I'm not healthy anymore

[Stoday]

I think I'll be on dialysis in the next couple of months. I seem to be retaining more & more water and Lasix is no longer controlling it. So I'm getting a weeks holiday in before starting hemo.

Got a surprise! £300 extra to pay for a week's travel insurance because of impaired health. I must be knackered! That really brings it home to me how poor my health has become.

[MooseMom]

I started donating blood when I was 17.  I was supposed to be 18, but I lied.  I just thought it was important.  I gave blood regularly for years.  When I moved to the UK, I worked as a reinsurance broker for energy underwriters at Lloyd's of London, and down the street was St. Olaf's church where every 6 months, they had a blood donation drive.  A bunch of us would go there each time to donate; we called the church "Bloodletter's Hall.  I donated until I left my job to have a baby.  I would have returned had it not been for an fsgs diagnosis after the birth.  I was started on bp meds and sent on my way.

A few years later, I was walking down the High Street and saw a blood drive van.  I stopped and asked if I could still give blood, and I was told that no, the bp meds disqualified me.  I was so upset.  Then not too long after that, my then-husband tried to sign us up for life insurance through work, but I was denied because of my kidney condition.  I remember being distraught and my husband being so unhappy that he had inadvertently done something that had upset me.  Those things brought home to me the fact that the outside world considered me to be beyond hope.  A Norwegian friend of mine said she'd try to get me coverage through the Scandinavian market, but I said that I just didn't want to be continuously refused.  I think back to all of the things this disease has cost me through the years, and it is just depressing.  So Stoday, I think I understand what you are feeling.  But all of that doesn't really matter; what matters is that you do what you need to do to feel better.  But I am not surprised about the excess premium for your travel insurance.  Find yourself a broker and see what they can do for you.

[vivisfab]

I remember the period before I first started dialysis, it was only a few months ago. A few months on d seems like ages. You have to learn a lot of things and fast. I was so tired all the time, throwing up, swollen, high bp. Everything felt like a nightmare. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. This sort of thing only happens to other people. I had to do a lot of research quick to see what option would be best for me. I decided on pd. As much as I didn't want to do it and was in a state of disbelief, I knew I had to. I felt so lousy that I was willing to do whatever. Life with kidney failure is definitely a pain in the but you get used to it. After 4 mos. on d, I feel a lot better. Best is to take things day to day to not get overwhelmed. I have type 1 diabetes and had to stop working as taking care of my health has become a full time job. Trying my best to get on that transplant list, they sure don't make it easy. Hang in there. We are very adaptable creatures. Don't let it get the best of you. This is a chance to see what you're really made of.
t l

[galvo]

Take the plunge, old fella, and get on D. There's ups and downs, but I feel generally so much better than I did a few months ago pre D.

Doesn't Broadmoor offer package holidays?

[Stoday]

Doesn't Broadmoor offer package holidays?

Long term only I fear! 

[Tracy]

I too am waiting to begin D.  My GFR is 9 and the Nephrologist keeps saying it is up to me (how I'm feeling as to when to start D).  I still work full time, but am pretty tired every day after work.  I hesitate to start D, but I wonder how much better will I really feel after starting it.  I've heard people say they feel better.  I'm not sure how bad I feel now.  I mean I could be used to feeling bad.  It is scary.  Some days, I can barely make it to work, but I generally push myself to go.  I am on a Transplant waiting list (I had one last Feb, but it failed and they took it right out).  My antibodies are so high, they said it will take a long time for a match.  So, here I am.  Waiting for symptoms. 

[MooseMom]

I too am waiting to begin D.  My GFR is 9 and the Nephrologist keeps saying it is up to me (how I'm feeling as to when to start D).  I still work full time, but am pretty tired every day after work.  I hesitate to start D, but I wonder how much better will I really feel after starting it.  I've heard people say they feel better.  I'm not sure how bad I feel now.  I mean I could be used to feeling bad.  It is scary.  Some days, I can barely make it to work, but I generally push myself to go.  I am on a Transplant waiting list (I had one last Feb, but it failed and they took it right out).  My antibodies are so high, they said it will take a long time for a match.  So, here I am.  Waiting for symptoms.

Yes, I think we get used to feeling bad. 

[galvo]

You're so right, MooseMum. I kept insisting that I was feeling OK, but I really wasn't. I delayed D for too long and eventually had a catheter shoved in my neck.

[Stoday]

I have an appointment with my neph on 4/27, when I think we shall be making the arrangements for me to start.

Tracy — you ought, perhaps, to wait for your fistula to mature.

[pdpatty]

Many years ago when I was much younger,I wanted to donate blood and I called the local Red Cross about my taking bp meds. They said if I startred taking them  longer than  6 mos before donation ,it would be acceptable.
My son takes prescription pain meds daily and he donates regularly.

Odd how UK is so different.