Hi my husband is on HD and sleeps all the... - Dialysis Support
Hi my husband is on HD and sleeps all the time, is this normal, we know he has a low Hb but is on iron and epo.
Low Hb can make you very tired and sleepy. If blood pressure is low or high this will make matters worse. EPO can take several weeks, months even, to start showing an effect, and also I think the individual can adapt to low Hb to reduce tiredness, and this also takes several weeks or months. HD itself is debilitating for some patients at first, but again you can adapt to it in time. If your husband has just started dialysis then I wouldn't worry too much... it took me a year to really accommodate it into my life - even so I still usually sleep for an hour or so in the afternoon.
On the other hand, accepting dialysis mentally can be very difficult too, and excessive sleep could be an indicator of depression. Counselling helped me come to terms with dialysis, eventually. The charity Mind might be able to help you out.
Your husband should do his best to maintain a gentle exercise regime, though this is very challenging if Hb is low. And accept that adapting to HD can be a slow, difficult process that is likely to present new challenges as time passes. Good luck!
he needs to stick to his low protein diet cos otherwise all his energy will wasted in digested it .
Hi
Yes it's perfectly normal and I'm in the position at present. Unfortunately it can take time to put right. Meanwhile I suggest you have a chat with your husband's dietician to guide you through foods that will help.
Hi,
Yep it is normal, but like the others said talk to doctor, dietician and counsellor at the hospital, they all will help. Once I realised it was an aggressive treatment on the body, but keeps me alive I worked my life round it, and evening dialysis worked better for me so I could go straight to bed afterwards, which helped me. He will adapt slowly, mentally and physically, but it takes time. Best wishes
Thanks everyone for our reply
We do dialysis at home for two hours five times a week. This has made a huge difference and my husband seems to be much more alert since changing to this regime.
Hi Shrianjan, we are hoping for home dialysis, lets hope we have the same luck.
