I think I understand "lethargy" now!

[devon]

Ya'll, is this something I should be experiencing?

I'm feeling like my feet are lead and I can barely pick them up. I am at work, trying to stay on task but I can't even get out of my chair. I feel like a balloon that's had all the air let out! I'm debating with hyself about whether or not I should go home. I want to lay down and rest! Is this what they mean by "you might experience some lethargy"?

Whew! I'm tired and it's only 1pm CT!

-Devon

[jbeany]

The docs like to call it a "washed out" feeling.  HA!  More like washed until there's nothing left except a bit of dryer lint.  I call it "walking under water".  It sucks - and it's the "mild" effect you get from dialysis.  It gets a bit better after you've been on for a while and your body gets used to the treatments, but it doesn't ever really go away.  I dealt with it until I switched to home dialysis - no washing out that way!

[BigSteve]

Devon, have you had your labs  done lately? You need to know your Createnine and your GFR.
Since your not on dialysis yet your Createnine and your functions maybe affecting you.
When I had to wait an extra month to get on hemo since the surgeon had to do a vein
repositing I was extremely sluggish since my creatinine was below 9.  If you are going
downhill fast you may have to get a catheter for dialysis until the fistula is done and it cures.

[MyssAnne]

Yup, that's our lethargy!!! Welcome to the club!!! 

I can't say, and won't say, that it does get better. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't.  When you get started on dialysis,
that may very well help a lot though, it has me, to some extent. As long as I am not sick or recuperating that is!

[devon]

DOH! I didn't think of that. I mean it's obvious, but went right by me!

Thanks. I will call the doctor and see about getting labs done.

I'm at the point with creatinine that I'm bordering on the edge of bad to worse. That could very well be the problem. I have an appointment to see the doc on Thursday and get the labs then in case I have to wait.

Thank you. It's helping me make sense of things. I've never really felt this "lethargic" before. It's not very pleasant.

[kitkatz]

Welcome to my world!  That tired feeling, get used to it.

[devon]

oops... pressed the wrong button... anyway... update.

I didn't get to the lab yesterday. I'm going today.
I ran my glucose, however, and it was just short of 300 last night after I got home! Then I realized another event that had taken place in the last several days.
I use Simlym injections for managing my diabetes. I last shot myself on Thursday night and called in a refill on Friday morning. Because Simlyn is not a popular med right now, it couldn't be refilled until Monday evening. Concurrently, I had tried to get off my Actos pills so I hadn't taken them for a week and was using the Simlyn exclusively. 

Long story, short, I was REALLY High in blood sugar for the lack of insulin! That explains the high blood sugar and possibly the lethargy. I'm not used to that high of a blood sugar. It's been a while since it was that high.

I shot myself with Simlym and refilled the Actos and took my daily tab. I can't risk any problems right now.

Nonetheless, I'm having labs run today after I have the Ultrsound done so I can check the other numbers like Creatinine and GFR. I'll let you know how those turn out.

Thanks ya'll for the help and input. It was really a confusing day!

[stauffenberg]

The decisive factor which makes people with renal disease tired is anemia, and this can never be adequately corrected.  For males, any hemoglobin level under 140 is anemic and requires treatment, and with dialysis patients, the hemoglobin can often naturally sink to a level around 50 or 60 if left untreated.  Although EPO can treat anemia, it can only be safely used to bring the hemoglobin level up to the 110 to 120 range, which is still far too low for normal energy and which still counts as anemia requiring treatment.  Some patients can manage with this level to continue dragging through their lives with minimal zest and energy, but others have to stop working and spend most of their days sleeping or lying on the couch.  A lot depends on how high your normal hemoglobin level was prior to renal failure.  For me, the normal range before renal disease was in the 160s, so the highest level I could achieve on dialysis was 50 points lower than what my body was designed to require, with the result that I became one of the 70% of renal patients of normal working age who could not work.

[Sunny]

I am pre-dialysis with 2.8 creatinine and hemoglobin levels around 14, yet my energy level is very low with the lethargic feeling you refer to.
My renal doctor says I should liken my energy level to 1/3 that of an everage person. Keeping that in mind, over the years I have learned to live
with the lower energy levels. Your labs should help you figure out why you are feeling the lethargy. It may also be related to insulin levels, as you've
suggested. The upshot of all this is to let you know life goes on, you can learn to live with it, and may need to adjust lifestyles to suit your abilities.
Hopefully, though, it will be something you can fix easily. Good luck.