I am worried.....

[Brightsky69]

I am a little worried. I still can’t sleep and last night I kept waking up every hour on the hour mainly because my back would itch. Or my neck or my arms all would itch. That’s was waking me up last night. The other night I took two Ambien at 8pm and laid awake till 2am.
Now I have been really good in taking my binders and staying away from bad foods. But I am still itching. I am afraid that maybe I am not getting enough clearance with my PD. They are doing adequacy on me on the 10th. They have already talked about me doing 9 or 10 hours on the cycler. UGH! Instead they have me doing a manual exchange when I get home from work. I do remember that I starting having trouble sleeping even before they started me on midday exchanges.

UGH!!  I just don’t want to go to hemo. I had trouble on that too. I’d have to quit my job. Maybe they can change my prescription again if I am truly not getting enough clearance. I feel ok…just not sleeping all the way thru the night.

[cdwbrooklyn]

Hi Brightsky,

I’ve been on D (hemo only) for over 11 years now and have experienced the same thing you are experiencing now.   If you are still itching, you may have to increase your binders.   Also, you may need to increase your time on PD as well.   Before you do that, you may want to check to see if your line is connected to you correctly.   If you are waking up because you are itching, you are not getting good clearance.   Maybe you can try doing some exercises to see if it will help with you sleeping more.   First and foremost, you want to stop the itching.  It can make your bones very weak whereas if you fall, your bone can break easily. 

I use calcium up to 1000 mg a day and it stops me from itching.   Whatever I eat I make sure I take my calcium in the middle of the meal.    Calcium is a good source for strong bones and it balances your phosphorus.   Try calcium in very high doses and see if that will help.  Check with your doctor first to see if it’s okay for your body as everyone is different

Hope this helps. 

[Brightsky69]

I do a little exercise in the morning. I could try increasing my binders. I usually take 2 with a full mean and only one if it's a snack.

[KICKSTART]

Yeah i agree about the itching ..more binders . 2 per main meal is not a lot.  As for the not sleeping , it happens to us all. My neph even called it renal insomnia ! Quite a few of us take sleeping tablets , dont worry they dont knock you out ..well mine didnt ! I just got off to sleep easier. 

[Brightsky69]

I got a scrip for gabapentin.  I am hoping it helps me to sleep. More binders can't hurt.   

[Rerun]

It just sucks doesn't it?  I hate not sleeping and then the itching.  I go up and down on the binders.  Right now I'm taking more.

[Brightsky69]

   It's crazy.... everything concerning dialysis. And to think I probably have 2 or 4 or 20 more years to go before I get a transplant

[RightSide]

The two main things that can cause itching are:  High serum phosphorus (in the blood); and high parathyroid hormone (PTH).  Check your blood tests to see what the values of these are. 

In my case, it turned out to be high PTH.  I couldn't get a wink of sleep, because my skin was itching and tingling all over, all the time.  That wasn't something I could control myself, despite all the calcium I was consuming.  I had to be patient and wait for months of Zemplar to lower my PTH levels.

Gabapentin helped me, but not as much as getting my PTH under good control.

[wolfken]

   Helloo Brightsky
 I went through hell and back, while on pd, but i survived, the itching went as far as bleeeding and scarring on my back, yes you have to take your tums with everything you eat and somtimes as your passing the bottle of tums, time it heals but you can make time go faster....take care, Wolfken

[Brightsky69]

I took Gabapentin last night and it did help me sleep. I only got up twice because of the itching. And DUH!!!  I used a red bag for my manual exchange yesterday and the itching is not even half as bad as it was yesterday. I should have know because my BP was high also. I really have to pay attention. I see my BP going up  and I was itching like crazy. I should have known I needed a red bag.
I might do another red bag this afternoon and maybe that will get rid of all the itching.
I do feel much better today.

[KICKSTART]

Brightsky ..please note ..Itching has nothing to do with which bags you use on PD ! Its you HIGH phosphorus thats making you itch , nothing else. You NEED to increase your binders or cut down on foods with high phosphorus. Using red bags will just pull more fluid off you and wear out your peritoneum faster ! Also BP going up has nothing to do with itching ..that is caused by fluid on you . It sounds like you need to see your neph or a nurse. I dont know how long you have been doing PD for? but you seem to have the wrong idea about some things 

[Brightsky69]

Thanks....I already know that a red bag will pull off more fluid. Perhaps I didn't explain myself correctly. My nurse has told me before in the past that if I have continual high blood pressure that I need to use a red bag.
And I alre

[Brightsky69]

Insert Quote
Thanks....I already know that a red bag will pull off more fluid. Perhaps I didn't explain myself correctly. My nurse has told me before in the past that if I have continual high blood pressure that I need to use a red bag.
And I already know that I need to stay away from all the bad foods and increase my binders.
I hatew to say it but i have been in this game for close to 18 years. Way too long.

[monrein]

How about your PTH, Brightsky? 

[billybags]

I am with KS on this, the bags have nothing to do with itching. Are you on an over night cycler? Your last fill I would say should be a extraneal to take you through to a manual at tea time. Why are you using a red bag instead of a green?. As KS says get your neph or nurse to check your phosphorus, are you not getting your bloods done once a month? You may need a change of BP tablets if the ones you are on are not working. Get checked out don't be put off.

[Brightsky69]

I got adequacy done today. So we'll see what my labs turn out to be. I appreciate the advice.