What were your symptoms ?

[jambo101]

What were your symptoms that led you to say its time for dialysis?
In my case while my kidney function is around 12% i have massive water retention throughout my body,its particularly troublesome when trying to sleep as every 2-3 hours i wake up feeling extremely congested usually accompanied with leg cramps,throughout the day i feel like crap with low level  feelings of nausia/headache/vertigo. also i have absolutely no energy and feel as if i'm running on empty all the time.I.m thinking its time for dialysis.

[kickingandscreaming]

At 6% I was full of fluid and I landed in the hospital with pneumonia.  From there, it was dialysis time.

[Cupcake]

I had much the same symptoms as you, Jambo. Tired, short of breath, heart failure, lack of empathy for my fellow human beings, inability to concentrate. I started PD and within a week was feeling so much better, I hadn't realized how awful I was before. My 'world' had shrunk down to very limited activities-only working part time, no longer getting groceries for myself, etc. Never had the classic itching/dusky skin thing.

[Paul]

The symptom that got me on dialysis was a surgeon saying that if I did not go down to dialysis right away, I'd probably be dead by Thursday. (The surgeon had just fitted a cannula with a view to starting dialysis on the following Thursday, but when the bloods came back she decided I could not wait until Thursday.)

[jambo101]

 The lethargy is becoming debilitating, its all i can do to get out of bed,i just dont feel like doing anything anymore except going back to bed. hobbies are a thing of the past along with the Gymn/Swimming/Yoga/ or just going out. I'm hoping my passion for life will return once on dialysis which my nephrologist says will start once my fistula has matured in about a month.

[kristina]

I felt "dead-tired" and was not able to be my own self any longer, I also was not "spot-on" with my clear logical thinking any longer either and most of all I was no longer enquiring about "things" and that was the decisive moment when I could no longer deny it to myself that I was in serious health-trouble with my kidneys. My blood tests then confirmed that I needed dialysis as soon as possible... and then I started with dialysis and was very relieved that it was not as bad as I had feared. It mainly involved a very new routine of life and that was it ...  and touch wood it hopefully continues like that ...
Good luck wishes from Kristina.

[jambo101]

Thanks, its comfoting to know my symptoms arent exclusive to me.

[kristina]

Thanks, its comfoting to know my symptoms arent exclusive to me.

.... which could mean that you are nearly there to start the process going ... and I send you my best wishes and good luck when you start with your dialysis treatment and from my own experience I can say that knowing of IHD and being able to ask questions here at all times (day and night !!!) takes lots of stress away when facing the start of dialysis ...
Good luck and best wishes from Kristina.

[pinkyD]

I made it to 6% function before I finally was forced to start. In hindsight, I should have started earlier but I just didn't want to "give up my life", you know? For months, I had been zapped of energy and experiencing massive brain fog, along with cognition and memory problems. I just no longer felt like myself. Strangely my urine output was still good and I had very little edema right up until I started. My dr kept pushing and pushing to at least get my pd catheter put in, and I kept pushing back. Then one day, I started to retain fluid and have trouble breathing at night. Had the catheter surgery 2 weeks later, and landed on pd 2 weeks after that as I couldn't wait any longer.

As you are experiencing symptoms, I think you're right that it is time to start. You will feel much better.

[Charlie B53]

I continue to be amazed how many of you managed to hold off until your function was so low.  WOW!!!!!

At 20% I hadn't been kidney sick yet, but the massive leg swellilng for a few years, the daily leakage from my calves, soaking my socks and shoes.  Re-occuring infections at those leak sites that kept landing me in the hospital whole the whole leg puffed up and red, temp of 104.5  Dr's bitching that my kidney function at those times was near gone.

I was so out of it I told them just deal with the infection and leave me alone, that my kidneys would come back once the infection was gone.


I don't know how I knew it, but they did keep coming back to that 20%.

Later once better and at a follow up appt with my Neph I asked if Dialysis would take all this water out of my legs, stop the leaks, stop the infections.  He said Yes.

I started PD as soon as we got my PD Cath placed and healed.  May 2013.  My legs went down to 'Normal' within a couple of weeks and never swelled or leaked since.

Current function about 2%

I consider myself very fortunate to have started as earlyl as I did.