how long

[EMMA]

i am not sure if this has been asked...but can you tell me how long each of you has been on dialysis...and if you have felt better or worse as time progressed..thanks

[KT0930]

Emma, I've been on PD for about ten months, now (I did hemo for maybe a month before that while my cath healed), and I was VERY sick before I started, so I definitely feel better now. However, I never felt better than when I had a functioning transplant.

[Joe Paul]

Ive been on hemo now for 1 year and 4 months. It took about 4-5 months till I felt better. The past 3 months Ive actually gained some body weight back & there was a few treatments where they took too much off. Lately though, its been better my dry weight was raised from 82.5 to 85, .5 at a time.

[livecam]

I was on for about 2 years, 9 1/2 months.  I felt much better after I began probably because I waited far too long to start.  Dialysis cleaned up the physical shakiness, uremic breath, most of the gastrointestinal problems I had in that last year, and started to give me some energy back.

You really start to feel better especially if you've been anemic when the effects of Epogen start to be felt some weeks after starting it.

Several things are going to keep you feeling your best on dialysis.  Staying within the fluid and dietary restrictions, keeping a close eye on potassium and phosphorus levels, monitoring your hemoglobin or hematocrit depending on which standard your unit uses, making sure your adequacy of dialysis is good as measured by KT/V, getting plenty of rest, and keeping stress to a minimum.

[RichardMEL]

Yep Emma don't expect to feel any better after a few treatments.. it's a gradual process but I'm confident after a couple of months you will realise you have felt better. You won't be doing marathons or anything but you will likely feel more able to handle day to day stuff (depending on how you are doing now).

I've been going for 1 year 1 month now.. Some days can not feel so good but I'd say that would be about oh <5% of days. Most days I have settled into a routine and am even able to control the fluid intake mostly (you may or may not have to deal with that depending on what sort of dialysis you end up on).

[EMMA]

i still have a little function left and i get my catheter for night pd sept 26...i am already starting to restrict my fluid and watch the potassium and phosphorus numbers...that way, when i do start, it will not be a big shocking change all in one day...i also started exercising...i want to build strength in my heart to handle the stresses of CRF...

[SpeedFleX]

I've been on Hemo now for 9 years, the best thing to do so you feel good pretty much all the time is to watch your gainweight, don't forget your meds and do SPORT, there are Times when I don't do any sports and those are the worst times, once I start back up again everything is fine, even after the treatment I could easily run around the block a couple of times. And one more thing is try if possible to see things more at a positive view, helps me anyways.

Glad to hear that you're exercising that will really help!

Also I have not noticed anything diffrent see I started and now, health is the same and how I feel.

[kitkatz]

I have been on dialysis for almost nine years now.  I feel up and down. Most of the time if there is no infection anywhere I am able to what I want.  I am still working full time.  Yes I am tired all the time, but I think that comes with the territory. 

[Zach]

I've been on in-center hemodialysis for over 25 years.  I work full time, travel and have a great life.
I've learned to manage the renal diet, take my binders and never miss a treatment or cut it short (maybe a couple of times).

With resilience and determination, I've done pretty well.
 

PS:  At my center, it's not too uncommon to meet people who have been on hemodialysis for 10, 15 and 20 years.

[goofynina]

I started off doing hemo, did that for 3 years (hated each and every session along with life in general)  But then i switched to PD and started feeling better and enjoying life again, PD was the best thing i could've done, i know i will be eventually going back to hemo soon (but not for a long long long long long long time i hope)   but i do know what to expect and i think i would be able to handle the diet a little better (dont know about the fluids though) i aint making no promises lol 

[Bajanne]

I have been on in-centre haemo now for about two years.  I find that these days I am feeling really well.  I am having a problem with low BP, even outside of sessions.  I am able to work, except for the times on dialysis.  What has changed in my life is that I can no longer just buy an airline ticket and travel.  I have to work out all the possibilities, etc.  I am now only a weekend traveller, except to my home country, where I pay for the dialysis sessions.
Though I do not like dialysis it is keeping me alive, and if I follow Zach's example, I will have a long and enjoyable life!

[Red from Canada]

I have been on PD for 6 months now and was pleasantly surprised at how easy the Baxter cycler makes things.  My days are free.  My Hubby and I like to camp and we have a small motorhome....big enough for supplies and a bedside table for the machine, so we can go for 10 days at a time.  It keeps life more normal.  Since I am 67 and have other medical problems, they have told me I can never have a transplant, so I hope this keeps on working.  You all make me feel much better by sharing your posts.

[del]

Hubby was on pd for almost 3 years. 6 years on in center hemo and a year now on home hemo nocturnal.

[Bette]

I have been on pd using the cycler for just over a year now.  I had a transplant that lasted almost 13 years, and before that I was on CAPD for almost 8 years.  I have felt good during most of the time except for the first few months on dialysis. 

My kidney failure was caused by FSGS, a kidney disease, so I am pretty healthy except for my bad kidneys.

[okarol]

Jenna was on in-center hemo for 3 years, 3 weeks, 5 days before getting a kidney transplant from an altruistic donor 7 1/2 months ago.

[BigSky]

Been on hemo this time around for about 6 years.

Myself I started feeling better after the first few dialysis sessions and then hit a lull.

The tighter I follow the renal diet the better I have felt over the years.

To me the biggest things in feeling better are to follow the diet very close, limit fluid intake and get some exercise to build stamina.

[angela515]

In 1999 I was on hemodialysis in-center for 7 months and got a kidney from my mom.

I was on dialysis this time 2 1/2 years, first half hemodialysis in-center, 2nd half PD cycler at night. Perfect match cadaver transplant. 

[keefer51]

The first time was a year on hemo. The second time is three years hemo. I think Zach is the winner!

[EMMA]

I think your right...

[Ohio Buckeye]

I've been on PD for approx. 16 months.

[angela515]

I think Zach is the winner!

I hope to be the winner of "longest lasting transplant". 

[thegrammalady]

i've been on dialysis, in center hemo, for 21 months. i feel just fine. i'm sleeping better, so i don't get as tired which is the biggest problem.

[AlasdairUK]

For me it is all about receiving adequate dialysis, when your dialysis is going well you feel better and your Hb ( Hemotocrit) last longer so your levels are higher and you have more energy.

For me it took about 6 months before I really started to feel normal. The main factor for me is when I changed from a central line to my fistula and could run at a higher pump speed.

I live a reasonable normal life as I work full time and travel when I can. There are of course the odd days when I don't feel great, but it is normally self inflicted as I have taken in too much fluid.

[MyssAnne]

I've been on pd dialysis for oh, about 15 months, I would say. Seems longer, sometimes!  I did feel better within a month. After I started the cycler, I really started feel good.

[Zach]

I respect anyone who has the courage to decide not to accept the bare existence which dialysis promises, since life on dialysis can be a kind of living insult to the dignity of a full human life.

I guess according to stauffenberg, we are all living an insult to the dignity of human life.
Woe is me.  Alack and alas!