Kidney Dialysis Side Effects

[okarol]

Kidney Dialysis Side Effects

Kidney dialysis side effects that can occur while under treatment. Find out what the effects are, and also all you need to know on kidney dialysis...

Kidney dialysis isn't an easy treatment to tolerate, especially with kidney dialysis side effects taking over one's body. There are many ways in which one can experience these uncomfortable effects. I have an aunt who gets this treatment done, and it can be exhausting after hours of being tube-connected to a machine. I can only imagine what it's like to sit there, and have the patience to get your body cleansed, since the kidneys lose their ability to do their part. Kidney dialysis is an artificial procedure done, when the kidneys fail to clean one's body from toxins. It's been said that those undergoing kidney dialysis, the life expectancy on an average scale is about 4 years, although one can survive for longer, say about 25 years when on the treatment.

Kidney Dialysis Types

There are different kinds of dialysis treatments, namely - Hemodialysis, Intestinal dialysis, Peritoneal dialysis (two kinds - Continuous Ambulatory and Continuous/Automated Cycling) and Hemofiltration. The aim of these treatments is to remove waste from the body, including salts/excess fluids build up within one's body, keeping a tab on one's blood pressure and maintaining chemicals like sodium, chloride and potassium at a safe level in the body. The details of each treatment for kidney failure are given as follows, including the details of the kidney dialysis procedure.

Hemodialysis
This is when blood is cleaned from the outside, using a machine. In this method, blood is extracted a few ounces at a time, that passes through a special filter to remove waste/excess fluid. The blood is then redirected back to the body. This is done usually in a dialysis center, about three times a week for about 4-5 hours. This can be done at home, with either a family member, nurse or close friend/relative, learning how to manage the machine. This sessions need the regularity if one were to go to a dialysis center, without ignoring timings for the dialysis.

Hemofiltration
Similar to hemodialysis, this method is done by pumping blood through a dialyzer/hemofilter, but no dialysate is used in this case. A pressure gradient is used, where water moves along the permeable membrane, pulling along dissolved substances with large molecular weights, which is a better done process than hemodialysis. The extracorporeal circuit is infused with a substitute fluid which replaces lost water and salt from the blood.

Peritoneal Dialysis
This kind of kidney dialysis process involves cleansing the body, from the outside. The first kind of PD, that is Continuous Ambulatory, uses gravity to drain and then replace the dialysate (fluid passing through the dialyzer when cleaning the blood, and is discarded along with toxins after dialysis). The second of PD, that is, Cycling/Automated, uses the machine to replace and drain the dialysate. This can even be used while the patient is asleep. This method cleans excess fluid/waste from the body by using a dialysate and the stomach lining (peritoneum), that acts as a filter. A flexible tube (catheter), which is soft in nature is inserted into this lining to drain the waste and excess fluid. The dialysate takes out as much as it can on the first go, and is drained from the stomach. Then the 'exchange' fluid is again passed through the stomach (second round of dialysate), which gets rid of more waste and fluid from the blood.

Intestinal Dialysis
Acacia fiber is added to one's diet, which is a soluble fiber, which when digested by bacteria takes effect in the colon. It increases the level of nitrogen as the bacteria multiplies and is passed through one's feces. Another method is by using non absorbent solutions like mannitol or polyethylene glycol after every fourth hour, to pass out through the system eventually.

Kidney Dialysis Side Effects

There are a varied number of side effects of kidney dialysis, that take place when patients undergo treatment. These can be as follows.

    * Infections: It is important to be hygienic when it comes to keeping your access point clean (area where the tube enters). It is easy to get infected, with symptoms are itchiness or redness that arise when the access point isn't kept clean.
    * Nausea/Cramps/Headaches: These symptoms can arise if a patient suffers from peritonitis. When the quality of water in the composition of the dialyzer, the dialysate or even the rate of filtration can form a part of the problem. This can be reduced by adjusting the prescription of the dialysis.
    * Bleeding from Access Point: One should see a doctor if bleeding takes place from the point of entry, around the area surrounding one's access point.
    * Diseases: Contracting hepatitis B and hepatitis C is a possibility, because of blood being exposed in the treatment. Vaccinations are given to the patient.
    * Anemia: Anemia is treated by giving patients medication. This is because the red blood cell volume is lower than normal in patients, this is due to reduced levels of the erythropoietin hormone which the kidneys produce in order to regulate red blood cell production in the body.
    * Hypotension: There can be a sudden decrease in blood pressure, as a result of stress caused in one's cardiovascular system from regular hemodialysis treatment. Medication intervenes to help out patients with this problem.

Knowing how kidney dialysis side effects can alter your body's way of functioning, is important, in order to treat it in time. Consult your doctor when you face any of the side effects when undergoing dialysis, and get it treated immediately. Good luck.

By Naomi Sarah
Published: 9/6/2010

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/kidney-dialysis-side-effects.html

[Zach]

One big side effect ...

Staying alive!
 

[okarol]

 

[MooseMom]

I'm sorry, but this article is so simplistic, especially the bits about "side effects". How often are these "side effects" treated "in time"?

[okarol]

Yes, it is simplistic, but often people are unaware of potential problems, and waiting too long to get treatment can be disastrous for a patient on dialysis.

[MooseMom]

But isn't this why so much money is paid to nurses and techs...aren't dialysis patients hooked up to machines and blood pressure cuffs to monitor these "side effects"?  And aren't labs taken all the damn time to check for anemia?  How many on this forum complain about sudden bp drops or cramps and KNOW when these events are about to happen, only to be told "too damn bad, you haven't run for 4 hours yet".  It's one thing to be aware of "side effects", but being aware seems pretty pointless if these events still occur over and over again because some nurse, neph or tech thinks they know better than you do.  It shouldn't be entirely up to the patient to anticipate and treat these symptoms...that's what the staff is for, I should think.  I don't think it is the patient that waits too long to get treatment, rather, it is the dialysis staff that waits too long to give it.

[okarol]

I agree MM, if you're getting good care these things can usually be avoided or dealt with promptly. Things that can be measured such as potassium or hemoglobin help guide the dialysis center to provide meds or whatever is needed. But there are things that patients adapt to and don't mention. I remember Jenna need saline three treatments in a row, and when I'd pick her up she had awful headaches and came home and slept. She just kept thinking the next time would be better. After going over her weigh-ins it became apparent that she had just gained a little weight, not fluid, just weight, but they were trying to pull fluid off her to get the dry weight that they had established. I am not sure how long this would have gone on if I hadn't asked for them to reevaluate her dry weight. And I learned that by reading on IHD. I think this happens a lot. There are examples of the opposite too, where there didn't seem to be fluid on board, no swelling, slight increase in weight over time. The patient sleeps a lot when at dialysis, maybe they feel like a cold is coming on, shortness of breath, and eventually it get so bad the patient ends up in the hospital with fluid around their heart. It should have been caught, but if the patient isn't complaining about symptoms, nothing happens.
One of Jenna's doctors would ask her how she was feeling. She was fine, she said. Fine?? I was stunned. She slept a lot, her appetite was up and down, she seemed depressed. How could she be fine? The doctor said patients adapt to their health situations, and what looks impossible to cope with for the person watching, becomes the norm for the patient.
So if a patient is in-center, they are seen about 12 or so hours a week. That leaves over 150 hours a week where the patient is on their own, and they range from being fully involved and knowledgeable to perhaps being in denial, or overtired and unable to cope, or just coasting, not engaging. Everyone is different.

[Jie]

Karol, well said here. It is the little things that make a difference between a death or live of dialysis patients. Taking care of these little things separates good and bad clinics. In the U.S., a lot of neph are too busy to spend adequate time with patients, and  it is important for patients to actively participate in the care.

[MooseMom]

Oh, don't misunderstand me.  I don't disagree with anything any of you have written.  But if patients get used to feeling bad and don't know how to speak about what has noticably changed in their condition, well, doctors and nurses should know about this phenomenon and speak to the patient about it.  And while I am completely in agreement about patients needing to be as active as possible in their care, their health care providers have to pull their weight, too.  I mean, look at KICKSTART; she is very very well aware of her difficulties, but she is virtually ignored at her clinic.  What is the point of being "aware" or "active" in your care if you are systematically dismissed?

I just feel that this particular article removes a lot of responsibility from the shoulders of nephs, nurses and techs, that's all.