Analysis

[Alysia]

They all seem to be moving into fast action and <I am getting a bit scared. I guess or hope that they wait until after the holidays before they start anything.

Hi Barbara. I think that is it good that they are moving into action, and it is better before the holidays. the sooner the better, because it means that you will feel better sooner. and it also means that they care about you and want to do the best for you. you are in good hands, it seems.
sending you lots of hugs. take care.

[Debbie C]

Good luck to you on Monday,Barbara. My prayers will be with you that you don't have to go on dialysis.Tale care and have a Merry Christmas

[JenG]

Barbara,
When I was diagnosed upon renal failure 14 years ago I went on dialysis for 10 months prior to receiving a transplant. I received my dialysis treatments 3 days a week, each session was a three hour treatment. I did not have a fistula put in as my docs were hoping to transplant in the near future. I had ports as described in earlier posts. This is what I can share regarding dialysis:
1) If you are placed on a renal diet and fluid restrictions, follow them strictly. The amount of fluid that is drawn off of you during treatments is determined by your "base" weight. Many dialysis patients don't follow good health rules so when they have their fluid removed, if they had say, too much salt, the dialysis machine will draw fluid out of muscles creating cramping and pain. Many patients are given meds to alleviate this if I remember. I never had any of these issues as I was extremely compliant with my diet intake.
2) If you don't already, you may incur some blood pressure issues. I suffered from blood pressure migraines for quite a while. It took the docs a while to figure me out. They tried to give me heavy pain meds rather than manage my blood pressure. I would hope that you already have a team of good docs who will take care of this for you. The low blood pressure may also by why so many people say they are "cold" after treatments...
3.) I hadn't though of this at the time, but now I would ask about your meds being dialyzed out of your system and potentially not being as effective as you need them to be...you may need to readjust your med schedule to better fit your dialysis schedule. On the other hand, you could also be over medicated if meds are processed through your kidneys which are not functioning high enough to cleanse you properly. All of the meds I take have to be cleared through my intestines and liver, not kidney.

I can tell you that I had no pain during or after treatments. I always felt better after treatments as I was in complete renal failure and needed to be cleansed. There was always a 3 day wait (as our weeks are inconveniently 7 days, not 6) over the weekend and I always looked forward to Monday's session as I could tell I was highly uremic, fluid filled and overdue for a treatment. Most of the other patients receiving treatment were much worse off then I was and it helped put things into perspective to me. I would on occasion end up with very low blood pressure after treatments if they took too much fluid off of my body. It has been many, many years but these are the highlights I remember from hemodialysis treatments.

Jennifer

[gilders]

Great reply Jennifer. Good info there!

[Debbie C]

That was a good summary..I hope all is well with your new kidney.

[Barbara N]

Everyone put such great input on here and helpful information. It is all a bit scary when you haven't been through it before. I am not a candidate for a transplant so I will be on dialysis for the rest of my life and this is something I have been struggling with. Do I want to do this the rest of my life with no hope for change? It may not be a hard choice for some people but it is for me. I still have a few months to ponder over the pros and cons of each side, so the more info you send me the better prepared I will be to make this decision.

[Texastatoogal]

I will continue it keep you in my prayers. You said you have family in Tahlequah, not sure if I spelled that right. But I look forward to meeting you someday. I remember my dad when he first started it. I was 14. So I don't recall a lot. But I know he did experience some depression in the beginning. It was a lot to take in. I don't ever remember him being sick and then all of a sudden he was having to do this. Years later I found out about his diabetes that he never took care of. Which led to his kidney problem. This was back in 1986. It took a bit of time for the adjustment. But he got used to it. I believe for a dialysis patient he lasted 8-10 years on it. At that time it was a pretty long time. He still was able to do the things he enjoyed. Except the drinking..that he had to cut down a lot on. I pray for peace for you. I know it's not a decision to take lightly. But you seem to have such great strength. I know you can get through this. Do you have any family in Spain with you?

[gilders]

Everyone put such great input on here and helpful information. It is all a bit scary when you haven't been through it before. I am not a candidate for a transplant so I will be on dialysis for the rest of my life and this is something I have been struggling with. Do I want to do this the rest of my life with no hope for change? It may not be a hard choice for some people but it is for me. I still have a few months to ponder over the pros and cons of each side, so the more info you send me the better prepared I will be to make this decision.

I'm not sure I understand when you say you have a choice?
I was on dialysis when my kidneys failed to such an extent that I would have died without dialysis.
My kidneys are currently borderline dialysis and will eventually drop off to an amount that will require permanent dialysis.
As far as I'm aware I will only be back on dialysis when my kidneys are so poor I would die without dialysis.

Are your kidneys in a state where your body is suffering, but in no immediate danger of death, which gives you a choice?
I'm sure you will only be given the option of dialysis if you need it. Therefore I'd say go for it. There's no life threatening surgery involved.

[Alysia]

Hi Barbara,
I want to echo Gilders's questions....
and to send you my prayers and lots of hugs
take care and please listen to your docs.

[JenG]

Barbara,
I too am not certain that I understand when you say that dialysis is a choice. You could opt for Peritoneal Dialysis over Hemodialysis where you can connect to your machine over night and run some quick exchanges during the day--this should allow you to not have diet or fluid restrictions. I am also thinking that you may be able to get a Hemodialysis machine for your home where you may be able to have more frequent but less lengthy dialysis sessions. In the meantime, what are you doing to help keep your kidneys as healthy as you can?

As for the cost of dialysis, here, in the US (14 years ago anyway), as soon as you are started on dialysis you automatically qualify for Medicaid/medicare as your primary insurance so there isn't a financial burden.