Dialysis

[Dorothea]

Kidney Function
Has anyone regained kidney function after kidney involvement? My kidneys went down to 5%, on dialysis now for a month, hoping they come back. At what percentage is functional and how long did it take? Thank you!

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[drz]

Kidney Function
Has anyone regained kidney function after kidney involvement? My kidneys went down to 5%, on dialysis now for a month, hoping they come back. At what percentage is functional and how long did it take? Thank you!

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When my kidneys were failing I was told they generally start thinking about or start dialysis in the teens. The doctors said you can live OK in the 30's but you won't feel very good. At around 50 % you can feel OK most of the the time but will probably have limited endurance and fatigue quickly.

My kidneys did slowly improve so I never ended up on dialysis and it took a couple years to get back up to 40-50%.

[Dorothea]

Thank you drz.[emoji4]

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[gilders]

Hi Dorethea. It does vary from hospital to hospital and from person to person. Most people start dialysis at about 10%. But if the patient is already suffering from symptoms before they reach 10% dialysis starts sooner. Often at 15% patients will have access created (e.g. fistula) ready for use so they don't need emergency neck catheters. I presume you currently have a neck catheter or is it a groin one (I've had both).
Have they talked about creating a permanent access and the choices of hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis? If not, maybe they are hopeful of your kidneys recovering. Don't worry if they have talked about permanent access. It was discussed with me before my kidneys recovered.

I'm currently at 16% and they're trying to start me on dialysis. I'm wanting to hold off for transplant or until I become too sick.

Good luck. Please keep us updated.

[Dorothea]

Dear gilders,
What is your opinion on peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis? My kidney doctor suggested it would be a good option for me, I need to do more research on this. I'm still at 5% kidney function. The place I go for dialysis is 5 minutes from my home. Thanks in advance!!!

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[gilders]

Hi Dorethea. It really is a personal choice. As your kidneys work 24/7 in the background, the best form of dialysis is that which mimics them the closest. Therefore whichever you chose (HD vs PD) the more frequent the dialysis the better. For that reason I would chose nocturnal as you can be on dialysis for as long as 10 hours everday (every night actually).
I personally think PD is the best choice for me (except for transplant). It is much more portable than HD which is important to me. I also have bleeding problems so the frequent needles of HD was another deciding factor.
Some people do not want to get involved with their treatment and feel safer with nurses doing it for them. In this case HD at clinic/hospital would be their preferred choice.
HD at clinic is usually only 3x4hr sessions per week. That's only 12hrs out of 168hrs where your body is filtering toxins. That's tough on your body. But the toughest thing on your body is the HD itself when it has to try and remove all the toxins that have built up between your last dialysis session of the week and the first session of the following week. Over time this puts great strain on your heart. The fluid and diets restrictions can be extremely severe when you are only doing 12hrs of dialysis per week.
I don't know what your urine output is, but if not already, it will drop until you no longer pass urine (this varies a lot between patients) and every bit of fluid you take in will build up around organs (including lungs and heart) until dialysis removes it. Your 5% function isn't much, but it might be just enough that allows you to pass urine. PD is much better at helping you retain that little bit of kidney function that can make a big difference overall.
The quick answer to you question is that PD is best for people who don't need nurses to do everything for them.
There's still other things to consider that I find minor, such as constantly having a catheter with PD. I don't think it's too unsightly, but some people might hate it.

If there's anything I've not thought to mention that you're unsure of, please ask. It's a tough time you're going through and will be a very big change for the rest of your life.

[Dorothea]

Hi gilders! Thank you very much for the quick response! You're input is very much appreciated. You've been so helpful😁

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