The Home Dialysis Ups and Downs

I'm looking for all the good that I can find here. The home dialysis is going well its the kidney failure that's the problem. Along with the dialysis comes with other problems. My husbands kidneys failed because he is a diabetic. This is a permanent thing here. Didn't take long to learn the dialysis machine and we just plan our mornings and evenings around hooking up to the machine. It's the other things that a diabetic suffers from. Within the last 3 weeks he has had a heart attack, one week later his lungs filled with fluid then something else never did find out what it was. Fever of 104 stopped eating and drinking not able to walk and very weak. This past weekend I thought I would lose him. The body endures so much he started eating today, walking without falling. He is on the mend and things are looking up.

The home dialysis really is easy to do now. I am so careful about washing my hands before I touch anything. They say wash with a antibacterial soap and sing happy birthday three times. I really feel like a dunce sometimes so I started making up my own lyrics to the song. After washing use antibacterial gel then glove oh and don't forget to mask before you do any of this. The machine does not take up much room but the supplies do. I have 2 walls lined with boxes 10 high of dextrose solution for his dialysis. Home dialysis is so much easier on a person then going to the center to have your blood cleaned.

I really do like it and would advise anyone to try it.
Better health for the patient and gives me a chance to care for him myself.
I have found that in the hospital you can't expect the nurses to know about dialysis. They usually have a PD nurse that will set you up. Even the EMTs did not know and what suprised me was the life flight. The most knowledgable of all really don't know either. You have to be an advocate for you loved one.

Dialysis under these conditions is no bed of roses but not all dialysis is permanet. There are many things that can cause kidney failure. My husband s was caused by many years of high uncontroled sugar. Its very hard to get them to watch thier diet and they pay later. It's a real shame but thats the way it is.

God bless anyone reading this, you would not have clicked on it if you did not have a loved one that was ill. Judy