A Summer Day on Manual PD

[curiousmind2019]

Drain overnight exchange at 7am and immediately start the day exchange. Eat breakfast (replenish the protein loss with egg white bagel and protein bars). Start preparing and packing for day out. Drain at 10am and start driving to the beach. Get to beach at 1pm. Enjoy a nice grilled hamburger with fries. Set up beach umbrella and soak in the sun for a few hours. Dip feet in cool ocean water (but avoid falling into the ocean). Dry out with some more sun while sipping on cold lemonade. Head back home and get ready for movie at 7pm. Start the overnight fill at 11pm and snore away.

...Trying not to let dialysis take away things I enjoy doing. Hope you are having a good time with your summer too!

[RhenDutchess123]

Thank you for your positive comments...dialysis is not the end of the world...it is what keeps our world from ending !!

[Jayhawker]

Sounds like a great day! Thanks for sharing🐶

[rabbit01]

Thanks for posting this. I am pleased that you are enjoying life and not letting the need for dialysis stop you doing the things you love.

I am shortly going to start PD as my eGFR is down to 8%. I am really depressed by the whole process of kidney failure and how it is gradually robbing me of things that other people take for granted like an ability to work and eat and drink what they like. So seeing positive messages like this is encouraging.

[curiousmind2019 in reply to rabbit01]

Hi rabbit01 ... once you start PD and some of your levels start going down, there will also be less diet restrictions.. and most things can eat with moderation..

[Ritisha]

I love your day. Thank you for sharing that. I am stage III recently diagnosed. And honestly I’m quite scared

[Ritisha]

I love your day. Thank you for sharing that. I am stage III recently diagnosed. And honestly I’m quite scared

[curiousmind2019 in reply to Ritisha]

Hi Ritisha.. I hope u can learn to cope with it. It was probably more scary for me when I was in stage 3 and seeing my numbers drop. Always wonder whether my next visit, my egfr will be lower. After awhile, just accept it as part of life.

[siouxbee19]

I love that positive attitude! Reminds me so much of my brother, he truly lived life well, even with manual PD due to multiple myeloma. Keep it up! )

[htpi1543]

Hi curious mind

I am not yet on dialysis and was wondering what life will be like on dialysis

I was very happy go read your post that life is not so bad as I imagined. Thank you for such encouraging post. I was so glad to hear that you could eat hamburgers. I am on a strict diet now.

one question: How is your blood pressure now. can someone please throw some light on why BP goes high during ESRD. (which hormone get depleted or increases etc).

I am 75, Gfr 21, creatine 2.9, Bun 27, I get my blood analyzed every month. my nephro says creatinine is stabilized but I do not believe him. He has been saying this for the last 6 years and my grf kept depleting.

Than you, Regards

[curiousmind2019 in reply to htpi1543]

Hi htpi1543.. when I was around 10-20 egfr, I did have to be careful what I eat. And I still do to certain extent, but instead of completely avoid certain foods, I limit them and eat in moderation. At most one burger per week . When on PD dialysis, once verified that it is working, potassium is usually less of an issue. One though should still keep low-sodium and low-phosphorus diet. For hemo dialysis, I believe the diet is different and I don't know enough to comment on that.

After starting PD, my blood pressure is more normal (though I'm still on 2 BP meds), BP hovers around 120/80. I did have spike of 180/150 when egfr was 10-20 which was when I started my 2nd BP med. (For me, I think my BP was high before dialysis because fluid was not getting removed by my failing kidney -- I was puffier and had shortness of breath.)

[htpi1543]

Thanks for the reply