posted 05-08-2003 06:54 AM            

Why did you initially switch from PD to haemo? How many times a week do you dialyse?

Unfortunately, uraemia is more likely on haemodialysis, just because you have that extra time between dialysis sessions, where both your weight and your blood figures generally have time to rise. At least with PD, you are performing this 4 times a day, so you should then be adequately dialysed. It is also possible that they have not yet got your optimum dialysis time, dialyser size. Normally, your time would be increased first and then if this was not sufficient, your dialyser size would be increased.

Also, I do wonder if is also has something to do with haemodialysis being at a blood level too. Do you dialyse via a vascath, permacath or a fistula?

Possibly, the itching due to the uraemia could be because you are not being adequately dialysed and your figures and not coming down far enough towards normal values following a dialysis session. Other than that, do you have very dry skin also? Most renal patients do. You need to keep adequately moisturised and Vitamin E cream is a very good natural cream for this.

Apart from this, a lot of haemodialysis patients are given antihistamine medication to stop itching and I think this is the only other way.

I am also into alternative therapies and to that end you may like to consult an ND who would possibly be able to help you with herbal/homeopathic remedies. Homeopathy is extremely good and could help with the itching and side effects of dialysis generally and could certainly help with your depression and help you to feel a little better generally within yourself.

posted 05-09-2003 04:12 AM            

I used to work in a renal unit and we had people in their 20's who were on haemo and were totally non-compliant and could not accept their renal disease. It was the nurses and the renal counsellors who had the job of trying to help them come to terms with it and trying to get them to be compliant. What happened to that kind of care for you? That is a real shame, because you would have fared much better on PD really. You would have had better dialysis and fewer or no problems with itching and uraemia.

It was only when these people were on the transplant list and some actually got a transplant that the turn around came. You could see the change in them instantly, although they said that it was a real strange feeling passing urine again. Are you on the transplant list?

Sometimes, however, a lot of people on haemo, however well they dialyse still do get problems with itching skin. They can dialyse on the largest dialyser and for up to 4 hours and still have these problems.

What caused you to go into ESRF at such as young age?