How does one deal with depression from dialysis? Some health side effect are low energy, weak feeling, tired.
Depression: How does one deal with... - Kidney Dialysis
Depression
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RichardOtt
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Hi there, unfortunately dialysis is a major change in your life and it will cause a lot of different issues but they are manageable.
first I would suggest trying to find a therapist who specializes in chronic illness to whom you can express your very valid frustrations.
then I would say perhaps asking your nephrologist for a general ssri, such as lexapro, but obv you may need to try a few different meds
and lastly please remember that your body is doing its best and we all need to kind of accept that we are only capable of so much when our kidneys don't work, and not beat ourselves up when we run out of energy
hope you start feeling better soon!
Hi! I sure hope people on dialysis will hop on this thread and give you good advice. I'm a caregiver to my husband and I see him dealing with depression too. Part of his/our life was traveling which is now, of course, almost impossible to do now that he's on dialysis. But I try to get him out of the house frequently and that helps. The entire Covid situation has really impacted everyone negatively by restricting interactions and movement too. Hopefully, everything will lighten and brighten as Spring arrives.
If you have the opportunity, you may want to join the Kidney Warriors Support Group on Facebook. It's for men only with kidney failure and is a safe place to ask questions, share testimonies, and encourage one another. They welcome all modalities of treatment. It's a non-judgmental group, no question is considered a dumb question. The page further states that "men aren't good at sharing feelings, but this is the place to do that because we have all probably felt the same feelings at least once." The group actually holds live virtual discussions and meetings (maybe via zoom). The men in the group truly care about each and everyone. One of the admins just had a stent placed so he's been going through some rough water himself.
