Nausea

[Hazmat35]

Has anyone had issues with NAUSEA? 

I've been on Dialysis for 2 years.  Everything is going well, blood levels and test results are 100% perfect.  I go to treaments for 4 hours, 3x per week. 

But lately, I've been getting very Nauseas.  1st thing when i wake up, i feel as if i want to throw up.  I never do, but the feeling is horrible.  It slowly goes away, then it comes back, and again and again all day.  Maybe the next day it won't happen, then it happens for 3 or 4 days in a row. 

I've kept track of when it happens and what i've been eating and there is no pattern.  My doctor has increased my dialysis time to 4 1/2 hours.  So far that hasn't helped.  He said that I wasn't getting enough treatment time.  I went through all my medicines, and about 90 % of them cause NAUSEA. 

Any suggestions? 

EDITED:  MOVED FROM OFF TOPIC TO PROPER SECTION -- RERUN, MODERATOR 

[sullidog]

I had the same problem, I've had a scope done nothing was found, Now that I've been on dialysis for a while now it did go away, I still use zofran from time to time because it does still come and go but deffinatly not as bad for when I started, ask your dr. for some antinauzea meds.

[Hazmat35]

Dr. thinks that I'm not getting enough dialysis, and wants to up my time even more if the added 1/2 hour doesn't work.  I think HE"S NUTS!!!!!!!

[cassandra]

me too, check your bicarbonate levels. Should be between 22-26 (UK)

love Cas

[noahvale]

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[lmunchkin]

Hazmat, my husband has had nausea since starting Dialysis 8 years ago.  Like you, he heeves but nothing comes up.  Almost every day this goes on, but when on the machine, it doesnt seem to happen as much as when he is off!  I believe it is just a characteristic of his disease, IMHO.  He has had everything look good with labs & levels, but still has the nausea.

I don't have an exact answer as to why, but just to let you know, you are not alone in this!

God bless,
lmunchkin

[adairpete]

It's funny you posted this question as I've been experiencing almost exactly this same thing! I've been doing PD, though, for almost 2 years, and lately feel like I did before starting D.  Labs are fine, though, however, they are checking my adequacy and labs later this week. I was irritated though when the neph said if all that was fine they would "kick me over" to my PCP.  Sorta felt like that as long as they had done their job and couldn't figure it out, I was somebody else's problem.  We'll see what the labs say...

[lmunchkin]

That is sad, Adair.  Your neph should know better.  What a cruel thing to say and wrong, because he/she is the kidney specialist.  When I hear things like this, I just Cringe!  Makes me want to smack someone silly!    But, its not worth going to Prison over!

God Bless,
lmunchkin

[Willis]

I'm on a PD cycler and if I get up right when the cycle is over I'm prone to nausea. If I can stay in bed for 30-60 minutes after the machine has done it's thing I'm less likely to have a problem. But sometimes when taking my morning pills or if I cough too hard it will take all my will power to not puke...a few times I've lost that battle.   

 

[Joe]

I've had that issue when I've gotten dehydrated. That happened early in my PD regimen, but we got it under control. I occasionally  have it happen now, but not to the point of hurling - at least not yet.

[jeannea]

I practically lived on Zofran when on dialysis. Lots of nausea. Got my transplant and it cleared right up. So whatever the exact connection, it was related to dialysis.

[thegrammalady]

i am now on nexium twice a day due to nausea. i had all sorts of testing and they found nothing. dr said it was just the dialysis. I've talked to other people where the machine causes nausea problems but they don't have problems any other time. i might agree with you your neph is crazy.

[Ken Shelmerdine]

I used to become nauseous only ocasionally but now it is every afternoon but it doesn't happen after dialysis.

When I become nauseous I also become very thirsty and I start drinking lots of water (fluid overload not a problem) It has afected my appetite so that I have to more or less force down my evening meal. Next morning I am fine good appetite for breakfast and mid day meal but after that no appetite for the rest of the day unless I have D in the afternoon after which I am ravenous.

I am waiting for a pelvic scan and a camera down the throat jobbie.

Also when I am nauseous if I clear my throat by coughing too hard I throw up.

[Hazmat35]

Has anyone had issues with NAUSEA? 

I've been on Dialysis for 2 years.  Everything is going well, blood levels and test results are 100% perfect.  I go to treaments for 4 hours, 3x per week. 

But lately, I've been getting very Nauseas.  1st thing when i wake up, i feel as if i want to throw up.  I never do, but the feeling is horrible.  It slowly goes away, then it comes back, and again and again all day.  Maybe the next day it won't happen, then it happens for 3 or 4 days in a row. 

I've kept track of when it happens and what i've been eating and there is no pattern.  My doctor has increased my dialysis time to 4 1/2 hours.  So far that hasn't helped.  He said that I wasn't getting enough treatment time.  I went through all my medicines, and about 90 % of them cause NAUSEA. 

Any suggestions?

Insufficient dialysis could be a cause.   What is your Kt/V and URR?  When I was on conventional incenter treatment or have to go on day dialysis now for some reason, I run for 4.5 hours.  This is the amount of time that would give me a kt/V of >2.0 and a URR of >75% w/o having to turn the blood pump over 350.   I also do not want to have so much fluid to remove that my ultrafiltration rate (UFR) would have to be over 750.  (I'm 5'8"/62.0 kg. and use a Fresenius Optiflux 180 dialyzer.)  With these parameters, I have never experienced dialysis nauseousness, and very rarely feel washed out after treatment.

Other reasons could be:

Severe Anemia - what is your hemoglobin?
An infection - some chronic infections do not include fever or very low grade.  Has your BP been low?
Too much acetate and not enough bicarb in the dialysate during treatment.  Is checking your blood CO2 level included in your monthly bloodwork?  Normal range is 22-32 mmol/L.

in response to your comment, this is my response back, from my center: 

Severe Anemia - what is your hemoglobin?  it is actually high goal for dialysis is 10-12 and yours is 13

An infection - some chronic infections do not include fever or very low grade.  Has your BP been low?  It has been ranging 199/90 161/84 before treatments and 136/60 and 146/69 after treatment.

Too much acetate and not enough bicarb in the dialysate during treatment.  Is checking your blood CO2 level included in your monthly bloodwork?  Normal range is 22-32 mmol/L.  Your CO2 is included in monthly labs and it is good 24

[noahvale]

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[Big E]

Hazmat, are you taking sensipar?  That is notoriously nausea-inducing.  It helps if you take it with a lot of food, preferably higher in fat--yum!!

[SteveK87]

My wife is at a constant battle with nausea, and she swears by Zofran.  She can get nausea symptoms, on or off treatment, and they go away within an hour of taking it.

Likes others of said, sensipar or anemia could be factors, both which my wife takes/has.

[brandi1leigh]

 I also battle nausea a lot. Doctors have finally just decided it's partly all the medication and me just not responding well to dialysis. My lab results are all fine, but i still feel lousy...

[Gerald Lively]

When I get up in the morning I feel like barfing.  If I stay in bed I feel like barfing.  It takes two hours to devour 12oz of coffee then I have some breakfast, which makes me feel like barfing.  About 2 pm I think I might get hungry but, well, you know what it makes me feel like.  I never feel like dinner and by that time I have taken a anti-barf pill called prochlorper, or something like that – so I eat dinner anyway and that makes me feel like barfing. 

After radiation therapy I have a huge problem with a hyper-active colon; that and barfing is a great way to lose weight.  So, my wife feeds me these “pack-your-mud” pills that really jam me up, which makes me feel like barfing.  Two days later, as long as I drink plenty of liquids, I blast out and live in the bathroom for a while.

Then I resume my regular routine of barfing.

I realize that this is absolutely no help for others with this problem. Hell Bells, I haven’t even solved this for myself.  Besides, my kidneys are working just fine and I am not on dialysis.  Excuse me, I have to go barf.

Gerald   

[billybags]

Gerald , you sound like a right little boffer.

[lmunchkin]

He is funny at times, such a colorful way of bringing it forward!!!!!  Soooo  frank, and I love it!

lmunchkin

[chiawana]

This is interesting, because my husband is the one on dialysis and he gets nauseous quite often. This morning he was so sick that we skipped dialysis training for the day. Our nurse was fine with it, as we are almost done and will be coming Friday & Saturday. We've discussed whether it's the fact that he is just not a morning person and it makes him literally sick, or if it's because he's been having some high blood sugars in the morning. My pet theory (that pisses him off) is that he takes too much stinking Ambien and in addition to making him hung over, makes him nauseous. Now the possibility that it could be the dialysis itself . . . I have no idea. He's had a few incidents of low blood pressure and cramping during dialysis, but that seems to clear up with a saline bolus. so now I'm more confused than ever.

[smokinbeaver]

I always get a kick out of Gerald's comments. He could be a stand up commedian talking about dialysis. Maybe we need one of those to help the public understand how crappy, but sometimes still meaningful life is on dialysis.

I feel for you guys and girls with the nausea! Maybe it is the binders, or of course it could be the dialysis treatment itself. Living with constant nausea has got to suck!

Sharon

[Hazmat35]

Hazmat, are you taking sensipar?  That is notoriously nausea-inducing.  It helps if you take it with a lot of food, preferably higher in fat--yum!!

Yes!  I was taking it only on Dialysis days, but then my PTH went through the roof.  So, now I'm back to every day.  I take it in the evening with meals. 

[Gerald Lively]

I still feel the effects of radiation therapy but I have moved on from the dominant barfing stage.  How did I do it?  Well, it turns out that I have only a 30% kidney function, maybe a bit more than that, and I have to be careful about holding too much water.  So, I take these diuretic pills. So, what does this have to do with barfing?

I don’t have time to barf, I’m busy urinating on the garden.  Sometimes I pee on the ferns but I have this philosophy about equality.  I make an effort to pee on everything equally.  Pee on the tree, pee on the rockrose, pee on the dried out iris, let ‘em all have it – until I peed on the cat who was hiding under the Toyon bush.  That’ll get your attention.

Now I drink a lot of water. Strange because it seems there is a direct pipeline from my mouth, when I’m drinking water, to my pecker which otherwise is just hanging around doing nothing. Diuretics worked for me, perhaps it will work for you.

gerald