Life on Dialysis: A Treatment Option for Kidney FailurePosted By: Angela Spears 4 hrs ago
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The waiting list is long for those who need a life saving organ. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, more than 99,300 are on the list. In Florida, 3,763 people are on the waiting list. Majority of them (2,990) are waiting for a kidney.
Hypertension is one of the most common problems that can lead to kidney failure. Some people have to go on dialysis as a result. There are several modalities, or treatment options, for renal failure. Hemodialysis is often done at a clinic like DaVita Regency Dialysis Center three times a week for 3 to 4 hours. Short daily hemodialysis is done 5 or 6 days a week for several hours each day.
Other options are peritoneal dialysis, which is done almost daily at home, and nocturnal hemodialysis, which is done 3 nights a week while a patient sleeps at a clinic. Some people are fortunate enough to receive a kidney from either a living donor or a cadaver. Amy Gochenour says centers like DaVita take the family approach. She is an administrator at the center. She say it's one of a few in Jacksonville that allows families to sit with their loved as he or she goes through dialysis. It also offers the nocturnal dialysis option and self care dialysis. Gochenour says patients can come in and hook themselves up to the machine. "It's a stepping stone to home dialysis."
For those who are on dialysis, that machine, the artificial kidney, is a life line. Ted Latour relies on his daily. He told First Coast News he has turned his lemon into lemonade.
He and his wife, Laurie, are a team. They have transformed one of their bedrooms into a mini clinic. It is home to Ted's lifeline.
He has quite the story to tell. "I was diagnosed with impending kidney failure back in 1984, long time ago. In my particular case, there was no cause or reason for it. It is just called generic kidney failure."
His kidneys failed in 1988. A year later, he got a transplant. But the new kidney didn't take. "I don't know the donor of that. Unfortunately, he had a disease I didn't have and he contracted it and I nearly died from that."
Ted got another chance, another kidney in 1999, ten years later. It took five months for it to function. He went blind in one eye. Despite that, the kidney worked for six years. Then, there were problems again. "I got to the place where I wasn't eating and I quit eating for about 2 to 3 years. I lost most of my muscle mass. I was sleeping 18 - 20 hours a day. I couldn't think."
Ted says he was begging to go back on dialysis. Now, he's doing it at home 5 - 6 days a week for at least 2 1/2 hours. "The way you see me today I haven't felt this good in 30 years."
The artificial kidney enables Ted to do things he hasn't been able to like ride a bike with his wife. According to Laurie, "Ted feels so much better."
He notices the difference too. "I wake up refreshed. My appetite's better and the mental clarity is coming back. I thought I'd lost it forever, but I didn't."
Ted has mixed feelings about getting another transplant. He is on the waiting list. But he says in order for him to even think about the surgery, the kidney has to be an exact match.
For him, life on dialysis isn't bad. He has a positive attitude. He describes his life as good. In fact, he, his wife and the machine (the dialysis machine) plan to go on vacation in Georgia in September.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=117446&provider=rss
I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Author
