But it would also be a place for more general information on this dreadful disease, ideas, telling others about things that have worked well, expressing our feelings, talking about our best friends and learning about new initiatives and research. If you think it's a good idea, please let me know. Also, should it be an open Group - or one by invite only? Thanks.

[TwoBitsMom]

Hi Tony....

When I started the group, I posted my own questions with answers.Should you decide to start a group, it looks like that is your plan as well.  I think it would work, as it seems like there are a lot of new posters that just look for an old thread to add a comment/question too, as opposed to asking a new question of their own.  You are right about the thread getting too long, and that would certainly be a drawback. Hopefully MedHelp will have some other ideas to offer you.

Wishing you ALL THE BEST...!
Thank-you for being here...

Connie  {{{ Hugs to you. }}}

[tonyb286]

Still waiting for MedHelp to get back. Hopefully they will soon and I can start figuring the next step. If separate categories are not permitted in a Group, I'm thinking the next best thing would be to post some initial header threads, labeling them under each category. I think this would work to organize the different topics under Canine Kidney Disease, though if the threads get too long they may have to be tidied up or deleted from time to time.

Tony

[Misfits4Me]

I Too, think it's a great idea, but unsure how to do it or if it can be done!!!!! I'll be waiting to hear what you find out......Karla

[Margot49]

Would be nice if it could be set up like the Greytalk site.

[tonyb286]

I think the idea about sub-categorizing the various issues related to canine kidney failure is a good one ... so perhaps something along the lines of Bereavement Support; Diet & Nutrition; Research News; etc.

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, there is no way of doing this within the Group system. Just to be sure, I have sent MedHelp a question about it and will let you know once a reply is received. I think the Groups work exactly like the forum, so most recently answered thread stays at the top. At the moment, there doesn't seem a way of adding sub-headers. I guess the only other way would be to add separate Groups for each sub-category, though this may complicate things somewhat.

Tony

[Fitmaltesemom]

Great idea! Since I've been on this site its been a fantastic help.
I think it should be an open forum. I was in a state of shock when Oliver was diagnosed with kidney failure. I did not now where to turn. Again this type of forum has helped me tremendously.  I like to read others' stories . We can learn from each other.

[amielynn24]

"this subject comes up often" breaks my heart.  I hated having to deal with this heartbreaking disease as much as I hate hearing others going through it with their furry friends.  

I agree though, Tony!  Great idea.  I do like to read others' stories not to see what I could have done differently, but for future reference.

[Margot49]

I think that is an excellent idea since this subject comes up often.  That way, information and discussion would be grouped together and save time trying to scan and find all the discussions.  I think it should be Open.  What you might do is categorize the Groups, I.e., Symptoms, Treatment, research, Diet comes up a lot, etc.  just throwing that out there. Is there a way, in these Forums Boards to keep important subjects on top?