Does anyone else feel lousy after coming off HD

[Hdpatient]

Does anyone else feel lousy after coming off HD and the following day. I feel tired, get cramps in feet, ankles, legs and hands, tirednes,fatigue and dizzyness when getting up

[cgih]

I'm so sorry to hear you are feeling like this, it is exactly how HD made me feel so I know how awful it is. I switched to PD and felt much, much better. Would that be possible for you?

[Hdpatient in reply to cgih]

Thanks will talk to doctors

[Hidden]

You should not feel THAT bad the whole day post dx, UNLESS, your figures are out of kilter or you are taking off too much fluid..

Talk to your consultant and see if your Dialyser is correct for your bodyweight, and your dialysate as well..

Its 'convenient' for some units to 'Assume' all patients will NOT be strict with their diet/fluids, and its 'easier' for them to use the Same dialyser and Concentrate for ALL patients.

It may be a simple thing of changing your dialysate to a K of 2, rather than 1.5.. Or a smaller dialyser..

Also, what is your Hb and dry weight, they may also need assessing.. Talk to your consultant. Its a lot of questions but dialysis is pretty crude, and you need to get the balance right

Good luck, never stop asking questions.

J

[Hdpatient in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[WateryBob]

Cramp and dizziness are signs for me that I'm too dry -often accompanied by low blood pressure. You have to learn your own personal reactions to being dry, under-dialysed etc and this takes time. Try to feel confident that you can feel better so you can motivate your medical team to change your regime until you find the sweet spot. HD doesn't have to mean feeling lousy ALL the time.

[cassie-brzoza]

I'm quite new on haemodialysis myself (I only started a month or so ago) and I was told that sometimes haemodialysis can give you what is known as a "haemo-hangover" with all the symptoms you're speaking of. I have experienced lethargy and fatigue after haemo and felt very worn out and standing up and getting dizzy is usually because your blood pressure has dropped. Are you on any anti-hypotension tablets to lower your blood pressure? If so, tell the consultant about the symptoms you're experiencing and they might need to review you anti-hypotension prescription.

I was on Ramipril 10mg and after haemo, my blood pressure would be quite low and i would feel dizzy and occasionally faint. I told my consultant and they lowered my Ramipril dosage so that it did not make my blood pressure so low.

The cramps you're getting are probably from taking off too much fluid during dialysis and being too dry. Therefore again, if you mention this to your consultant - they should alter your haemodialysis prescription and how much fluid they take off. Also, ask for some Quinine Sulphate tablets as they're good at keeping the cramps at bay. (They do take about 4 weeks to kick in though before you notice any effects.)

Hope you start to feel better soon.

[Goldeneye]

I had all of the above and sky high blood pressure despite being on 5 bp tablets of the highest dose I could take but I found the constant migraine unable to cope with. I now do haemo dialysis at home 6 days a week for 2 hours daily and I have no symptoms at all. If you have the room this may be the route to go down

[daisy64]

Hiya

Sounds like your fluid HD does make you feel tired but not for two days, Cramps is usually due to fluid loss also and dizziness, what your blood pressure?