Glad you Don't Skip

[Shelbert66]

I'm 53 with congenital kidney issues. Due to my mother having childhood diabetics I was born with just one kidney & a plethora of other urinary issues. As a child I was in & out of the hospital with UTI & other related illness. I understood at a young age that eventually my single kidney would give out. I have lead a normal life. Somewhere along the line I learned I couldn't have children, it was never a traumatic thing for me due to everything else I was dealing with. Anyway, I kept a relationship with urologist & nephrologist, through the years & watched my kidney function decrease to the point of dialysis. I started at age 48 & am proud to say I have never missed a treatment. Not to say I didn't want to do many times I can't count. But when I was learning about the process, the fact that if you stop going to dialysis, you will die in approximately 7 days & its a slow painful death. Missing treatments is hard on your body & the machine can only do what it's programmed to do. It can't make everything all better. You have to help yourself by taking your meds, watching your diet, being aware of your fluid intake. There are still up & down days. Scheduling a life around dialysis 3X per week sucks. But it's better than the alternative.

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

Thinking of you!

Are you able to be on the transplant list?

[Shelbert66 in reply to WYOAnne]

I need to lose weight. I'm on the list to be listed. Weight is my nemesis.

Thank you for your positive reply.

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador]

Well congratulations on not missing a treatment. As far as I can tell you've been on in center dialysis about 5 years. Dialysis is tough. In center is the toughest in my opinion. The kidneys work 24/7so 168 hours in a week and in center only gives a person between 9-12 hours replacement therapy. Think about that. You're only getting 12 hrs of therapy from 168 of working kidneys.

I've been doing home hemo nocturnal for about 17 years wherein I was getting 48 hours of treatment per week. Now I do extended during the day and get about 30 hours per week.

May you continue to be blessed.

Blessings

[Imawawa2]

I was diagnosed 3 days ago with Stage 4 Kidney Failure. I have not had my first nephrology appointment yet. I, like you, was born with only one kidney...and a rare blood type. Could you tell me if this affects any treatment options and if so, how? Thank you for posting your story.