Not peeing much anymore

[SadMad]

Did hemodialysis for about 2 years and switched to PD about 9 months ago. Just had a few days of having to do manuals instead of cycular because of very low blood pressure. My bowel movements have become horrendous & sometimes painful & other times explosive. I believe it to be due to Velphoro, a phos blocker but can't take anything else. One made me almost suicidal because I could not sleep. Have had blood in stools. Has anyone else had bowel problems with kidney disease?

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

This is something you really need to tell your doctor. Blood in stools in not something to ignore. However, it could be something as simple as hemerobiids. Call the doc.

[RonZone]

I agree with Bassetmommer, talk with your regular MD if you can't get your team to respond. This is one of those not so fun topics to discuss, but it IS a major issue with PD. PD and constipation do not cohabitate well. I really struggled with it for the first few months of pd. It took a while to get a combination of treatments in place to help. I was having the same experience as you. Stopped up for a couple or three days then wham! The combination I've settled on to counteract the phosphorus binder I take (Calcium Ace from Fresenius Rx-two per meal), was to take a Kroger generic form of Colace every morning and every evening, and eat a slice of cantelope every morning and every evening. So far that seems to be working. I also do not eat heavy meals at all, mostly protein with a little bit of a side like a salad or veggie. Very little bread. You will just have to experiment and find the right combo that works for you to ease your symptoms. Your doc will probably have some good suggestions. Have you talked with your PD dietician about it as well. Heck talk to everybody, get a good number of ideas from multiple sources and see what you can figure out. This is NOT a fun experience, I know that personally!

[RonZone]

Oh and yeah, once I started PD, I'm to peeing half of what I used to. I assume the PD process pulls most of that water out now. But the upside is that I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, which is better.

[Hidden in reply to RonZone]

I was different than that. I would have to pee 3-4 times during the night on PD and I would measure it. When I did kinetics to check my kt/v, I would turn in over 2,000 ml of pee along with the 4 bags of drained dialysate. This was the 24 hour catch.

[RonZone in reply to Hidden]

4 bags, wow. They only have me bring in a small urine sample cup for testing the drained effluent. I'm still not urinating much, once in the morning and once in the evening. Drinking more water helped a little.

[SadMad]

Thank you for helping me know I am not the only one with this problem. I am better today. Have to balance body. Stool culture was negative for everything which eases my mind about that. Now need the my blood pressure back up to normal. Low blood pressure and anemia haven't helped my anxiety at all. Brain fog.

[RonZone in reply to SadMad]

So how are you doing now with all of this. I found that drinking a lot more water helped me with the constipation issue an reduced my cycler "slow patient flow" alarms. I also eat a slice of cantelope each meal which also helps add water and some fiber. I hope you got everything under better control.

[SadMad in reply to RonZone]

I have switched from Velphoro to Lanthanum with much better results. Also drinking a little more and peeing a little more. Thank you.