I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: Fabkiwi06 on March 21, 2016, 01:37:03 PM
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Want to pick your brains on this... because I'm stumped.
I don't feel good. I'm extremely fatigued. Hard to fall asleep and hard to wake up. Not very hungry. Generally not feeling too great.
Just had monthly labs. Everything came back ok or great. Albumin is great. Iron is great.
Thyroid has been tested and came back fine. We are retesting it.
I'm not sure if it's just the change in weather or what. Honestly, I feel a little bit like I felt before my kidney's failed completely - just not as extreme.
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Most days after Dialysis I take a 2 or 3 hour nap. While I don't feel bad I notice I am tired more easily.some of this I blame on dialysis some on being 65.
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Some days I feel about as tired as I was immediately before my triple-by-pass. That was a while ago, in '06 IIRC.
Of course I was much better afterwards, but over the years and my kidneys continuing their decline, eventual Dialysis, now just about 3 years, I am tired, a lot, most all the time. I know it is not my heart, or at least I don't think so. I have passed all the heart tests, which clearly show two of the three by-passes are now totally clogged off, but collaterals have grown out and around the blockages so my heart is still ticking along nicely.
Labs also indicate I am well. My iron typically falls, eventually getting low enough Dr orders IV Iron added. It helps a little, I just still do not have any energy, and I am still tired most of the time.
I cannot explain why.
My sleep is, or should be, good. I wear my CPAP faithfully. Wearing it for every nap/ So much I have worn out two machines and recently was issued my third.
I still think labs are not capable of checking every little thing essential to our having energy, which leaves us tired.
Dr's are learning more every day. Hopefully soon they will figure out what else it is that we lack, something perhaps in our diet?
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There could be so many contributor of fatigue for dialysis patients and would be too much to list in one post based on what I have read and learned (the hard way). I am still learning.
I know when I was on in-center dialysis 3 days a week, I was exhausted! I lost 45lbs of muscle mass, half my head of hair, and most of sense of taste. The cause of fatigue can be dialysis related or another underlying health condition. You mentioned checking out your thyroid function. You might want to check instructions for taking your basal body temperature which you can do to further help you determine if you have a thyroid issue. Selenium, L-tyrosine and iodine are nutrients your thyroid needs to produce hormones. The amazing herb Ashwaganda, which post contributor Timer mentioned in one of his posts, supports the thyroid function and provide stamina. Look up its health benefits, you will be amazed. I would be very careful with iodine though. Your doctor can order a simple urine test (if you still urinate) to check to see if you are deficient and can prescribe you the right dosage.
As for dialysis related fatigue causes (again too many to mention in one post), I would make sure you are getting in all the right amount of proteins and B vitamins. Both are depleted during dialysis. If you are on Hemo dialysis the estimate is that you loose 15-20g of protein per treatment! Your body will get it from your muscles if you are low and you will loose muscle mass. Ask me how I know. And remember just because you are consuming enough proteins does not mean you are digesting it. So if your digestion is comprimised then your absorption of nutrients is too. If you suspect that this migh be the cause, then you might want to check into amino acid supplements and probiotics (to help digestive health and absorption of nutrients). Below is a link with information regarding other dialysis related fatigue causes:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582327/
Good luck, excuse my spelling and grammer mistakes as I am running late for an appointment.
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Another thought is adrenal fatigues. The whole process of losing one's kidneys is a highly stressful process (need I tell you?). And a lot of stress can wear out the adrenals. Your doctor could test for cortisol. There are lots of trace things that conventional doctors do NOT test for that could figure in fatigue. I would try to find a doctor who practices Functional Medicine. They would be open to more nuanced testing.
The other thing is, that the kidneys are really central to the whole system of chi (ki), the eastern concept of energy (kidney chi energy). The kidneys store "jing" which holds the essence of chi. And yours and my kidneys aren't doing their job anymore. Here's something you can read:http://www.funwithqigong.com/five-flows-qigong-set/third-flow-exercises/7-charging-the-kidneys/
I also think that all forms of dialysis are blunt instruments. They take out certain things--some of which are important to take out and some shouldn't be-- so I think it takes out of us a lot of trace mineral and more--some of which it would be better to leave in place. So I think it's possible to become malnourished in ways that the few tests we get wouldn't reveal.