Is this a positive to hang on to???/

[DonnaPaul]

Hello all, hope everyone is having a good Saturday.  Paul had dialysis this morning at 5:30 am.  (I am not an early person) It went well but they only took 1L off and told him that was all he gained, said they thought his kidneys might be working a little, since he is still peeing and such little fluid gain.  We are following the diet stricktly and not sure how positive this is.  We go on the transplant list in December.  I nor my children are a match.  I have O+ blood, he has AB +.  They put in a perma-cath yesterday and it worked better today than the emergency central line.  Just reallly wanted to know how much his kidneys could work, can they start working again if they already told us they weren't doing their job?  For a nurse I feel real stupid right now??  Thanks guys

[willowtreewren]

Hi, Donna,

If Paul is still urinating, they will not have to take off as much fluid and that is a good thing. It means that he will have fewer issues with cramping and having his BP crash.

The thing to remember, though is that the kidneys also remove toxins from the blood. Even though Paul is urinating, his kidneys may not be removing those toxins, so he will need dialysis to do that.

Don't feel stupid. This is a new area for you. Just keep educating yourself!

And yes, so far, it has been a good weekend. I attended my first Bar Mitzvah. 

Aleta

[Cordelia]

Hi DonnaPaul,

    to you!

My nephrologist said I might regain some kidney function back one day, it does happen to some people and they get off dialysis but 14 months later I'm still on Dialysis, nothing has changed. I was stage 5 before Dialysis.

I'm still urinating, lots, but I guess the toxins are not cleaning out thus why the fluid build up.  Is your husband still urinating?

I'm not sure how common it is to get off dialysis once you're on it? I don't really know, either.

 

[monrein]

I think it's a huge positive to follow the renal diet as closely as one can since that can help to avoid both short and long term complications.  Sometimes straying is necessary but should be the exception rather than the rule in my opinion.

BTW, AB can receive a kidney from all the blood groups and O can donate to all.  The RH makes no difference at all for transplant, unlike for blood donation.  You may not be a match for other reasons, including your own health, but your blood types are in fact compatible.

Kidney function can come back if the cause is acute (car accident or other trauma that can prove temporary) but chronic kidney failure is a horse of a different colour and the function keeps going down and down.

[Adam_W]

I still produce urine, and I was even able to stop D for six months. It is definitely a good thing when your still producing urine. I've since had to restart D but I still don't have to take off much fluid.

[Cordelia]

I've heard it's better if you still produce urine while on D.

[DonnaPaul]

Thanks guys, and I am healthy, no cronic issues or daily meds for anything so maybe I can give my kidney--I would do it but we haven't gotten that far just first talk of transplant list today.  I love having folks that seem to get it!!!!  Thanks again I am sure you will be hearing from me often

[Cordelia]

    

[bette1]

Producing urine while on hemo is a good thing.  I still produced urine during 5 years of hemo.  It made the diet so much easier to follow because I did not have a fluid restriction. 

[Cordelia]

Me too, I don't have fluid restrictions, either

[amanda100wilson]

I don't think that all transplany units do Incompatible blood group transplants, but some do.  Bear in mind that you can get evaluated at a transplant unit of your choice although of course, if it is not near you, the logistics of getting there are up to you.   I live in Georgia but I am on John Hopkins pooled donor program.  They also have an incompatible blood group program.  So even if the transplant near you doesn't do it, maybe somewhere else will

[daveosaurus]

I wouldn't get too excited about still urinating. it doesn't mean you'll be able to stop D. It"s the universe's way of taunting you.

[Poppylicious]

My Blokey pee'd heaps for the first three months he was on haemoD.  Then one day he completely stopped, with no warning.  It was most odd.  As an O+ I was told I could donate to anyone, so I'm assuming you may be able to donate after all ...

 

[Whamo]

The Nephro teams seem to be a bit optimistic.  They were telling me my kidney would recover, but once I started eating protein again, my urine output began to trickle.  Some people do recover, but I wouldn't bank on it.  You can't blame them though.  They're striving towards positive outcomes.