I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Introduction => Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: Russ on October 18, 2006, 07:57:00 AM
-
Hi, my name is Russ. I am 47 years old and have been married 23 years. We have a 14 year old son. I've been on in-center dialysis for 14 months. I've been diabetic for 27 years. Until I began dialysis, I was employed as a programmer analyst. In December, I will begin training on the NxStage so I can dialyze daily at home. I am 6'7" and obese so I currently do not qualify for a transplant.
My goal is to lose enough weight to qualify for a transplant. I need a gastric bypass to accomplish this as I have been obese all my life and have tried every diet in the world unsuccessfully. I also have hypothyroidism. My primary insurance has an exclusion for weight loss surgery so I have to wait until Medicare becomes primary in 1.5 years.
Due to my size and blood volume, I dialyze 5 hours, 3x/week. My lab numbers are fairly decent. Fluid gain is my biggest challenge. My average KT/V is 1.47 which I hope will improve once I begin daily treatment with NxStage. I feel very drained after in-center treatment and hope this will also improve with daily NxStage treatments.
I look forward to learning a lot from you guys.
-
Hi Russ, glad you found us and joined our wonderful Community/Support Group. I am so in the same boat as you (weight) i tried to get the bypass years ago (before dialysis) but my insurance refused, i believe had i gotten it, i wouldnt be where i am at now. Keep us posted on your progress, we are always here for you... and Welcome... :2thumbsup;
-
:welcomesign;
Welcome Russ
-
Goofynina,
Wow, that's exactly how I feel! Had I gotten a gastric bypass years ago when I applied for it, I don't believe my kidneys would have failed. But the insurance companies in their infinite wisdom think it's better to pay for dialysis and all it entails.
Russ
-
Welcome Russ. This site has just started a weight loss "support" group. If you can't lose weight, then maybe we can help each other from gaining any more. This site has proven useful to me as well as many who hate dialysis, but realize it helps us live. Hope you enjoy this site.
-
Hey Russ, glad you joined the community.
:beer1;
-
Welcome Russ, glad to have you aboard.
-
Welcome to our caring and sharing community. Please continue to let us know how you are doing. The founder of this website has recently started Nxstage, and in fact we have a sister site - ilovenxstage.com. Check it out if you haven't as yet.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Welcome again.
-
:welcomesign;
-
:welcomesign;
You have come to the right place. This group is a wonderful source of support.
-
Welcome Russ!! :2thumbsup; :welcomesign;