Has Anyone Lost Control Of Your Bowels/Voiding While On Dialysis From Low BP?

[Cordelia]

Has anyone lost control of your bowels/voiding while on dialysis ....the cause of you crashing from low BP while on the machine?

I had a very close call while gone on holidays last week and came close to crashing. I had a very bad urge to do the number 2 while on the machine and never had that urge before. Pee yes, poo, no .....well anyways, I was broken out into a severe sweat and felt all clammy and when I told my nurse I had to do the two she says to me, that's a sign of my bp dropping. I had no idea the urge of that coming on meant that my bp had severely droppd. The sweating and the clamminess, yes, but not a bm.

Has this happend to anyone else or is the urge to have a bm because of very low bp, a common thing to have happen?

It was a very scary feeling. I was just really glad I caught it before I really bottomed out, PUN intended! Or, it could have made for a very embarrassing situation!!!                 

What happened to me was that my nurse realized she had inputed the wrong number for the fluid removal and was removing too much fluid!   She apoligized profusely to me. After she gave me saline, I felt a ton better!

I was so surprised to hear her say that was the cause and her telling me that people can actually lose control of their bowels.....I honestly thought I was having a panic attack  that 's that what the reason for the urge to have a#2 was, not realizing it was caused from low bp.

[Rerun]

I have felt that extreme urge when crashing.  It is so hard to try and not pass out while trying to hold everything together.  So, no, I didn't know that was common.  It makes sense because I think that is why you throw up .... your body trying to raise your bp so a bm would raise it too.  I usually have extreme gas while crashing..... same thing.  Not an ideal moment.

         

[Cordelia]

You're right, Rerun, I had so much gas too, I had forgotten that....remember now with you having mentioned it.

It felt so weird to be out of control. I was really embarrassed because I hated to bother the nurse twice to let me out of the chair to use the bathroom. I'm so spoiled at my incenter at home since a toilet is in my room and I don't have to be disconnected at all to get up and use the toilet.

[Rerun]

It seems that the urge goes away after they get me back to normal.....  So I've not had to get off.  There is no way they could get me off and me walk to the bathroom while I'm in the crashing state anyway.

[cattlekid]

Been there, done that.  No fun in center.  I never had an accident but came damn close.  It doesn't help that I have ulcerative colitis as well as everything else so BMs are always an issue for me anyhow.

[Cordelia]

I don't know how I walked across the room. The nurse held onto my one arm while I walked.  There was no callbell in the bathroom, either. I was scared.

I'm very thankful I didn't collapse.  Too scary, that's for sure!  My nurse was pretty thankful that I have a good heart. She thinks its my ageand the fact that I have a good heart,  that saved me.

[PatDowns]

I don't know how I walked across the room. The nurse held onto my one arm while I walked.  There was no callbell in the bathroom, either. I was scared.

I'm very thankful I didn't collapse.  Too scary, that's for sure!  My nurse was pretty thankful that I have a good heart. She thinks its my ageand the fact that I have a good heart,  that saved me.

This is an excellent example why in-center patients need to be on top of things during treatment.  Dialysis staff are humans and errors can happen.  Unfortunately, those errors can be devastating to us.  Look at the machine settings before starting treatment.  Always make sure that your ultrafiltration rate is set correctly for the amount of fluid needing to be removed.  No one will watch out for you better than yourself.

The following article, "How Can I Better Ensure My Safety in the Dialysis Unit?", by Peter Lundin, MD, is as relevant today - if not more so - than when it was written in 2001.  Dr. Lundin was both an esrd patient and renown nephrologist/patient advocate.

http://www.aakp.org/aakp-library/ensure-my-safety-in-dialysis-unit/index.cfm

[Leanne]

that hasnt happened to me but it did to my mom.  They would always let her go on herself saying since she was blind that the risk of her falling was too much even if they walked her to the bathroom.  We had words a couple of times so the EMS crew would go out there and help her.  I worked with them so they didnt mind.

As you prob guess I dont dialize there.  My center is FMC as well but like night and day.  All the times my bp has crashed I just got clammy and would see black spots and almost threw up.  Thankful I was able to hold it down but I would stay sick the rest of the tx.

[Cordelia]

Thanks for the link, PatDowns! I'll check it out!       

Leanne, I'm so very thankful I've never thrown up. Never even felt nauseated, I'm glad about that.

[sullidog]

Yes I get the urge when crashing but able to hold it in until I return to normal.

[chiawana]

It almost sounds like a vagus nerve issue, too. My husband had that happen a couple of years ago. His blood sugar and blood pressure dropped, he was clammy and had to go NOW. We were at the bowling alley. A friend helped him to the bathroom. He almost passed out. The paramedics were called and because of his low blood pressure they took him to the hospital.  Before we started doing home hemo, he had to "go" a few times at the center, and they were none too nice about it. He has some neuropathy in his bowels and he is either constipated or the opposite, and he never knows when it will hit. The nurses were really pissy about doing a temporary disconnect so he could go to the restoom. That was one of the reasons he wanted to get out of there and do it at home, among the bad needle sticking and everything else he hated about it.

[Cordelia]

Neuropathy in the bowels? I've never heard of that.

I know I have diverticulitis, that's all I have, quite common in ppl who have PKD.

[AnnieB]

It almost sounds like a vagus nerve issue, too. My husband had that happen a couple of years ago. His blood sugar and blood pressure dropped, he was clammy and had to go NOW. We were at the bowling alley. A friend helped him to the bathroom. He almost passed out. The paramedics were called and because of his low blood pressure they took him to the hospital.  Before we started doing home hemo, he had to "go" a few times at the center, and they were none too nice about it. He has some neuropathy in his bowels and he is either constipated or the opposite, and he never knows when it will hit. The nurses were really pissy about doing a temporary disconnect so he could go to the restoom. That was one of the reasons he wanted to get out of there and do it at home, among the bad needle sticking and everything else he hated about it.

I get really pissed when I hear stuff like that. What do these freakin' nurses think, they're doing *you* a favor just by doing what they're supposed to be doing in the first place? People like that should get out of nursing and go do something they're better suited for, like slinging burgers at McDonalds. 

[tiredandthirsty]

YES!  i have the same problem every time i crash.  it has happened three times since i started in March.  the last one being the most major crash where i went down to 59/40 or something like that.  everything was blurry and everyone was in my room trying to keep me alive.  they had to put 14-1500 ml of fluid back in AND it was a Friday.  so i had to be extra careful for two straight days with the fluid.

anyways, as soon as i came back to senses i said "I NEED OFF OF THIS MACHINE PLEASE NOW".  i ran to the bathroom and some other dude got in before i could make it there.  so i ran to the bathroom in the lobby.  that was CLOSE! 

but point is, every time i drop, i HAVE to run to the bathroom.  thank God i am not the only one 

[Grumpy-1]

I didn't know that.  Since being on D, my BP has dropped to sometime too low.  And I'm running to the restroom a lot, both at work and at home.  It seems I need to get and keep my BP up -   Thanks for the information  Grumpy

[Cordelia]

Annie, "Slinging burgers @ McDonald's!" LOL I like that!                  


Grumpy and tiredandthisty:  I'm glad I'm not the only one!             

[Grumpy-1]

Question for those suffer with this.   How many time a day do you have to go the bathroom to poop?  I'm (sometimes) running at least 7 times during a 24 hour period.  I say that because I'll have to get up in the middle of the night to go too.  Grumpy

[Cordelia]

Oh my goodness.  No, I'm a once a day pooper.  LOL LMAO!
I poop when I get up in the morning, first thing before I even leave the house for my morning dialysis.  I like to get business taken care of before I leave the house.  I never liked the thoughts of having to ask to use the bathroom for the #2 while I'm at my regular unit. I have the use of a toilet in my room at my unit and I would fear worrying about smell after that, so forget it, I make sure I get all that sh*tty business done before I leave home!                

[tiredandthirsty]

Grumpy-1:

thats a lot of trips.  i usually have to go once or twice, max thrice.  and i thought that was too much.  but i take miralax because i have ascites and when that water from my stomach gets pulled out, the space gets filled up with air and hence gas.  it hurts quite a bit until i let a couple of big ones go.  and miralax sort of helps with it. so i guess that makes me go to the bathroom more.

[Cordelia]

It does seem like a lot of trips!