fluid intake

[Scotsfolk]

When having to reduce fluid intake , does it go by weight/ build or is it the same for every patient ?

[Nicolala]

It is usually the same for everyone, regardless of size. It's about how much fluid you need to remove on dialysis. A restriction of say 1L per day means there shouldn't be more than 2- 2.5 L to remove. It's safer for the heart to not gain much fluid between sessions. Removing too much fluid can cause cramps, vomiting, low blood pressure and loss of consciousness. However, there will be patients who still pass some urine, so they may have a lesser restriction or none at all. Hope this answers your question.

[Scotsfolk in reply to Nicolala]

Thank you , Hubby been on home dialysis for 4 years and it has been pretty plain sailing up ill this summer . He has had cellulitis for months that antibiotics couldn't clear, so it was decided that a change in regime might help so its been tweaked for the past week or so and restriction on fluid but think we went too far as he was quite poorly dizzy double vision spent day in bed . Today seems brighter . Think we have been so lucky so far , but sad to see him so uncomfortable and poorly

[Nicolala in reply to Scotsfolk]

Yes, achieving the correct dry weight can be tricky. I hope your husband is on the mend soon x

[KidneyCoach in reply to Scotsfolk]

Respectfully I will disagree with Nicolala. The amount of daily fluid restrictions is *usually* the amount of urine you produce daily plus 4 fl. ounces. So let's say you produce 500ml per day of urine you would add 4 oz to it and that would be the total amount of fluid you're allowed to consume on a daily basis. I don't produce any urine at all *but* I am on home hemodialysis (extended) so I am not limited to just 4 oz per day. The reason for the fluid restriction is that conventional dialysis is short and fast which is difficult on the vascular system especially the heart. This can cause all sorts of problems including drop in blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, cramping, headaches. This is what we call dialysis hangover. Nobody wants it. Best way to prevent it is limit fluid consumption drastically *or* change over to nocturnal or short daily home hemodialysis or even PD. Fluid restriction is very individualized. The amount of fluid removed per treatment is completely different for each person and can change from time to time depending upon illness, weight gain or loss. You should have input on your daily fluid removal (patient). What your husband experienced is "hangover" too much fluid removed too fast and in too short of a period of time. I'm so sorry he's had to experience this. Any more questions, please feel free to ask. Blessings

[Scotsfolk in reply to KidneyCoach]

Thank you so much for taking time to reply . We ( inc hospital ) have become complacent as he has had 4 comparatively easy years only one infection and no side effects ( amazing I know ) up till now . So we need to tweak his regime and hopefully get him back to some sort of normal