Just wondering

[Quita55]

I am currently on dialysis yet. My question is there a dialysis patient who also has diabetes? I how do you cope having to do dialysis and manage your diabetes on a daily basis. Do you have any tips you can share with me so when I start dialysis I will have a some information I maybe able to use

[Darlenia]

I'm a caregiver to my husband who recently went on hemodialysis this past June. He schedules his sessions in late afternoon (2-6 or 3-7) to avoid conflicts. "Almost all" the people at his dialysis center are diabetic according to the coordinator there. My husband is a Type II diabetic who has been on insulin (twice a day-early morning and late night ) for a couple of decades. As time has gone by, his insulin requirements have decreased since he's lost a considerable amount of weight over the past few years. Just a few days ago, he was told to stop his morning injection so that was good news. He juggles a myriad of medications...keeping a list and logbook is important for him. Interestingly, I think hemodialysis has also contributed to the decline to some extent. There are a few instances (burnt out diabetes in CKD) where it simply goes away, but those instances are very rare according to our nephrologist. We're now looking into peritoneal dialysis and the impact that may have on his A1C as that that form of dialysis uses a glucose solution. That type of dialysis is attractive to us since it's done during the night, no need to rush over to a center, etc. Our nephrologist indicated that, unless a patient has wildly fluctuating sugars, the transition won't be a problem with little impact on most diabetics. The hardest part of all of this, in my opinion, is the integration of two diets - the diabetes diet and kidney diet - as they're at odds here and there. For instance, a good number of fruits are considered great for kidneys but bad for diabetes. So we tend to look at portion size and make substitutions that satisfy both. Keep looking into things. The more you know, the better the decision-making.

[Jayhawker in reply to Darlenia]

Thanks for sharing this; most helpful!

Jayhawker

[Kbristow]

I don't personally know any diabetic on dialysis right now but I know it's common. There is information on the National Kidney Foundation site about kidney disease and diabetes that might be helpful. kidney.org/search-results?s...

[Darlenia in reply to Kbristow]

Ooh, diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is epidemic. It's everywhere. But, oddly, most people are unaware and dismissive...not realizing that it's generally their diabetes nibbling at and gobbling up their kidneys (among other organs). Yes, diabetes is nasty, stealthy, and is the leading cause for their failure. This site explains the situation quite well: niddk.nih.gov/health-inform...