Hello I'm new

[Cargon]

The last 3 months have been a whirlwind. Husband had accute renal failure and was in the icu for almost 2 weeks in the middle of August. He has dialysis 3 times a week now. We're stuck in financial limbo waiting for disability to be approved. Now, he's going to switch to home dialysis and I have no idea what to expect. He came home from dialysis today and is now telling me about the huge amount of work that has to be done before dialysis... I can't take all of this at once. I should also mention that I have a 16 year old step son, 10 year old daughter, and 15 month old twins 😲 This site has been a blessing, a place of understanding, and a place of reassurance. Happy to get to know the kidney family

[MooseMom]

A big welcome to our community!  Fortunately for you and your husband, we have many members who do home dialysis, both home hemo and PD, who I am sure would be very happy to help you out when the time comes.  As you probably have noticed, there is an entire forum dedicated to home dialysis.  Our members are very generous with their time and make a big effort to be supportive and informative.

Do you know what was the cause of your husband's renal failure?  Would he consider a transplant, or is that too much too soon to think about?

Thank you for joining IHD!

[kickingandscreaming]

Very often, Acute Kidney Failure is reversible (as opposed to the chronic variety).  Has this  been fully explored?

Unlike chronic kidney failure, which is long term and irreversible, acute kidney failure is a temporary condition. With proper and timely treatment, it can typically be reversed. Often there is no permanent damage to the kidneys. Acute kidney failure appears most frequently as a complication of serious illness, like heart failure, liver failure, dehydration, severe burns, and excessive bleeding (hemorrhage). It may also be caused by an obstruction to the urinary tract or as a direct result of kidney disease, injury, or an adverse reaction to a medicine.

https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/acute+kidney+failure

[Charlie B53]

Welcome to our IHD 'Family'. 

We are not only dialysis Patients but also all of those around the actual patient, the whole 'Family', Spouses, Sons, Daughters, Brothers, Sisters, everyone related to the patient as Dialysis affects ALL of us deeply.

Treatment in clinic three times weekly causes us to believe your Husband is currently undergoing Hemo Dialysis, filtering his blood through the machine.  Home Hemo can be done with training and can have a much better outcome with the patient feeling far better than he does while undergoing in-clinic treatments.  Careful study and a lot of attention to details is critical. Having babies in the home will pose a bit of demand on Mom during treatments, but the rest of the time everything should be fully normal. The older children will need to be educated so they will understand the what and why of Dad's treatments, but you may be surprised just how quickly they learn, they really are a lot smarter then we think.

Your new IHD 'Family' will always be here to assist with helpful advise to all your questions.  Many have already run into the most common problems and have had to find methods to cope with each one, often without the benefit of such helpful advise.

Take Care,

Charlie B53

[Simon Dog]

Welcome.   Do not be scared by home dialysis.  It will allow him to have a likely better medical outcome, and it's a much better experience than going in-center.   No bright lights, noise from other patients machines, or getting punctured by a different person each time he goes.  In fact, I an about 2 hours into a treatment at home as I type this.

[justagirl2325]

Welcome

My husband went through the same thing in 2014, his kidneys crashed and he started dialysis within a week of that.  We switched to home hemo dialysis later that year (4 months).  It was a huge adjustment I couldn't imagine doing it with young twins.  A lot of it will depend on him I guess.  Shoot me any questions.

[PrimeTimer]

   Welcome to ihd, Cargon! You will learn a lot on this site and have plenty of support. My husband did home hemo and I was his care partner. We are middle aged, have no kids. We did home hemo for 3 years and decided it was best that hubby go back to doing in-center. I have fibromyalgia and so it was getting harder on me and the stress of that was hard on my husband. It was also eating up a lot of our time. He's been back to doing in-center for a year now and is doing great. He goes 3x a week for 3.5 hour treatments. He works a full time semi-physical job (a lot of driving and field work) and feels good. He actually has more strength and energy than I do. He amazes me. I cook meals following renal diet recipes. They are quite tasty, we both like them. His labs are very good, his neph is very very pleased. If you and your husband decide to do home hemo you will have lots of support here to answer your questions or help you thru any problems or frustrations. But if you decide that home hemo isn't right for you guys, don't be afraid to speak up. Don't wait until you are burned out. There's no shame in it. Your husband will still have a good chance at a good life if he is compliant and watches his fluid intake and diet and keeps as active as possible. Learn all you can about his renal failure and how dialysis works for the body. Read, read, read! Good luck!

[Xplantdad]

Welcome.   Do not be scared by home dialysis.  It will allow him to have a likely better medical outcome, and it's a much better experience than going in-center.   No bright lights, noise from other patients machines, or getting punctured by a different person each time he goes.  In fact, I an about 2 hours into a treatment at home as I type this.

Not to mention you don't have to worry about people who are sick with colds, etc around you... 

[cassandra]

Welcome to the site Cargon


   


Take care, Cas

[iolaire]

Welcome to the group.

I've not done home dialysis but after 3.5 years on dialysis I felt like the setup/treatment/takedown becomes fairly routine.  I'm sure it will be scary for the first few months, but at some point everyone should be so familiar with it that say a 17 yr old could help occasionally.  Various people have posted on this forum about some areas in the US where the programs are ok with single people running the whole process themselves...

Also a lot of people feel empowered as they help to make decisions affecting their treatments. I hope your husband is able to do a lot of the work as far as dialysis because that will put him in control most and empower him to make sure the treatments (and interactions with medical professionals) are done in the best way possible for him.  People that self cannulate (stick the needles in themselves) seem to really like it and not let anyone else cannulate them...

[Simon Dog]

but at some point everyone should be so familiar with it that say a 17 yr old could help occasionally

I have no doubt a motivated 17 year old D patient could master the process.

People that self cannulate (stick the needles in themselves) seem to really like it and not let anyone else cannulate them...

Dislike it less than having someone else do it.   My buttonhole was canulated onceby someone other than me (the training RN, on day 3 or training).   I never worry about what kind of sticker I am going to get when traveling and going in-center.

The techs like it as well.   When it's busy and they have a bunch of people to put on I just tell them to leave the stuff and come back in a few minutes.