Upset about weight gain since starting dialysis

[hillary]

Hi everyone,

Hope you are surviving this heat wave if you're on the east coast... man, it's ho.

I am a large person who for the past two months prior to beginning dialysys was very successfully losing weight sticking to a renal diet with very few carbs.  I lost 20 lbs...and then I started dialysis.  Well, I am eating the same healthy way as before and I have put back 10 lbs.  I am so upset and frustrated.  Is this normal in the beginning?  I dont know if they are taking off enough fluid or what.  Today they took 2 liters and I id OK, when they tried 3 earler in the week I was screaming with cramps.  I am extremely diligent about sticking to my 32 oz of liquid per day.  Why is this happening?

[PatDowns]

Hi everyone,

Hope you are surviving this heat wave if you're on the east coast... man, it's ho.

I am a large person who for the past two months prior to beginning dialysys was very successfully losing weight sticking to a renal diet with very few carbs.  I lost 20 lbs...and then I started dialysis.  Well, I am eating the same healthy way as before and I have put back 10 lbs.  I am so upset and frustrated.  Is this normal in the beginning?  I dont know if they are taking off enough fluid or what.  Today they took 2 liters and I id OK, when they tried 3 earler in the week I was screaming with cramps.  I am extremely diligent about sticking to my 32 oz of liquid per day.  Why is this happening?

No, it is not normal to gain 10 pounds of body weight within a couple of months on dialysis.   Fluids, yes.  While you are watching what you eat, remember many fruits and vegetables (jello/pudding) also contain fluid.  Are you including this into your 32 oz. limit per day?  You can still have fluid build up even if starting to cramp during treatment.  You might be having too great of a fluid shift in a short period of time.  I don't know how long your treatment time is, but for example:  it will be easier on the body to "give up" 2 litres of fluid over 3 hours than 3 litres.  To get the higher fluid removal in the same amount of time, ultrafiltration rate will have to be increased.  The body reacts to this radical shift - hypotension/headaches/cramping.  Try increasing your treatment time by 30-45 minutes.  This will allow for a lower UF rate and hopefully, you won't experience cramping while finding a good dry weight.

[hillary]

I am definitely including anything like h\jello, popsicles, etc.

I can't increase my time on the machine. My doctor's order is for 4 hours and they won't keep me on for longer.  However, I just weighed myself )i's 6am) and when I got off the machine yesterday I was 4 lbs heavier than I am this morning.  So it seems to me that it's a shift in fluuids from the dialysis. I guess I have to expect these fluctuations all the time but it's not "real" weight.

[obsidianom]

It could also be you are healthier now on dialysis than before you started . This could lead to weight gain as your body could have been burning more calories while "sick" pre dialysis. In time this may go the other way as dialysis tends to burn up calories over time . This may be just an initial problem as you go through changes. Dont over do the fluid removal and make yourself sick. Give your body time to adjust . It may take a month or two to stabilze fully.

[noahvale]

^

[kit78]

That happened to me as well.  I gain 10 lbs back after being on HD for a bit.  Eating Healthy Life High Fiber bread sure keeps things moving which has been a big part of my weight issues.  Not going for a few days or a week naturally causes potassium and phosphorus levels to be high if you are not eliminating.  I proved that to be the case which they found out last time I was in the hospital in June. Even if I keep my fluids in check, if I am not going to the bathroom like normal, this throws things off and they want to take more fluid off then what actually needs to be.  Then my BP drops and they have to stop pulling fluids off of me. Just cut back on your foods and you will lose.