Can't believe I'm saying this.

[David13]

Monrein, it is so good to hear how well you are feeling now.  You have provided many with encouragement, and your attitude and coping skills are an inspiration. 

[okarol]

  I am happy you're feeling better - it's good you started when you did! 

[pelagia]

So happy to hear that you are feeling well.  How is the garden doing? 

[kimcanada]

I am glad you are feeling better, I hated that feeling right befire I started dialysis also

[monrein]

The garden is really pretty right now thanks Pelagia.  My peonies are bursting to bloom and the poppies are a bright blaze of orange.  Spring has been cool so things have lasted well.  I was out at 5 am this morning doing my usual walkabout and thinking about all the new things I want to plant.  I spend hours designing and redesigning beds in my head.  My new Katsura tree and the japanese maples made it through the winter so all is well with my world.  This morning the robins and my resident pair of cardinals were very active in the fountain water thingy and the chipmunk that lives I'm-not-sure-where was  busy too.  I'm being a horticulturist in my next life.

[pelagia]

I like your idea of being a horticulturist next time around! What will you plant next?

We have a forest in our yard (or so it seems to the gardener...) and that makes it challenging to grow flowers.  I have the best luck near the front door and have lilies, daisies and blue balloon flowers right now.  I used to have peonies, but lost them in the aftermath of a hurricane a few years back and haven't had the chance to plant new ones yet.   We have been thinking about taking down a tree in the backyard that is beginning to rot. That will open up a big sunny spot right in the middle of the back yard.  Can you plant this time of the year where you live? It gets really hot here during the summer, so I usually try to plant in the fall because I can't keep up with the watering otherwise.  We can get some blistering heat waves here in Virginia.

[Sluff]

Glad you are feeling better and have energy to get some things like your garden done. 

[kellyt]

My Neph told that I would tell him we I needed to start he said the counts and numbers were just that, and each person would feel different at the same numbers and he was right my numbers were not bad but I felt like death warmed over when I finally started, Vent all you want we all have been were you are at now, just check in with your Neph ASAP, an good luck and keep us updated

This may be the reason my neph hasn't started me yet.  My numbers are in the range for dialysis (or at least pretty darn close), but basically I feel good.  My energy comes and goes, as well as my appetite, and that's hard to deal with.  I also feel guilty sometimes about staying home and doing absolutely nothing most days.  I can do general housework, but haven't energy or desire to do yard work or heavy duty cleaning like the garage.  My husband busts his butt daily and I don't think he truly understands how guilty I feel for not helping more.


Good for you Rein.  But you've done dialysis before, right?  I'll probably have to be sedated for my first week.  lol

[Psim]

I'm so glad you're feeling better. Your garden sounds gorgeous. Peonies! And poppies!

[spacezombie]

I'm so glad you're feeling better! =) I want to see a picture of your garden sometime!

[monrein]

Yup, garden pics are coming soon...Alex gets here Thursday and I'll have him do his digital camera magic. 

Pelagia, here we plant the annuals around the end of May so planting is still OK here.  I tend to keep adding stuff all the time....a pot of something, a new shrub or perennial but what I'd love to do is eliminate all my lawn and create a layered woodland effect.

I love shade gardens because I'm so fair that I crumble in the sun.  Lilies are terrific and so many varieties with different bloom times.

Dave's Garden is a good site for gardeners.  (Garden Buddies isn't bad either)

[okarol]

I have an old oak tree that takes up most of my backyard so there's lots of shade. I never know what to plant!
Can't wait to see some photos from you monrein!

[monrein]

Well I had my first needle stick yesterday and it was a piece of cake.  I wanted to do it myself but the nurse felt she should in case the vessel was really fragile.  All went well except for the first run we only did a 200 pump speed.  The vein is good, long and straight, doesn't appear to roll away and I found that (as Rerun mentioned once) it hurt less than my forearm fistula as there's a little more (okay, quite a lot more) meat there.

I just wish you all could have seen the nurses faces when I said I wanted to stick myself.  They were happy about it but amazed and asked a lot of questions about my "toughness".  I wanted to say that my lifelong ambition was to have been a junkie but ESRD had caused me to change my dream so dialysis at last allows me to play with needles.  Not sure yet about the collective sense of humour so I just smiled at them.

[pelagia]

Humor is a good thing!  Have a great day today.

[ODAT]

monrein, just reading your story here and I wanted to let you know that I take any positives and talk to my mother who is terrified of dialysis. Of course, I don't hide anything from her and any time I can share how well someone is doing puts a better light on dialysis. Right now my mom's creatine is 3.0 and GFR 15%. She has her ups and downs with diabetes as well. But just in your sharing about your creatine at 2.7 and that you still wanted to start, makes me realize that there's a lot more to it than just numbers. I keep thinking that the range is what 0 to 10 for creatine? and I'm thinking that 3 is relatively low. In reality there are many factors involved in deciding when is the right time to start. Our problem right now is just getting her access set up. It's the looming inevitability of it all that is so ominous. Glad you are feeling better! My hubby is the green thumb. I'm not allowed out there. He always says 'why don't you get some plants?' I say, 'because you will tell me I bought the wrong thing for the wrong area.' Enjoy your gardening and we'll enjoy your pictures! 

[stauffenberg]

The usual creatinine level at which dialysis has to be begun ranges from 6 to 10 (corresponding to 600 to 1000 by the SI units used outside the US).  However, the proper starting point really depends on the patient's symptoms, and some people may feel worse at lower levels, especially in the presence of co-morbidities such as diabetes.