She said she will be starting dialysis in one to two weeks' time.
The type of dialysis she has opted for will involve changing a bag of solution and a draining bag four times a day, which will take half an hour each time.
"I will be doing that kind of dialysis until I get a kidney transplant, either that, or for the rest of my life," Ms Beyer said.
She said All Black great Jonah Lomu's dialysis involves plugging into a machine three times a week, for five hours a time.
"I took the form I preferred because I don't have to plug into a machine, I didn't want anything that meant me plugging into the wall," she said.
Ms Beyer said her type of dialysis will allow for some flexibility in her life. "It's easier to travel so if I come up to the Wairarapa and wanted to spend a week it's no big deal. I bring everything I need with me and it's ready to use, I can even be camping and do my dialysis, so it's a bit more convenient."
She is eligible for a kidney transplant but will have to go on to a waiting list. "My condition is chronic enough for me to be meeting the criteria to do that.
"There are approximately 500-odd people in New Zealand on the waiting list and New Zealanders are only achieving 70 to 120 operations a year so it can be quite a lengthy time, you can be waiting on a waiting list for years, some people are on it for five years or seven years."
She also has the option of a familial donation, where people she knows can come forward and offer a donation.
"I've actually had one or two offers apparently but it's not for me to deal with, people that want to do that are referred to another specific organisation who deal with transplants.
"If anybody got hold of me directly and said I'd like to be put forward I'd say thank you, that's fantastic, ring these people and talk to them about it."
However, even if a person donated a kidney it is not guaranteed to work successfully and complications, such as rejection, can lead to loss of the transplant and a return to dialysis.
Wellington radio presenter Grant Kereama donated a kidney to Mr Lomu in 2004.
"Unfortunately for Jonah that transplant only lasted eight years and he's now back on dialysis.
"For the most part a donated kidney works very well but it doesn't always work forever and you're often put on anti-rejection medicine for the rest of your life."
Ms Beyer said she is disappointed not to be running for this year's election.
"I was going to throw my hat in the ring for mayoralty and I was going to throw my hat in the ring for council but I just don't think it would be a good thing.
"I've got quite an adjustment to make with this kidney problem, I'll get myself healthy enough to get back into some kind of normality first.
"No one wants a lame duck."
Ms Beyer was Carterton mayor in 1995 and re-elected in 1998. She resigned from the mayoralty in 2000.
She took the Wairarapa seat for Labour as a Government MP in 1999 and resigned as an MP in 2007. Ms Beyer also ran for Masterton mayor in 2010 but pulled out due to a lack of funds.
