Adjusting

[Bluebutterfly]

 
I have to return to dialysis after 25 years
It is daunting since I have kids now
I feel so alone
Like no one understands or wants to talk about this
It is scary and I can't even talk about with anyone

Sad,
Holly

[kickingandscreaming]

Are you "returning" to dialysis because you have been transplanted all that time?

[LorinnPKD]

Holly,

I'm so sorry you're going through this and it sounds like a scary time.  I was a kid when my dad was on dialysis.  Kids can be so resilient.  They will adapt and will always love you just for being their mom.

When are you starting your sessions?  I started a few weeks ago and I am finding that once you start on the machine there are a lot of options for support.  The social worker says seeing a counselor every few weeks or so, even if you've never dealt with depression or anxiety, is a good way to level set and make sure you have the tools you need work through this difficult time.  (It's a kind of grieving, you know?)

Hang in there.  Hugs to you.

[Michael Murphy]

You ain't alone.  It may feel that way but dialysis is a large community of people related by a common dislike to dialysis. Don't get me wrong dialysis keeps me alive which is good but the one thing I have found is I belong to a community now.  As a adult you can find more support for the problems you will face than a child will.  Good news there is change on the horizon. Massive research efforts are under way to make this treatment less of a affliction.  Plus when it gets to me I pull up th picture of Bill Peckham doing a hemodialysis treatment on a raft in the Grand Canyon and I realize that with effort any thing is possible. Check out the picture on this web site.  I have been showing this picture to new inmates at the clinic I go to and most seem to realize it's not so bad.  Finally you are a member of this site and it's the best place I have seen to vent, complain, whine and more importantly learn.  So you are not alone you are now one of us, welcome to the club.

[Bluebutterfly]

Yes I'm returning to dialysis because I had a transplant that has lasted
25 years

[kickingandscreaming]

Yes I'm returning to dialysis because I had a transplant that has lasted
25 years

You were very fortunate to get that kind of mileage out of a TX although  I'm sure the "culture shock" of going back to dialysis is great.  But 25 years of relative normalcy is a gift. You can always try again.