Digestive symptoms post dialysis

[22171]

my husband has been on center hemodialysis for about a year and a half. None of the medical staff seem to be able to understand or help with the extreme throat/esophageal discomfort he feels for close to 24 hours following dialysis., with no appetite. I wondered if anyone else has experienced this. He says it is not heartburn

[Ziggydoodah]

I have been on dialysis for the same amount of time. What sort of symptoms is he actually getting. I know a lot of dialysis patients lose their appetite after a session but usually they are OK the next day. I certainly would push for answers from his care team

[checkman in reply to Ziggydoodah]

I can't see why dialysis would have anything to do with throat problems. The dialysis center would not be able to help him with this. He needs to see an ENT Dr., the Dialysis center only does dialysis "things", do not try to depend on them for the answer.

[22171 in reply to checkman]

he’s had upper endoscopy as well as other tests. There’s nothing there. And it’s more of an upper digestive, gassy problem

[RhenDutchess123]

His Center should refer him to a Gastroenterologist...He may need a slight sedative before he gets dialysis...stress can do strange things..Dialysis effects everything in our bodies..They may also be pulling off his fluids too fast, pulling fluid can cause cramping ..does his pain feel like a cramp?

[22171 in reply to RhenDutchess123]

Thanks, but he’s consulted with GI. And there’s no cramping, and very little fluid removed.

[RhenDutchess123 in reply to 22171]

That is strange...poor guy

[bumblebee_tuna]

I found a few articles mentioning hoarseness in hemo-dialysis patients.

One example -

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

It seems to be related to the amount of fluid removed from the body, I would seek a specialist.

[22171 in reply to bumblebee_tuna]

Thank you

[cs65 NKF Ambassador]

I don't want to be alarmist, but have you gone with him to the ER while he's having symptoms? I had been on dialysis for about a year when I had chest pains and couldn't swallow my coffee during dialysis. The nurse collected a blood sample and it indicated a possible heart attack. I went right to the ER after my session and they retested me and sent me by ambulance to the hospital with a great cardiac care unit. I had an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) which showed clearly that I had Takutsubo cardiomyopathy, a stress related condition that affected one side of my heart. It actually took a few days before I could swallow an aspirin and have a cardiac catheterization. That test indicated that I had a few blocked coronary arteries, mostly minor but one had a 70% blockage. They chose to treat me medically with a daily statin drug and a daily low dose aspirin. I didn't need stents. When I got out of the hospital I went to cardiac rehab for several weeks to get my strength back. I fully recovered and my heart function has been monitored with an EKG every year since then by my cardiologist. The reason I'm telling you this is that my symptoms were pain in my esophagus and feeling like nothing could go down past it. I literally couldn't eat or drink.

[Jayhawker in reply to cs65]

scary but wise advice!

Jayhawker

[22171 in reply to cs65]

Thanks - sorry you went through all that. We appreciate your advice