odd question

[George Jung]

Is it possible for there to be a situation when someone has received too much dialysis?

ex.  If they had an acute episode resulting in failure - put on dialysis - returned function - continued dialysis.

[goofynina]

We had an older man that happend to, his kidney function returning, he went in, told the nurses that he had been urinating yellow all weekend, they called his neph, neph ordered a blood test and from what i know (i left that clinic before seeing what happend) but a nurse said that the man is no longer needing dialysis.  But that is  a good question, what if he didnt realize his function had come back and went ahead and did dialysis, i think he would of had crashed.  I think this is a good question for Zach or Stauffenberg 

[stauffenberg]

At the beginning of my time on dialysis I had considerable residual renal function and had several episodes during which dialysis was stopped for a week or two.  During the first seven months of dialysis I had to be careful to eat EXTRA potassium because the dialysis process, which I needed for elevated creatinine but not for elevated creatinine, was always bringing me down to dangerously low potassium levels.

[Laurie]

Yes, it is possible to have too much dialysis. It happened to me. I would get really bad headaches while on the machine and would make them take me off early because I felt so bad. The headaches would be so bad I would leave the center and go straight home and sleep for hours. Finally after about 3 weeks of this, my doctor decided to do a 24-hour urine test and found out my kidney function had improved and I no longer needed dialysis.

[George Jung]

Thanks you guys.  This is interesting.  I am not going to have any false hopes but a 24hr urinalysis is DEFIANTLY in order.  I have seen a trend in my output (increasingly more) so it seems to be a good time to look at it closer

Laurie, do you remember where your headaches were?  Front or back?  My past couple of treatments (especially yesterday) were/are just as you describe.

Stauffenberg, what did you do with your time off?  If I manage to squeeze 1 excused day off of dialysis (from the doctor) I am going to have some plan ready to put in action.  A week off of dialysis?  Holly molly, it's on!!!!  "Toes in the sand and a drink in my hand" (most likely non-alcoholic...well, maybe a margarita, on the rocks w/salt please).

[Laurie]

From what I remember (it was 5 years ago) they were in the front.
Have you done a 24-hour urine test? 

[George Jung]

Have you done a 24-hour urine test? 

I will be doing one in the next couple of days.  It has been ordered, I just need to pick up the container and fill it.  I'll be sure to post anything interesting.

[stauffenberg]

I also used to have headaches during my early days on dialysis, which were always located in the forehead.  This was the result of fluid being taken out of the body for the dialysis process when no fluid needed to be removed, since I had completely normal urine production for the first three years of dialysis.

Since I was first on dialysis because of a rare autoimmune disease which caused the renal failure, I was stuck in the hospital during my rare vacations from dialysis, fighting the other disease, so there was not much time for fun in the sun!

Statistics show that there is a 1% rate of spontaneous recovery from renal failure which permits patients to escape dialysis.  However, the kidney is a supersensitive organ, and any severe damage to it tends to make it permanently weak and inclined to fail again later.  This is in contrast to most other organs of the body, which tend to repair themselves over time.

If you have a hope of getting off dialysis because of improving renal function, perhaps you want to consider an alternative treatment along with your dialysis, such as acupuncture?  Chinese physicians treat patients with declining renal function with Cordyceps, which they claim strengthens the kidney and allows it to rebuild itself, as long as it is not too severely damaged.  You can obtain it in any health food store or vitamin shop in China Town, if there is one near you.

[George Jung]

Hmmm.......my last headache was in the back of my head.  I don't remember about any before that but I will pay attention when the next one occurs.

I have no high hopes or expectations as there is only one place they lead to...............disappointment.  I will take each day for what it is and have some happy thoughts about a get away (weather it is tomorrow or 5 yrs from now).  Everybody needs to dream right? 

I will say that I am anxious to have this 24hr urineanalysis complete.  Any time there is a change in my health/condition (for better or for worse) I like to know whats up.

Thank you all for the constructive input/replies.

[Hope]

Statistics show that there is a 1% rate of spontaneous recovery from renal failure which permits patients to escape dialysis. However, the kidney is a supersensitive organ, and any severe damage to it tends to make it permanently weak and inclined to fail again later. This is in contrast to most other organs of the body, which tend to repair themselves over time.

Does anybody have more information or an article on "spontaneous recovery from renal failure?" My research has led me nowhere 

[okarol]

... spontaneous recovery from renal failure is mentioned here:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2369/4/9 Recovery of renal function in dialysis patients
and
http://www.citeulike.org/user/p_waghs/article/2894647 The use of rocuronium (ORG 9426) in patients with chronic renal failure.