Starting PD soon - what changes to expect

[Deanne]

My PD training starts on Labor Day. My BP has been running high again lately, but my neph said she doesn't want to change my meds right now because she thinks my BP will drop when I start dialysis. It made me wonder what other changes might happen. Phosphorus is running high, too. Will PD help lower it? Or potassium? I don't have a problem with potassium, but I'd love to eat bananas and oranges again.

[justme15]

My situation was similar to yours. My BP right before I started  PD was getting high. my doc made a few changes to my meds, but he also said that he expected it to drop once I started dialysis. It took several months before it actually began to drop.  My phos began to get high so he started me on binders.  My potassium has been  normal to low. so I eat oranges, bananas, etc as much as I want because I think with PD your potassium is usually low. (as long as you're still urinating)  and speaking of urination, i had heard that PD reserves urinary function more than HD, but this was not so for me.  My urine output has dropped significantly over the past 9 months that I've been on PD.

[MooseMom]

Are you healing OK, Deanne?  Did the surgery go all according to plan?  How are you feeling?  Were you able to go out walking with your friends the weekend after your surgery?

[jeannea]

Hopefully your BP will drop. If it doesn't you will know because you'll be measuring it. Phosphorus does not usually drop with dialysis. You'll have to take binders if the level is too high. On the other hand most PD patients get a little more freedom with potassium than patients on hemo. You'll find out over the first month or two what you can handle. Everyone is different.

[Deanne]

Bummer about phosphorus not being lower with dialysis. I love dairy foods. I've been on binders for several months or maybe a year or more, starting with Tums and now Renvela.

MM, I have no idea how you manage to remember all of our stories. I can barely keep up with my own life, not to mention other peoples'. I think my cathther area is healing well. It's been a bit itchy for the past few days. I go for my first dressing change tomorrow morning. My placement surgery was last Thursday and I was online working for a while Thursday afternoon after I got home from surgery. I worked all day Friday and then went to the grocery store, and went walking with friends Saturday and Sunday, and then went shopping Sunday, and had my colonoscopy Monday. My neph says she thinks my weekend walking habit is a big reason I'm still doing so well, so I'm almost afraid not to push myself a bit and do it. It's also about the only social time I get.

[thegrammalady]

Been offline for quite a while. The board doesn't read we'll from my phone. Sorry to hear dialysis time has finally come. Hopefully all will go well for you. I know nothing about PD so can't help there just wishing the best for you.

[BattleScars]

PD training is scary at first or overwhelming I should say but looking back once you get the hang of it you'll do great. There's drawbacks to PD like not being able to go swimming (Some say you can but I don't want to risk it) and just having to deal with the catheter and the fluid.

The thing that took me the longest to deal with and still bug me is the fluid. They should start you off slow but it will make you feel bloated. It's kind of that feeling like you drank and ate too much. My shirts don't fit me as well and I feel like a I have a big beer gut. You should be able to eat bananas and oranges again. They'll encourage you to eat potassium as long as your labs look good. You still don't want to overdo it, I mean I wouldn't go eat 7 bananas and 4 baked potatoes, but you should be able to enjoy a much less restrictive diet. From what I've been told PD doesn't remove phosphorus much at all. It might help a little but I've had to take binders to get mine down. You'll still need to watch your diet and make sure you are not eating too much phosphorus.

I've gained about 20lbs since I started PD. It finally leveled off but I've kept that 20 extra lbs now. The solution you'll use has calories and it differs depending on what strength you use. Also, I still urinate but when I first started PD they had me using 4.5% solutions which was a bad idea, especially for someone that still urinates a lot. I was taking off a lot of fluid but my urine output got really low. Once I went to two greens and two yellows a day my urine output returned. The two greens help with any fluid I might be retaining. You want to use the lower strength for as long as possible.

Everything else just becomes routine. I wish you the best of luck on PD and if you have any other questions I can try to help.