D & D #6
Diabetes and Dialysis #6
The time has come.
Got notified by the kidney doctor yesterday that my little honey moon period is over. I am slated to go to the hospital next Thursday to get a catheter dialysis access installed and they will give me two more units of whole blood then give me a short (2 hour) dialysis treatment. That will be followed on Friday by the second treatment which will be closer to the normal four hours.
The week following I will start my three days a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
I was hoping to hold out until my AV fistula had matured and be available for use. But that is not to be.
Although this has been expected for the past 8 weeks, there is now the fear that comes from it no longer being somewhere in my future. It is now part of my present and will be for the rest of my life.
There have been folks asking me what caused my kidneys to fail. While it is hard to nail it down to one single factor I would have to say that it was the cellulitis that I got in my left leg in 2007. It ended up going septic and shut my kidneys down. I was in ICU for a week and nearly died.
There was also long term ibuprophen use due to old sports injuries. The doctors prescribed it before the dangers to the kidneys were known. But I was also never questioned by any doctor until I saw the nephrologist in the hospital with that infection. That ended my ibuprophen use.
I also have high blood pressure but that was caught and treated pretty early.
Last of all is T2 diabetes. I have no doubt that I was diabetic long before the diagnosis.
There was also a rather nasty kidney infection that I had when we lived in North Carolina. It went on for over a year before it was caught on a pre-employment physical by the company I worked for in New Jersey. Now there was a doctor that was a dope. Every time I would go to his office complaining about back pain he said the same thing; “Could be somethin’. Could be nothin’”. Take more ibuprophen.
But none of that matters now. Whatever caused the failure is irrelevant. Now I just need to get the truth out of someone because I am hearing two different stories.
I went to tour the dialysis center where I will get my regular treatments and was told that I would start dialysis with a stay in the hospital. I talked with the nephrologist and he tells me that I will go into the hospital and get the catheter put in, get dialysis and then go home. Go back to the hospital the next day and get the second dialysis session and then go to the center for my regular schedule.
Well those two stories don’t match. All I can do right now is pre-plan for at least an overnight stay in the hospital next week and roll with the punches.
Thanks to all for reading my journey. I now have an Ipad that I got to pass the time in the dialysis center so I will try to blog what goes on next week.
-
Comment by smileandnod on May 10, 2012 at 8:40am -
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Sparky. You're doing the right thing to prepare for a short hospital stay but I'm hoping you get to be in the comfort of your own home instead. Thank you for continuing to keep us updated on your progress and take care.
-
Comment by brokenpole on May 10, 2012 at 8:45am -
Thank you smileandnod for reading and posting. This is the best therapy I could hope for.
-
Comment by Equestrian on May 10, 2012 at 10:16am -
-
Comment by Equestrian on May 10, 2012 at 10:17am
-
My thoughts are with you. Any chance of a transplant?
-
Comment by Marie B on May 10, 2012 at 10:38am -
I hope you don't have to stay over too, best to plan for it though. Again, Sparky, thank you for posting, we're right here whenever you need us.
-
Comment by Trudy on May 10, 2012 at 10:43am -
Hi brokenpole. You are handling this life-changing problem with so much courage and dignity. I sincerely wish you and your family the very best. And oh yes, download some good books!
-
Comment by jrtpup on May 10, 2012 at 12:42pm -
I hope all goes smoothly Sparky. Being home is definitely better than staying at the hospital, but if you do stay think of it as free unlimited iPad time! So many apps, so little time LOL
-
Comment by Sam Iam on May 10, 2012 at 1:48pm -
Thanks for recording your experiences, and your positive attitude. I wish you all the best.
-
Comment by Kathy on May 10, 2012 at 3:30pm -
Hey, nice to talk with you this afternoon. Keep putting one foot forward!!!
-
Comment by SEAGATOR on May 10, 2012 at 5:41pm -
Sparky you and I talk a couple of times a day so you know I am in your corner. I will always be with you in Prayer and Spirit. Yes,a Catholic can pray for a Methodist. HAHA. Cheers,your good friend,Reed
Advertisement
REsources
Groups
From the Diabetes Hands Foundation blog...
Together, We Can Get Diabetes Co-Stars to 10,000 Views!
Above is a photo of Diabetes Hands Foundation’s own Manny Hernandez with the stars of the Diabetes Co-Stars Video, “Strength in Numbers.” In case you haven’t heard the news yet, there is a new video making it’s way through the …Continue Reading
Congratulations Diabetes Advocates Scholarship Recipients!
The Diabetes Hands Foundation and Diabetes Advocates Program is proud to announce and congratulate the members of DA who were granted scholarships to attend diabetes conferences in 2013! Thanks to a generous grant from Novo Nordisk, in 2013 we were …Continue Reading
TuDiabetes Team
DHF STAFF
 Manny Hernandez(Co-Founder, Editor, has LADA)
|
DHF VOLUNTEERS
Lead Administrator
 Bradford (has type 1) |
Administrators
 Lorraine (mother of type 1) |
 Marie B (has type 1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIKE us on Facebook
Spread the word
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.
© 2013 A community of people touched by diabetes, run by the Diabetes Hands Foundation.
You need to be a member of Diabetes community by Diabetes Hands Foundation: TuDiabetes to add comments!
Join Diabetes community by Diabetes Hands Foundation: TuDiabetes