dialysis question

[maryell6487]

hello, My husband was dx 2 yrs ago with wegs this past dec he went into renal failure and we have been told it will be permanent from now on just wondering which to chose hemo or peritoneal is there anyone that can help?

[Dorothea]

hello, My husband was dx 2 yrs ago with wegs this past dec he went into renal failure and we have been told it will be permanent from now on just wondering which to chose hemo or peritoneal is there anyone that can help?Hello,
What percentage of kidney function does he have left? I was on dialysis for 2 months and my kidneys came back to 25% I can live the rest of my life at 25%. If I lose my kidney function I personally would choose peritoneal. You can do it yourself at night while sleeping. I'm not a fan of hemo dialysis, they would always take off too much fluid and my body would cramp up, which is very painful.
I wish him the best of luck in what ever he chooses. Take care!

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[maryell6487]

thank you for your response Dorothea, they ran test last week and we are still waiting to see what his function is right now. And he doesn't care for the hemo either it really drains him and they said he would probably do better with peritoneal being he is so active ( when he feels good). thank you again and I wish you well also

[gilders]

Hi, if you read the first post in "Dialysis choices" thread that I started, it gives you all the pros and cons of each dialysis option.
In brief, the best dialysis is one that mimics the kidneys as close as possible. Considering kidneys work 24/7, frequent, gentle dialysis is best. This is usually achieved by peritoneal dialysis 4 times/day. Obviously the frequent dialysis sessions intrude more in to your life than less frequent sessions. It's a tough decision between having what's best for your kidneys and what's not going to take over your life.

I am currently awaiting transplant and if I have to go on dialysis before it is sorted out, my wish is to go on Peritoneal. I think I will do the "exchanges" 4 times per day, everyday. The other option would be to do the exchanges throughout the night. Ideally this would happen while you sleep, but I'd imagine it taking many months before before I'd be able to sleep through it.

Things will improve vastly when we can get implantable/wearable artificial kidneys that work 24/7 and don't require the anti-rejection meds that are required after transplant.

[maryell6487]

Last lab results are creat 5.01 gfr 11. We are going to go with peritoneal overnight and pray it works out seeing he already has trouble sleeping. Pray all is well

[maryell6487]

Thank you gilders, I have been reading as many posts as I can trying to gain all the info from all of our fellow weggies. I appreciate you advice and pray all goes well with you and your transplant. We are looking into the transplant option my hubby is very active and I worry all the time about infections. He doesn't realize just how serious this disease is. Thank you for words of encouragement.

[gilders]

If he can manage to sleep through the night, then he will have every waking hour off dialysis to carry on being active. I don't want to worry you both, but feel it's best to be informed and prepared. That's why I think you should know (you may already know this) that peritoneal dialysis can not go on indefinitely. The lining wears out. I believe on average it lasts about 5 years, but can vary quite a bit. That's why I think he should seriously consider a transplant. But, of course, anti - rejection meds put you at risk from serious infections. There is one positive with the antirejection medication, it's very similar to Wegener's treatment, so there is less chance of you having a relapse.