Does anyone know what this means exactly?

[gothiclovemonkey]

I have 2% kidney function...
What does that mean? i mean, obviously it means i have hardly any function left, what happens at 0?
I had asked the dr if we could try 3 hrs instead of 4, he said no u only have 2% left and walked away.

[monrein]

It means that you absolutely need dialysis (more not less) to clear fluid and toxins from your body.  At 2 % function your own kidneys are doing basically nothing so dialysis is what's keeping you alive and more frequent good quality dialysis will keep you feeling as well as you possibly can.  This is our reality.  If the toxins and fluid build up and up then more longer term damage can be done to your body so it's important to know and watch your blood work numbers to make sure that D, along with binders and other meds, is doing the job.

[RichardMEL]

2% IS very low. Have you had a kidney out or something? I'm at 5% (eGFR 5) but still have two kidneys doing.. not much (lazy sods!).

Yeah look if you only did 3 you'd probably not get enough dialysis and feel much worse. WHat is your clearance like? A good clearance, like 80%+ might be grounds to get some time off, but you're asking for 25% discount.... that's a big sale!!! I can see why they wouldn't give it to you. Maybe what you should do, if you're desperate to get less time on the machine (and given I do FIVE hours each shift I totally get you!!!) maybe you should try and negotiate with the neph to say take 15 mins off, see how you go for a month or two, monitor the bloods and your clearance, and see if you're still doing OK. If so, then another 10 or 15 etc, and do it that way rather than asking for such a big discount. Still if you're at GFR 2 I can see why they wouldn't want you to do any less.. you'd be needing all the help (from dialysis) you can get I think. The neph would probably, in reality, want you to do MORE rather than less D.

sorry

[gothiclovemonkey]

I have both kidneys in there, but the right one had shriveled up and died when i was 10 years old from a 25lb terratoma tumor removal.
perhaps this IS why i feel so miserable then, i had really thought maybe i was getting too much dialysis, seeing as i have been compliant for the first time heh
my body aches after about 3 hrs of bein on, when i get thru the 4th, its so bad, and my head hurts to the extreem

[Restorer]

That happens to me when I've had too much fluid between sessions, and they need to take more off. How much do they take off during a usual session for you?

[gothiclovemonkey]

usually come in about my dry weight here lately so they are just pulling min. but before it was like 3k
they arent sure what my dry weight is, and dont like to challenge because i cramp really badly if its not there. Really badly, to the point no amount of salene seems to work and they end up taking me off the machine.

[Brightsky69]

Is there such a thing as to much dialysis?

[KICKSTART]

I dont know about too much dialysis, but im beginning to think that little and often would be better (like pd) but of course that will never happen with hemo!

[Zach]

The more dialysis the better.

Remember, normal kidneys function 24/7.

[okarol]

I dont know about too much dialysis, but im beginning to think that little and often would be better (like pd) but of course that will never happen with hemo!

I am pretty sure that's how NxStage works, short daily. And people on nocturnal hemo seem to feel better as it is more hours.

[RichardMEL]

usually come in about my dry weight here lately so they are just pulling min. but before it was like 3k
they arent sure what my dry weight is, and dont like to challenge because i cramp really badly if its not there. Really badly, to the point no amount of salene seems to work and they end up taking me off the machine.

I'd ask for a BVM ("crit line") to be done to better establish if you're too dry or too wet and help establish your dry weight more accurately. Of course dry weight is a moving figure. It's often easier to just leave it at a level that works for everyone though than constantly change it. For example I am pretty sure I am around 500ml over my real dry weight vs. what we're using now. Every so often I think about challenging it, but then I figure why bother. I could put that 500 on at some point, and I risk cramp much less with the way I have it now, so I just leave it. If there's no serious fluid overload happening then in a way it probably is best to leave it be. I'd rather be a bit over than cramp horribly!

[gothiclovemonkey]

cramping is pure evil!
id rather be over as well, but i know im losing alot of weight right now, so it scares me that i will be overload soon again, we just pulled 54 lbs off in a weekk, id rather not go thru that again either. i cant really bring myself to eat right now, and when i do i get sick or feel sick so i havent really been eating, i can tell in my face ive lost weight.
i really dont like feeling like this, its crazy some people are really active and healthy with dialysis, ive been on since 07 still really crappy

[*kana*]

Is there such a thing as to much dialysis?

No....lol

I thought I read somewhere that dialysis only replaces like 12-17% of your function.  I could be slightly off with my numbers, but I remember it being really low and in the teens.