Nephrologist (Kidney Specialist) Questions Dialysis

Do dialysis treatments affect daily activities?

I'm 40 years old and I have been living with lupus since I was 18. I'm now on dialysis 3 days a week and taking several courses of medications. Will dialysis treatments affect any of my daily activities?

3 Answers

Yes
Sorry about your chronic illness followed by dialysis. Patients biggest complaints are fatigue and headaches after dialysis. For this reason, getting dialysis can be a rather big deal on the quality of your life. And remember everyone is different, so it may not affect you the same, and I certainly hope that is the case for you. Wishing you well.
Yes. Depending on the type of dialysis you do you will need to make changes in your life. In my opinion the most demanding type of dialysis is incenter hemodialysis. Because it’s done 3 times a week this type of dialysis tends to leave patients tired after the procedure so if you work it’s best to choose a dialysis shift late in the day do you can go to sleep after treatment.
If you do PD or home hemodialysis you do them either everyday (PD)or 5-6 times a week (home Hemo) you are less likely to feel so tired but you need to make time to do the procedure at home. Either way there will be changes you need to make in your daily activities to do your treatment.

Adriana Cano.