Worried sick

[Abhq]

My husband was told before new year that he had a 4cm tumour on his kidney (he had nephrectomy on other 16years ago), they are going to do cryoablation on it next week. however, when we were on holiday in Jan he became VERY unwell, was admitted to hospital and had 18ltrs of fluid drained, doctor said his kidney GFR has gone down to 20. I'm so worried as he's lost loads of weight, he looks so poorly, and he's getting quite depressed (obviously). He also has cirrhosis of the liver.

The doctors have said that he'll need to go on dialysis too.

I'm feeling at a bit of a loss just now.

[Anastatia]

Im sorry to hear about your husband. It must be very hard for both of you. I was on dialysis for three years and felt very poorly beforehand. But once I started dialysis I began to feel a lot better after a couple of weeks. Prior to dialysis there are a lot of toxins in the blood so the machine helps to clean the blood when the kidneys arent working very well.

Is there a renal counsellor at the hospital where he is going to have dialysis that he might be able to talk to? I had some counselling before dialysis which helped.

I had a transplant in June 2013 so dont have to do dialysis any more. I dont know if a transplant could be an option for your husband in the future?

Best wishes

take care

[rabbit01]

I am very sorry to hear about your husband, must be very worrying for the both of you. My GFR is 18 so I know what that makes you feel like and I too get pretty depressed at times if I think about it too much. I am not yet on dialysis but from what I read on this forum and have seen on you tube people can feel a lot better once they are one it and get used to it. Try to stay positive both of you. This forum is a wealth of friendly advice so please use it to stay in contact. Best Wishes.

[clem556]

What a situation you are both in. It must be very traumatic. Where was the 18 litres? That change alone must make you look different, that's 3 stone.

From a dialysis point of view, I would think the sooner the better, it will make your husband feel better, but this can take a couple of weeks. You may need to decide which dialysis is best for you, or the hospital may have one in mind, this will be discussed with you. If they need to they can start dialysis straight away by fitting a temporary neck line, these aren't pretty but they work and are temporary. ( I have had several for various reasons).

You will find the staff have seen all this before, and will be very kind and sympathetic. It is a life changer, you will learn lots of things, don't panic, there are no tests

The main thing, from a kidney point of view he'll be well looked after, and they won't leave out they will explain every thing to both of you.

As a bye the way I had kidney failure 1990, dialysis, transplant (lasted 17 years) back on dialysis 2007 to now.

I wish you luck and send my best wishes. Keep your chin up, and good luck.

Clem

[Abhq]

Thanks for your support and sharing your experiences, feeling a bit more positive today, as you say we have our up and down days. He is going into hospital tomorrow so hopefully we will get more info on dialysis, once he comes out of surgery.

Thanks for kind words and best wishes xx

[Kibibi90]

Hi, So sorry to read of your husbands problems, I can't imagine how you are both feeling. You don't say where you live so I can't say too much about renal counselling (my unit don't provide this). Try talking to your GP about counselling. Meanwhile take advice from your husbands Drs as they sound as if they are going to be a good support. I wish you both the very best over the next few weeks and beyond.

Kibibi