Kidney Transplant. Is it for me?

Yesterday we went to Albany(NY) to a seminar about the kidney transplant organization. There is a lot to consider about this process. There are many pluses and minuses to really think about. The amounts of medication you have to take for the rest of your life are staggering. This is a huge decision that will require much thought before that decision is reached. My next appointment with my doctor will be filled with talk about this process because I have questions for him and only him. I say this because he knows my kidneys and knows how my body adapts to treatment better than anyone else. I need his input, his expertise in this area. I know a new kidney won't make me 18 again. I know it won't make me 30 again. What I don't know is what will change. What will improve and how much improvement can be expected. Will the pro's outweigh the con's? That's the real question.

The Next Big Step

On January 17,2010 I will start another journey on the road to a healthier life. This journey will start at Albany Med in Albany, New York. The end result of this journey will be obtaining a kidney transplant. This is a registration and information seminar that I will be attending, but it is still step one in what I am told is a long process. I am aware of the fact that everyone who registers for a transplant doesn't always get one. Whether I get one or not remains to be seen. For right now I'm doing fine on dialysis and I know that there are people in worse shape than me. This is sort of like learning to walk, small steps and one at a time with a few falls along the way. Life is full of changes and challenges that we all face in one way or another. Nobody ever said it was going to be easy and the fact remains, nobody gets out alive. We just have to do the best with what we have while we are here and enjoy the journey.

Treatment Update

It's been 90 days now since I started dialysis at home. My improvement has been slow but steady. My medications have been cut way back and I feel much stronger than I did before I started. My stamina has been the slowest to recover but I am hopeful that as more built up waste is removed that it will improve. The best part is my diet. I can eat all the foods that I enjoy with very few restrictions. Lot's of protein and potassium rich foods. My only real restriction is my pepsi. I have to limit my pepsi because it contains phosphorous which is hard for me to remove

My Schedule

It has been almost two weeks now that I have been treating myself at home. I have settled into a sort of a routine for my daily schedule. It's a little different and a little awkward at times but it is workable. The whole system is really simple to use. First, I have to monitor my blood pressure. This helps me decide on which solution strength I need to use for that days treatment. Every treatment requires fresh solution and all new tubing to hook-up to. The whole process of setting up only takes about 15 minutes. The mid afternoon treatment takes about 40 minutes. Then I can resume my day until bedtime when I hook-up again. The night treatment goes on for 10 hours while I sleep or watch TV. At night the machine goes through 4 cycles. Every 2 hours the fluid is changed. Most of the time I will sleep right through this process. If a problem should occur, there is an alarm on the machine to wake me. Most often if a problem does occur it is because I rolled over and kinked a line. I haven't had any real problems with the system as of yet. I'm starting to feel better and my life hasn't been altered much.

How I Got Here

After many years of uncontrolled high blood pressure, even though I was on several different medications, I collapsed in a heap. This couldn't be happening to me, I was only 42 years old. My life had several changes that day and was never going to be the same again. Because my condition looked like a heart problem, creating a kidney problem, I had a few rough rides before it was discovered to be a kidney problem. I'm sure my problem is inherited because my father had similar symptoms. He was never diagnosed due to the fact that the technology we have today wasn't available until after his death. Kidney disease is more common than you may realize. Many people have a problem and don't even know it. But the good news is that some types can be controlled if they are discovered soon enough. A simple blood test will tell if there might be a problem.
Now it's on to the present. It has taken about 4 months to get started on the program. Tests were required, surgery done, time to heal, and time to train. With a few adjustments to the program, the system will be programed to my individual needs. The surgery was a simple procedure to install a catheter. I call this my 18" naval cord because of it's location next to my belly-button. This catheter is how I connect myself to the machine. All of the fluid exchanges are done through this catheter while being monitored and controlled by the cycler machine. After 3 weeks of going to the dialysis unit for flushes twice a week, it was time to start my training to do this at home. So on July 20, I sang Happy Birthday to me and started learning the rights and the wrongs of Peritoneal Dialysis at home.

July 20

July 20, 2009 was a special day. It was the 40th anniversary of the first man on the moon. It was also my 55th birthday. But the thing that made this day so special for me was because it was my first day of training. I was learning how to do my dialysis treatments at home. The method of treatment I chose is Peritoneal Dialysis not the more well known method of Hemo Dialysis. We decided on this method for me after reading and discussing the 2 methods. After talking to my Dr. about it, I met with the nurse in-charge of the home dialysis program. This lady was very helpful and explained the program, showed me the equipment, answered my questions, and made me feel comfortable with my decision. Having dealt with my health for many years and having been diagnosed with a degenerative kidney disease, I knew this was coming sometime so it wasn't a shock when my Dr. said the time had come. One of the biggest factors leading to the decision to do home dialysis was the fact that I do this while I sleep at night, and I don't have to worry about going to the hospital for treatment. I feel this was best for me and my lifestyle, it may not be for everyone who needs dialysis. I will post often on how this is working for me.