I'm there

[GoingThere]

Dear friends,

my big D - day is here. I'm writing from hospital. I just got catheter and in 2 hours I'll be on dialysis. It feels strange to have something in body - catheter.

Tommorow I'will have AV fistula operation.

Blessings,

Uros

[peleroja]

Hey, we have the same anniversary.  I started dialysis on July 14, 2003.  Hopefully everything will go well for you.

[cariad]

It can be overwhelming, Uros. I never had a fistula used (had one placed, but it never worked) but at least with a catheter, you can adjust to dialysis without the added fear of the pain of needles or infiltration. When your fistula is up and running, you should have a much better idea on how dialysis affects you and what works and what doesn't.

As you begin your maiden voyage on dialysis, picture all of us in the room with you - your loyal crew, there to support you on this journey.

Best of luck. You can do this.

[Tracy]

Good Luck to you!  I started in May.  It was scary the first day, but after that, you get used to the routine. 

[KICKSTART]

Take it one day at a time. Thats all you can do, 

[MooseMom]

Such a life changing moment.  You have all of our support!

[Dianejt]

  Hope your first day went well.

[Sunny]

You are being brave and making steps in the right direction.

[RightSide]

Just think of it as the beginning of the process to flush all those toxins out of you, and get you feeling better again.

Be patient.  It can take months, as it did with me.

But at the end of that time, I'm sure you'll feel it was worth it.

[chook]

I wrote in my diary the week after my PD catheter placement - "it's amazing how quickly it seems 'normal' to have this plastic tubing hanging from my tummy" - hope that acceptance is soon there for you too. It is very scary. Hoping that the health benefits start to kick in soon and you begin feeling better.

[galvo]

Welcome to the club!

[Stacy Without An E]

As a six year veteran of Dialysis, I believe the best advice I can give you is to be patient with treatment at first.  Its going to take your body time to adjust to the new regimen.  It also helps if you can keep Dialysis separate from the rest of your life.  I do in-clinic hemo, so I have the ability to keep my treatment from infecting the rest of my life.

Give it time.  You'll start to feel better.  And you'll discover strength you never knew existed within your soul.

All my best.

[RichardMEL]

All good advice - I really can't add too much!

[Ang]

as  above

[GoingThere]

My friends,

I'm back from hospital. I have a catheter and already a fistula. Tomorrow I will start in center HD near my town. My first HD went well, only one minor BP fall, but afterwards I was so tired. I will have HD 3x week, M,W and F mornngs. Currently, they do not move water from my blood as I can still pee. Tough road ahead, I hope I won't give up.


Thank you for your support.

Uros

P.S.: My fistula hurts, but it is manageble.

[cariad]

Don't you dare give up, Uros. We won't let you.

Echoing Kickstart: one day at a time, one step at a time, and you'll make it. 

[boswife]

wow, just reading this from you and im just full of emotion remembering the 'beginnings' of our journey with this D stuff.  (been a year and 3 months on D now)  .  Your only going to get better and better with it all, and it will (God willing) just become a minor inconvience in your day.Im so glad that these first steps are done, and the healing is beginning.  I hope your doing well this eve.  Blessings to you, and continued strength to get through these beginnings.. 

[galvo]

best wishes.

[GoingThere]

Hi all!

Second D behind me today. Much better than the first one. This is a private HD center. You have your own TV and all-around adjustable seat. The staff is very nice and as the youngest patient, I get a lot of nurses attention : .

I do need to sleep after treatment, but I can already feel the difference how I feel. When my AV fistula won't hurt anymore, I will start doing sports again. I think this will happen next week.

The only sad thing is, that it is summer now and because of catheter, I cannot go into water:(.

Uros

[Rivy]

Dear friends,

my big D - day is here. I'm writing from hospital. I just got catheter and in 2 hours I'll be on dialysis. It feels strange to have something in body - catheter.

Tommorow I'will have AV fistula operation.

Blessings,

Uros

Hello Uros,  You have all the support you can ask for on this website group and that of your dialysis center..Wow! getting a lot in one smack...I've been on dialysis for /going on 3years now, I do have a fistula on my right arm and waiting on the kidney list to receive a kidney donor..The wait is the most empty feeling of not getting one soon..I'm dealing with dialysis three times a week and evertime I still feel helpless.   Hang in there!! You'll do great since your still young.. Rivy

[Riki]

I did nearly 5 years on PD, and it'll be 2 years on HD in December. You get used to the routine, although it still kicks my butt sometimes. I will tell you this, you'd be surprised the amount of energy that you will find after dialysis if you need it.

Case in point, and yes, I like to tell stories.  I'm a bit of a writer, and I generally write fiction, but these stories are true, I swear.

Anyway, last May, when I was in New York, I surprised myself with the energy I could find. My mom and I were staying in a hotel in Newark, New Jersey, and my time was on the 3rd shift, so I was finished about 10:30pm.  It was quite dark by that time, so we grabbed a cab to New York Penn and got the train to Newark.  What we didn't know until we got to Newark Penn was that the light rail was down for the night, so we couldn't take it the 2 blocks back to our hotel.  We called a car service, but they said it would be about 20-30 minutes before they could come for us.  Mom asked me if I could walk back to the hotel.  I gave her a look that I'm sure said, "do I really have to?" My two friends who were with us (One lives in Newark, the other lives in MN and came specifically fo visit with us) kept saying, "come on, Riki, you can do it" so, I said ok.  So, we started off.  What they failed to tell me, was that it was mostly uphill.  I did it, though.  Two blocks, at 11pm, in Newark, NJ.  I had to stop 3 times, 2 of those times because I felt dizzy, but we still made it.  Mom and I waited in the lobby of the hotel until the car service came to pick my friends up and take them home.  About 10 minutes after Mom and I got into the room and got settled, I got a text from my friend who lives in Newark, letting me know that they made it back to her apartment ok.  I'm a bit of a worry wart, and I insist on her telling me when she gets home. *L*  She also told me that she was proud of me for walking back to the hotel, even though it took us an hour, and the 3 of them could have done it in 10 minutes without me.  I really didn't think I would make it, so I guess she was right to be proud of me.  Anyway, to sum up this really long story, you find it if you need to, even if dialysis kicks the snot out of you.

[RichardMEL]

Right on Riki (and keep the stories coming, I like them because so far they are all positive ones !!!). It's funny last night (Sat) after I had done D and started my D weekend I was feeling a bit blah, and posted as such on facebook (I don't even know why it all just seemed too hard last night). Anyway this morning I woke up and actually felt like I had loads of energy. I don't mean I'd do a marathon, but yeah I felt pretty good. Normally on a Sunday I do a "long walk" well long for me. Google maps claims the one way distance is 6.4km's (nearly 4 miles). Well I doubled it today. Took a little over two hours (I did grab a small coffee around half way because it was cold out) and it was good. Yes, fairly tired when I got home, but I did then do some cleaning, washing and boring stuff like that, but I was rather pleased with the effort and I enjoy doing my regular exercise, getting out and so on.

SO yeah you can find energy. After D I normally need a bit of a nap myself. I call it my cat nap, because it includes the cat!  however the day after I tend to feel much more "normal" - of course I am sure it is not normal compared to a fully fit person and all that, but I do feel well enough to get out and walk, and do work and chase after girls and all the usual stuff! 

[carla13]

Good Luck. Take it slow, and hopefully soon you will begin to feel better.

xx
c

[Riki]

I went to the beach today!!  First time in at least 6 years, maybe more.  I cannot put into works how amazingly happy it made me to get into that water and just float on the waves. It was an exhilarating experience that I hope to do again many times before the jellyfish take over..

[RichardMEL]

beach babe Riki.. the jellyfish wouldn't dare come near!!!!