Fatigue

[vchen]

Is it common to be very fatigued after getting dialysis?  How long does it take to get the energy back?  I am very fatigued after getting the dialysis which I just started a month ago.  When I get home all I want to do is sleep.  My energy does not really come back between treatments.  Is this normal?

[livecam]

A couple of things are probably happening here.  You are probably anemic like most dialysis patients are which means your blood contains less than the normal number of red blood cells.  Red blood cells carry oxygen to the other cells in the body and when there aren't enough you will feel weak and tired pretty much all the time.  Dialysis patients are given Epogen or a similiar medication which helps the body to make more red blood cells.  If you have been getting Epogen for just a short period of time it may not be working yet because it takes a few weeks for it stimulate new red blood cell production.  Your body might also be adjusting to dialysis which is a much different state than it has ever been in before.  Hemodialysis is rough on the body.  Major changes in body chemistry and toxin levels take place over a very short period of time.  To be better tuned to what is happening ask for a copy of each lab report and get to know what the numbers mean, especially the values for hemoglobin and hematocrit.  Make sure you stay within your fluid limits as gaining too much fluid weight requires more to be removed during dialysis and this can be a factor in fatigue as well.  Watch your potassium and phosphorus intake and take your binders with each meal as directed.  I hope you feel better!

[kidney4traci]

Livecam said it all, I just wanted to add that I too felt that way.  It took several months to feel "normal".  I couldn't even walk upstairs in my house without problems.  Now I exercise with the kids and feel fine most of the time.  Wish you well, stay on your diet and watch fluids.  You too will be feeling better shortly. 

[jbeany]

Give it a couple of months - most of the people I've discussed this with said it took until the end of the first 3 months of dialysis for their bodies to really adjust.  The first few months are the roughest, as the doc is still unsure about your dry weight, and as livecam pointed out, they likely haven't got a good handle on how much epo, etc. you need to maintain a reasonable balance.  I was exhausted and miserable and throwing up on a regular basis for most of my first two months.  By the end of the third, I still got the washed out feeling the day of dialysis, but I felt pretty good on the days off.  I switched to home hemo after 6 months, and even the washed out feeling went away.  Hang in there - it should get easier for you.

[George Jung]

I have not been able to get over the fatigue after treatments.  I need about 3 - 4 hours of "sleeping it off" afterwards to feel like getting up and about.  I am not totally out of it but I seem to have very limited patience which makes me want to limit my interaction with the world.  After I "sleep it off" I am about back to "normal".  Also, I am changing my treatment schedule from TUE, TH, SAT, 11 - 4pm to SUN, TUE, THUR, 6 - 10pm.  With this schedule I can come home and go to bed for the night.

[st789]

Dialysis is close to "normal" after 3 months.  I wasn't for me.  I seemed to get more tired and fatigue every other day.

[angela515]

Everything I would say, has already been said. For me, after about 2 weeks on the cycler on PD I felt normal again, not as fatigued, some weeks/days not fatigued at all. However, when I was on hemo, I was fatigued all the time, for the whole year and however long I was on it, which was why I switched to PD. Some people never get over the fatigued feeling on hemo.. but give it time, and see how you feel then. 

[goofynina]

I am sure the way you take care of yourself can have alot to do with how you feel after your runs, such as fluid gains and diet.  I was alway bad with both so you can just imagine how awful i felt after my runs    So glad to have switched to PD though, still have a little trouble but not nearly as bad as when i was on hemo.