Fluid intake questions

[BigDadii]

I know that I have asked these questions before.
does the body process different liquids differently ?
and a new question
Does the body change how it holds your fluid? At one time I could put on 5K easy with not much effect , but recently I put on that same 5k and could not breath. What is happening and how can I fix it? :SOS;






EDITED: Moved to General Discussion-kitkatz,Admin

[Charlie B53]

Viscosity of the fluids can make some difference in the speed which those fluids may pass through the digestive system.  Those thicker containing more 'solids' such as fiber may move slower.

Salt content can also make a difference in how well, or how fast the amount of water is absorbed into the blood stream.

[Michael Murphy]

My advice is go to the doctor, last fall I suffered a major heart attack. Since then I have been suffering Congestive Heart Failure.  My cardiologist decided to be more aggressive in fluid removal.  Sine then I have been much better.

[BigDadii]

That makes a lot of sense Charlie thanx.

Does your blood pressure effect your fluid intake and or abillity to breath ?

[cassandra]

Hi BigDadii if you have a problem breathing, and it's not asthma or something it's probably fluid build up in or around the lungs. You could have lost muscle/meat weight which is slowly replaced by fluid.
I agree with Michael, please go and see a Dr and get your dry weight looked at.


Love, luck and strength, Cas

[BigDadii]

Cassandra and Mike
I have recently had my dry wieght decreased and  have been better at controling my fluid intake.

[Michael Murphy]

Way to go,  if you are loosing weight you must periodically have your dry weight recessed.  Since I started dialysis on average I have lost a half a kilo every month.  While that does not seem a lot in 6 months that's 3 kilos, a lot of fluid.

[cassandra]

   

[PrimeTimer]

Glad to hear your good news, BigDadii! You ought to feel very good about what you've done for yourself. In addition to watching his fluid intake, for the past several months hubby has stuck strictly to a low potassium/low sodium/low phosphorous renal diet. It has paid off. I cried...Neph says he now has the blood pressure of a 16 year old (he's 59 and weighs 101.7 kilos) and might even get to stop taking his BP meds. And...she might be increasing his dry weight this week. He just got his labs back and they look better than ever! In fact, they look better than when he was doing home-hemo dialysis 5x a week (he now goes in-center 3x week). So keep up the good work by staying involved and on top of your own health plan. It WILL pay off! 

[GA_DAWG]

When this whole thing started, I could not breathe if I laid down at night. I had no idea, at the time, I was suffering congestive heart failure due to fluid buildup. It is something that should be much more widely known. It was even not explained to me until several months after being on dialysis, when I went for a follow up and the doctor asked if I had any further problems with congestive heart failure.

[PrimeTimer]

When this whole thing started, I could not breathe if I laid down at night. I had no idea, at the time, I was suffering congestive heart failure due to fluid buildup. It is something that should be much more widely known. It was even not explained to me until several months after being on dialysis, when I went for a follow up and the doctor asked if I had any further problems with congestive heart failure.

Hope you are doing better now. Angering that no one told you what was going on.

[Charlie B53]

Congestive Heart Failure is a silent killer.  We often fail to recognise the symptoms of the onset, the difficulty breathing is a huge clue.  Fluid will accumulate in the lungs.  While vertical this fluid pools in the lower lobe and doesn't cause much problem, it is when you lay down the fluid spreads out covering far more surface area and causing difficulty exchanging oxygen.

The fluid also accumulates in the heart sak, creating pressure on the heart, not allowing the heart to fully expand and full with blood.  So it cannot pump as much blood with each heartbeat.  Pulse rate increases in attempt to pump enough blood.  If you regularly check your heartrate you may notice this increase.

Taking off more fluid doing dialysis can help reduce these fluid accumulations.

There are far too many people dead and many more still dying from CHF that are NOT on Dialysis.  I have asked my Dr why they simply prescribe diuretics and not put in a perma cath and do dialysis on many of these people.  It could extend their lives.  He evades my questions.

[Michael Murphy]

I had a heart attack last fall this spring I started Cardiac Rehab.  Was doing really good until all of a sudden I couldn't breath.  Turns out I began to loose weight because of the exercise but it was masked by the fluid gains,  so all of a sudden I was about 6 kilos over what should have been my dry weight.  My nephrologist would not lower my dry weight so I resorted adding a kilo to my starting weight so instead of 133 I would report 134 so they would bring me 1 kilo below my dry weight.   So now the doctor has made my dry weight 129, some time next week I will again add a kilo and drop to 128.

[cassandra]

....My nephrologist would not lower my dry weight so I resorted adding a kilo to my starting weight so instead of 133 I would report 134 so they would bring me 1 kilo below my dry weight.   So now the doctor has made my dry weight 129, some time next week I will again add a kilo and drop to 128.

Why do these 'learned people' so often think they know best. I'm glad you find a way to 'coach' this one in the right direction Michael.

Keep doing 'well', lots of luck, love and strength, Cas

[Charlie B53]

Smart move Michael.

Some of us do pay far more attention to our bodies than others.  Those of us that do often know what we need far more than the Dr that only sees us for a few moments. Adjustment of dry weight needs to be an ongoing number that can easily change depending on patient diet, activity, and even the weather.

As Michael pointed out, adjustment needs to be made in small amounts while watching for any adverse symptoms such as cramping or blood pressures getting lower than your normal.

Those patients that do have CHF and fluid accumulation inf the heart sac and/or lungs, this fluid cannot be removed in a single treatment.  It will take a number of treatments, each time the body will reabsorb a small amount of that fluid.

[GA_DAWG]

I keep an eye on everything, so now the techs ask me how much I want to go for each treatment. I call my own. This started after our best tech realized the reason I was blacking out was because I did not need the rinse added to what they wanted to take off. Now instead of adding a half for the rinse, we just take off the amount gained.