Preparing for Dialysis

[JOJOSMITH123]

My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 CKD back in November. She is now stage 5 with a egrf 8. She has had a call this morning from the renal nurse saying we think we shud start preparing you for dialysis whilst your still well. I'm a little upset as I thought she'd holds out abit longer. It's so daunting. She's 78 years old. Can anyone offer me some reassurance..😥

[pryderi]

With an egrf of 8 your mum will quickly feel unwell. Dialysis is nothing to worry about. Its boring and time consuming but 100% better than no treatment

[Hassmac]

Hi there- I am sorry to hear this, it must be hard for all of you. First of all, one of the reassuring things I find about kidney disease, is that it is treatable. As another contributor said, your mum will be feeling unwell at a GFR of 8 and that was when I started my dialysis before I had a transplant. The initial operation is fairly straightforward and the continuing treatment shouldn't cause her any pain. It is inconvenient and time consuming, but one way to look at it, is that it is you will have an enforced rest. Rest is another thing which you need to help maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle as well. Has she had any advice about diet, because effective diet, combined with regular dialysis, should soon help your mum to feel better than she has for a while I would predict. Yes, the process is daunting, but dialysis nurses are the kindest of people, as they understand a lot about the process and people's fears. I hope this helps and that your mum finds ways of coping. Depending where she is in the country, she may be able to join a Kidney Patient association. In addition, you/ she can get good advice from both the NKF ( national kidney federation) and the NKPA (National kidney patients association) Apparently, there are about 64,000 people with kidney disease in the uk, which shows that she is not alone and more encouragingly, that there are A LOT of people living with it. Take good care both of you

[Bunkin]

First off, praying for your Mom and family. I too am approaching that time but I almost think the anticipation and anxiety of the unknown is worse than the dialysis itself. Maybe that's just me! I usually dread something so bad then when I go thru it, it wasn't as bad as the anticipation of it. It is a blessing that we have dialysis as a back up. That's something that heart and liver failure patients don't have. Hope this helps. God can do anything!!

[raelers]

Hi i'm not on dialysis yet, but the post above are very comforting by those that are on dialysis. Hope all goes well for your mum and yourself.

[JOJOSMITH123]

Your responses are so encouraging..I think the anticipation is worse than the reality. She is starting on PD at home. I'm giving her a bedroom make over next week and having some built in storage for all the medical supplies. I'll be glad when the operation and healing period is over. I worry more than her I think. We will conquer this and live life to the full...love to you all, and I'll keep you posted..😁