Hospitalization to begin dialysis?

[Tracy]

I am new to this site.  I was told yesterday by my Neph that in order to begin dialysis, I would have to be in the hospital for at least 3-5 days.  I haven't heard this before.  I thought you went to a center and just started slowly on D.  This has been a scary road for me.  I have been reading this site for about 3 months and just now have the courage to write.  I need support from people who know exactly what I am feeling.  Thank you for being here. 
 

[looneytunes]

Hi Tracy and welcome to IHD!     Kidney disease is a scary thing but with proper care, it can be managed.  It's a little like a roller coaster at times.  Keep reading posts and asking questions, that's how we all learned.  Perhaps the hospital stay is to place an access (catheter) and get you started.   Then you would be placed in a center to continue.  There are also other types of dialysis (PD, Home Hemo, etc) that can be explained to you, sounds like a good talk with your neph may help. 

In any case, there are some wonderful people on this site that will be glad to help you in any way they can.  I look forward to seeing you on the boards. 

[Rerun]

Tracy, thank you for finally posting.  I'm so glad you joined us.  Remember you have several options of dialysis. PD, Hemo, Home Hemo, NxStage......Transplant.

Check around to see which center is closest to you.  Don't let them toss you in one that they have a financial interest in when it is an hour away and there is one 5 minutes down the road from you. 

Ask them WHY you have to be hospitalized.

Rerun, Moderator                  

[peleroja]

Welcome to the group, Tracy.  Kind of sounds like how I started 6 years ago.  Taking Zocor for my cholesterol gave me rhabdomyolisis and my kidneys failed so fast that I started out in the hospital, first with a groin catheter, then with a permacath in my chest.  I was on hemo for 3 months.  Once I found out about those nasty needles I immediately switched to PD.  So, if your kidneys are imminently failing, they may indeed want you in the hospital to begin with.  Be sure and let us know how it goes.

[galvo]

  Tracy.

[sullidog]

I had to start d in the hospital do to very high toxins that if I didn't get care in the hospital I was going to die. I was in there for 2 weeks with a groin cath and then the permacath.
Troy

[okarol]

Our daughter's creatinine went from 6 to 10 in a couple of days and she went in to the hospital through emergency. They inserted a chest catheter and started dialysis the next day. She had 2 treatments and then came home. After that she was on 3 days a week in-center on hemo.

[Bajanne]

Welcome to our community, Tracy!  So glad that you decided to let us know you are there.  This is just the place for you to be - just before starting dialysis.  I would not worry too much about hospitalization if I were you.  It think it would make things easier for all concerned. They would be able to monitor you constantly.    Please know that you are not alone.  You have your entire new IHD family with you   
Let us know how it goes.  My caring thoughts are with you. 



Bajanne, Moderator

[Tracy]

Thank you everyone!  I have a great feeling being here and having great support.  It is comforting to know that I am not the only one going through this.

My GFR is 9 and my fistula needs to heal for two more weeks at least.  Neph has decided he wants to see me once a month now to keep close eye on labs.  Just a waiting game.  I have very high antibodies since my failed transplant last Feb, so they say that is what is taking so long to find me a match.  So, I am reading as much as I can on this site about D, so I can be prepared. 

Retina doc says I need to have cataract removed from left eye and some laser on right eye.  So, that is another surgery I will have to have pretty quick.  While trying to work full time....it's rough some days.

Thank you for the support. 

[looneytunes]

Aw Tracy...we are so glad to be of help to you.  Keep up the good attitude and come back and post often. 

[lunadatura]

I have been in your shoes! I was hospitalized for 3 days to start dialysis when my kidney function which had been fading slowly suddenly went off a cliff. My neph doc had tried to get me to get a dialysis access started but I was stubborn and in a bit if denial. So no you dont have to go to the hospital if you have been proactive and gotten a hemo access/fistuala surgery estabilished in your arm. It takes at least a month for the access to mature before it can be poked and canualted and utilized. But if your kidneys have failed and you need emergent dialysis you have to be hospitialized. Its a bit scarey but honestly not as bad as say open heart surgery. best of luck

[Brightsky69]

I was put in the hospital when i started dialysis. Mainly I had a tunnel infection so they had to take out my brand new PD cath. That put me behind. I started to get REALLY SICK. It was bad. I only got sick like that because I needed to start dialysis earler and didn't.
So they started me on Hemo until my PD cath could heal. Thru this I was in the hospital for 5 days.

[-Lady Noir-]

Yeap, Mike was admitted into the ER cause of extremely high potassium, [this was 2 days after he was released from hospital after a parathyroidectomy] and they decided he had to start dialysis asap, so he had the catheter put in & that was that.
Before parathyroidectomy, creatinine was 10.. after parathyroidectomy 14. Apparently it was the surgery itself.

[Tracy]

Wow, that is interesting to know.  They say my GFR is 8 and my creatinine is 5.99.  They said they had seen creat. get up to 10 before.  I am just not feeling great, but I still force myself to come to work each day.  It is getting harder.  I feel like this job is keeping me as well as it can though.  The neph said it would be soon that I would need to start D.  I work at a high school and so I am trying to wait until school is out before I am in hosp for while. 

Thank you for the responses. 

Tracy