What was your first day on dialysis like?

[jambo101]

As some one who is very near to dialysis i was wondering about peoples experience on the first trip to the dialysis ward.

[rcjordan]

**Freezing**  --I was in the hospital with a newly installed permcath and they couldn't keep enough warmed blankets on me.  Once I got in a clinic, I wore a hoodie and flannel shirt. But the better solution was buying a usb heating pad and a high-mah battery pack that would last 3 hrs or more.

[kristina]

I was lucky to get a very kind introduction to dialysis. I arrived at the dialysis-center completely nervous and also petrified and as an introduction to dialysis the nurses gave me at first only one hour to gently introduce my body to dialysis and during that time the nurses were very attentive, perfectly professional and also very kind. Afterwards I felt very relieved and very grateful to the nurses and staff that they made sure my first introduction to dialysis went well and that experience gave me a chance to start and trust the whole procedure and I realized then, that without the help of dialysis-treatments my life would have stopped there and then...
Good luck wishes from Kristina.
 

[lulu836]

Unconscious.

[Michael Murphy]

Do your remember your first day at school.  The feeling was the same.  I called and told my doctor it was time to start.  The nurse practitioner called and told me what time I was starting.  Got up got dressed grabbed my essentials and finally my glasses.  The center is across the street from a mall I have be going to for over 20 years.  I was so nervous I got lost 3 times before I got there.  To put it mildly I was scared spitless.  Luckily the nurse practitioner was there and she introduced me to Herme a tiny Fillapina nurse who explained every step and made it easier for me.  The actual session was easier than the trip to the center.  When I was done I went to put my glasses on and I realized I had grabbed my reading glasses which explained how I got lost 3 times.  My conclusion was that the worst part was the uncertainty of what was going to happen so the anticipation was much worse then the reality.  The one thing I would do differently is to take a tour of the clinic prior to my first day.

[jambo101]

What were the main symptoms that made you think it was time for dialysis and how many sessions did it take before those issues were much improved?

[kristina]

What were the main symptoms that made you think it was time for dialysis and how many sessions did it take before those issues were much improved?

My main symptoms before starting with dialysis-treatments were the severe water-retention in my legs & arms and people around me noticed (and told me later) that I was not my bright self any more and ... adding to that, I had also lost any appetite to eat...
Psychologically speaking, I felt instantly much better after the first dialysis-treatment, but my body needed a bit more time to adjust, because, to be honest, I left it very late to start off with dialysis-treatments and I was at about 4-5% kidney function at the time of starting dialysis ... I had hoped for a long time that my kidneys would pick-up again, as they did after my first kidney failure in the early 1970's, but this time there was no come-back and I needed dialysis-treatments for good ...
Good luck and all the best from Kristina.

[SunshineOfHope2]

I was terrified.  All the lights and alarms going off, small cubicle, not that friendly of employees. (hospital) I did not sleep in the hospital for 5 days. Then I begged for something to help me sleep. The center clinic is so much better!

 

[kickingandscreaming]

Although I now do PD, my first dialysis as HD.  I remember feeling very depressed in a resigned sort of way as if I had just checked into a new country-- that of the very ill.

[jambo101]

 My first dialysis day started off in a operating room getting a catheter installed ,then after a 2 hour recovery it was off to another hospital and the dialysis ward where i was hooked up for 2 hours for my first dialysis, a tiring day for sure, now 3 months later i have less water retention and more energy although sitting in a dialysis chair for 4 hours 3X a week is inconvenient and can easily bring on depression as your whole life now revolves around the dialysis sessions.

[Alexysis]

I passed out the first time, and that was just with 17g needles set at 300! Nearly puked, too.