How does one feel after treament??

[Aqualung]

    I started dialysis 3 weeks ago.. My first session was 2 hours and I felt great after.. second session was 2 1/2 hours and I felt great after.. Now the trouble begins.. My 3rd session my vein collapases,they tell me it's normal with a new fistula.. Ok  I come back on Monday ,now I am clotted up.. I go to me vascular dr on tues and he does the balloon treatment to my arm..I go back for another treatment on Weds and I clotted up halfway through the treatment.. Thurs I go back and they add more heparin to the treatment..I came home and felt like I got run over by a bus!!  Sat the same feeling after treatment..Now that I am up to the full 4 hours I feel worse than before I started this..
1 Does anyone else have the same reaction??
2 is this a normal type reaction??
3 Could 2 much heparin be causing this??
4 Any and all comments would be appreciated
   Joey D

[Angiepkd]

I felt great after my first few treatments, but have also had some fistula issues (one ballooning and a surgery to reduce the flow).  My dialysate and heparin prescription have both changed, as well.  Also having some trouble deciding on an accurate dry weight.  Seems the dialysis diet is causing me to lose some weight lol!  All of that being said, I still am feeling pretty good on D, just not as good as those first few treatments.  I am hoping that once everything else is worked out, I will feel that awesome burst of energy after treatment.  Another thing to consider is iron/ anemia.  My stored iron was very low, so I was put on IV iron.  My loading dose is finished, and my last hemoglobin lab was 11.6.  My doctor starts Epo at 11.5, so I am barely above the threshold.  From what I can tell from my limited time on D, there are so many factors that affect how well we feel, it's like a juggling act!  Epo, iron, heparin, sodium bicarbonate, phosphorus, potassium, the list goes on and on, and they all work together to help or hurt us.  I am not sure if excessive heparin can make you feel lousy, but I am sure someone on IHD will have experience in that area.  Keep an eye on your labs and question anything that seems too low or high.  Also try to keep your fluid gain as low as possible between treatments.  Taking off a lot of fluid can cause that type of "hit by a bus" feeling.  Hope you start feeling great again!  Hang in there.  I think it takes some time to adjust.

[jbeany]

A lot of patients take about a the first month or so to get used to regular treatments.  They will be guessing at a dry weight for a while, so until they figure out how much fluid you have on you, you are going to be feeling a lot of ups and downs.  It takes time to pull off all the extra fluid that you have been storing, even if you don't realize it's there.

(I had so much fluid on when I started that the skin on my legs felt loose after every treatment for a while.)

It should stabilize soon, and you will be work out what system works best for you.  Hang in there - the first few weeks are enough to make anyone wonder why they thought it was a good idea!

[kit78]

I started Dialysis last June and felt awful after every time.  Everyone kept telling me it takes time for your body to adjust.  Finally I think I feel more normal when only 1 liter of water is taken out. Yesterday they took 2.7 and it wiped me out big time. Then it takes about 12 hours or over nite for me to feel better. 
Hang in there... hope it gets better for you as well.

[iKAZ3D]

I normally feel tired. I'm constantly yawning and I struggle to stay on my feet. I also feel as if my blood is rushing to my head, but like constantly and it won't go away. Not a headache, and not light headed, blood rush.



And then there's days I feel fantabulous.

[YLGuy]

4 years in center HD.  I feel wiped out after D.  I usually come home and take a nap before I have to start picking up kids, shopping, cooking...  I usually feel better on non-D days.

[Aqualung]

   Thanxx for the replies!!   Yesterday I did not feel as bad as the previous sessions..They took out a little over 3 pounds of water..Am I retaining too much water??My blood work shows I am far from being anemic so that cant be the problem.. Joey D

[Grumpy-1]

When I was on PD I feel much better than on hemo.  I've been on hemo since Jan and still feel wiped out after each session.  But I do the session after a 13 hour work day (including commuting) so some of that could be related to the hours awake.  Right now they are taking off about 2 - 2/12 pounds of fluid each session.  I do notice that if my hempglopin is low I feel worse after a session than if it is high.   A lot of things can contribute to the wiped out feeling.  Hang in there - can't say it will be better or worse, but hang in there anyway.  Grumpy

[iKAZ3D]

   Thanxx for the replies!!   Yesterday I did not feel as bad as the previous sessions..They took out a little over 3 pounds of water..Am I retaining too much water??My blood work shows I am far from being anemic so that cant be the problem.. Joey D

Dude, hell no. Three pounds? That's less than 2 kilos. I gain an average of 4 and 1/2 kilos between treatments. Sometimes over five kilo grams. If you're going to be on Dialysis, start measuring your weight in kilograms. pounds times 2.2

[Angiepkd]

Are you sure you have your amount of fluid removed in the right units?  3+ pounds doesn't seem excessive to me, but 3+ kilograms is a lot.  I was advised not to exceed 2 kilograms, but that may be due to my 5 days per week schedule.  Also, keep checking your labs.  Hang in there! 

[Aqualung]

I was 101.2 kilos before and 99.9 kilos after.. I translated it to pounds..

[Riki]

   Thanxx for the replies!!   Yesterday I did not feel as bad as the previous sessions..They took out a little over 3 pounds of water..Am I retaining too much water??My blood work shows I am far from being anemic so that cant be the problem.. Joey D

Dude, hell no. Three pounds? That's less than 2 kilos. I gain an average of 4 and 1/2 kilos between treatments. Sometimes over five kilo grams. If you're going to be on Dialysis, start measuring your weight in kilograms. pounds times 2.2

it's pounds divided by 2.2.. *G*  I kg = 2.2lbs. 

3lbs isn't a whole lot, but what you take off depends on what you put on between treatments and what your dry weight is.  It also depends on how much you can tolerate taking off.  i know I can only take off 3kgs, so I work like hell to not take in more than 3kgs between treatments.  I'm on the scale 10 times a day, just making sure. *L*

There are times when my goals are less than 2kgs, including prime and a drink.  If this happens more than 3 times in a row, I will ask for my dry weight to go down.

[tiredandthirsty]

my experience:

in the beginning, one year two months and 3 days ago, they started me off with 17 gauge needles.  the first week was not a lot of problem as they were trying to adjust my dry weight.  then they moved me up to 16 gauge needles.   and increased my blood flow rate from 200 to 300.  that week was the first time i crashed due to blood pressure issue. week later, they moved me up to 15 gauge needles and i crashed two more times and infiltrated three times since that move up to bigger needles.  i haven't had a major crash for a while now however, i normally try to keep under 3 kgs between treatment which helps with the BP control.  i also run in profile 2 and Step mode where the machine pulls hard at the beginning of the treatment and gradually the UF rate subsides as the treatment progresses.  so i am not getting pulled hard when there is not much to pull.  that seems to be working for me.  but i do feel wiped out every now and then, mainly mondays because there are two days between treatments and i carry more fluid. 

i don't get any heparin due to additional liver issues i have.  i run heparin-free. 

don't know if this helps or not, but thought i'd share my experience so far.

hope your treatments go well without any issues. 

[iKAZ3D]

   Thanxx for the replies!!   Yesterday I did not feel as bad as the previous sessions..They took out a little over 3 pounds of water..Am I retaining too much water??My blood work shows I am far from being anemic so that cant be the problem.. Joey D

Dude, hell no. Three pounds? That's less than 2 kilos. I gain an average of 4 and 1/2 kilos between treatments. Sometimes over five kilo grams. If you're going to be on Dialysis, start measuring your weight in kilograms. pounds times 2.2

it's pounds divided by 2.2.. *G*  I kg = 2.2lbs. 

3lbs isn't a whole lot, but what you take off depends on what you put on between treatments and what your dry weight is.  It also depends on how much you can tolerate taking off.  i know I can only take off 3kgs, so I work like hell to not take in more than 3kgs between treatments.  I'm on the scale 10 times a day, just making sure. *L*

There are times when my goals are less than 2kgs, including prime and a drink.  If this happens more than 3 times in a row, I will ask for my dry weight to go down.

Whoops, I meant divided.

[Mr Pink]

The maximum I have removed is 4.5 kilo's, and that's usually on Mondays. I feel okay, although going to work afterwards has been a struggle. Generally after dialysis I feel okay. Of course if I come off and my blood pressure is a bit low, then I feel ropey, and if I'm working straight after, then I really struggle. I'm aiming to get my fluids down to a litre a day. It sucks big time, but if it means feeling better overall, then I really don't see that I have much of a choice.