Can diarrhea be caused by dialysis?

[kristina]

Hello,
Unfortunately I have developed some unpleasant side-effects due to dialysis or the different medicatons
I am given during dialysis-sessions (i.e. Epo. etc.)
It can't be anything else because I have carefully checked-up on everything I could think of
but have not changed anything in my vegetarian diet for many years ...
... and therefore "it" seems to be connected "only" to "my" dialysis-sessions and nothing else ...
.. Now I wonder how to stop "it" from developing any further? Is this problem common among dialysis patients?
What can I do to urgently stop this from developing any further before it starts to hinder my transplant-options ?
Thanks from Kristina.

[Athena]

Kristina, I am no expert on these matters but could there be any sort of seasonal cold/flu bugs right now in the community where you are? I do know that these things can cause diarrhea in general. The other common reason is food contamination. Has this only started recently or has it been a constant feature of your dialysis treatment since you started D at end of last year?

I would ask your doctor(s) about this complaint and see what they can come up with. Are you able to replenish with enough extra fluid intake to combat the dehydrating effects of this?

[Angiepkd]

I had these issues when I was on D, and even worse post tx.  My doctor said I could use an anti-diarrheal (I forget the name), but I just dealt with it.  Somehow, it seemed like adding another medicine was too much for me at the time.  I would ask if there is anything safe for you to take.  I never take anything without checking first.  There are so many things that can interact with the meds, it's better safe than sorry!  Hope you get some relief!

[kristina]

Thank you very much Athena and Angiepkd for your kind thoughts, they are very much appreciated.
... It seems that earlier I had developed an intolerance to lactose and right now I suffer from an intolerance to gluten as well.
(My body seems to have gone completely supersensitive and right now I have to tread very carefully in the food-department ...)
... Yesterday I already ate gluten-free food and - even though it is supposed to take about two weeks to show positive results -
the proof "came along" almost instantly and I started to feel much better as well, so I am definetely "on to something" and the problem has been sorted...
(Isn't life complicated sometimes ?)
Thanks again from Kristina.

[Athena]

Kristina, I'm glad to hear that it might be a food intolerance issue rather than anything else. I know a woman who's had bariatric surgery who found that the surgery increased her lactic and gluten intolerance quite heavily. Perhaps D has had a similar effect on you with regards to certain food sensitivities?
I hope you get to the bottom of this very soon.
Good luck.

[bliss85]

From my experience very common side effect of Dialysis...especially for those who no longer urinate...i have found the better you control your fluids the less it becomes an issue.

[kristina]

Thank you Athena and bliss85 for your kind thoughts.
After starting with dialysis-treatment in December 2014 I noticed immediately, that my body became even more sensitised
and I realized then that I might have a problem on my hands,
because "my" Systemic Lupus and MCTD had already made my body extremely sensitive over many years ...
Being optimistic, I had hoped that my body could withstand the dialysis-chemicals and medications until my transplant,
but it seems that I have to take some actions. I wish I knew which actions I can take.
From my side, the only thing I can do is to simplize my vegetarian diet even further, avoid all lactose and gluten
and hopefully I have some good luck with it...
Thanks again from Kristina.

[kristina]

From my experience very common side effect of Dialysis...especially for those who no longer urinate...i have found the better you control your fluids the less it becomes an issue.

P.S. bliss85, please tell me, what is meant by "the better fluids are controlled, the less it becomes an issue" ?
Please elaborate a little... Or does it mean that less fluid-intake is needed in order to control it better or does it mean fluid-control is needed
according to remaining kidney function, or does it mean more/less liquid in-take is needed according to body-weight and/or remaining kidney function?
Thanks again from Kristina.

[bliss85]

From my experience very common side effect of Dialysis...especially for those who no longer urinate...i have found the better you control your fluids the less it becomes an issue.

P.S. bliss85, please tell me, what is meant by "the better fluids are controlled, the less it becomes an issue" ?
Please elaborate a little... Or does it mean that less fluid-intake is needed in order to control it better or does it mean fluid-control is needed
according to remaining kidney function, or does it mean more/less liquid in-take is needed according to body-weight and/or remaining kidney function?
Thanks again from Kristina.

Well personally i have zero kidney function and don't produce any urine at all...so personally i have found that the more fluids im retaining in my body as in when im heavy or exceeded my normal intake my intestines have more fluid in them causing diarrhea...took me a while i tried changing my diet and that didn't help....tried over a year to pin point certain foods and other things..but eventually i personally found it was due to how much fluid i was intaking....always after i got to my fry weight it would go away...now i only notice it rarely on my weekend days as i have dialysis Thursday night and dont go back until sunday night..so its a big gap and i usually have a big fluid intake over that period....thats me and seems like u might have some other issues which i cant comment on...but thats my experience hopefully you can figure it out...its all a guessing game.

[kristina]

Thank you bliss85,
what you mention helps a lot because I have observed
that when my dry-weight has been reached, these diarrhea-symptoms are improving.
Thanks again from Kristina.