Kidney
Peritoneal Dialysis
December 13, 2023
in Kidney
I was just diagnosed with End Stage Renal Failure and my doctor believes that I am a good candidate for peritoneal dialysis. I have been doing some research on it and wanted to reach out to the community on the pros and cons and/or if it is a better alternative than hemodialysis.
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Hello Varnaras, Welcome to the forums!
From my personal experience PD has a lot of benefits, Your PD Treatment needs to be done daily so planning it in the evenings would help, especially if you are still active and working during the day. That daily treatment can control fluid buildup much easier which helps with stress on your heart and blood vessels.
Just like hemodialysis, PD patients still need to limit salt and fluid intake…BUT!! PD Patients can drink more fluid than hemodialysis patients can. That will be determined by your nephrologist and dietitian. I was always told the less fluid to take off, the easier your treatment will be.
I did hemodialysis for 8 years, unfortunately PD wasn’t an option for me, I did not have the extra space for all the boxes of supplies you are giving at the time you begin PD. I like to swim and surf when I can so the chance of infection on the PD catheter for me was very high and I didn’t want to take that chance.
Looking back on my time on dialysis now, I should have figured out a way to make the PD work for me. Hemodialysis pushed me mentally, physically... it had its share of side effects. My dietitian and nephrologist always tried pushing me to do PD, but I was stuborn and hard headed.
PD is a much easier option than the alternative especially if you are an active outdoors kind of person.
My opinion on this matter is simple. PD is the only way to go. Yes, it’s everyday, but you can do it at night while you sleep. The liberty cycler is a little noisy, but you do get use to it. The Baxter cycler is guiet.
You don’t have to go anywhere for treatment. (Except a monthly trip for blood work and Dr. meetings). They deliver all supplies for you and no needles or blood messes. It sucks because you have to do it, so you might as well make it as easy as possible. Good luck and stay positive.
I was on hemodialysis and PD. Hemodialysis was very taxing on my body. I started PD in March 2020. It gave me more freedom and was beneficial, especially during the pandemic where I didn’t have to be out around people as much. I was able to stay on PD until June 2022. I really only came off of PD because, I was suspected to have internal bleeding for another reason and once they did the surgery, I could no longer do PD. There are pros and cons for both situations, but I can say that PD reduce the amount of challenges I had on my body.