A little bit of good news (6/29/22)

A little bit of good news.

So my dialysis center told me that eventually I’ll be switching from hemodialysis to peritoneal dialysis.

The major differences are that hemodialysis pulls blood from a catheter that has a direct line to my heart. I’m required to go to a dialysis center 3-4x a week for 4 hours a session. I also need to watch my nutrition and fluid intake.

With peritoneal dialysis, I do it every night, from the comfort of my bed while I sleep. The catheter goes directly into my stomach and uses a sugar-based chemical to clean my blood. This gives me more convenience, comfort and flexibility with my diet since I’m being cleaned daily.

The dialysis center told me that I should also get a fistula installed into one of my arms in case the PD catheter failed for some reason. Their logic is that the fistula would grant emergency access to my blood. The problem with fistulas is that they’re very ugly. My arms are a point of pride so superficially I didn’t want one. Also, with a fistulas, you can’t lift more than 10 pounds. This would severely impact my workouts.

My primary nephrologist told me today that a fistula is completely unnecessary. He said we will try the PD soon, and if it fails, I’ll just have the HD re-inserted as it’s a simple procedure. Relief!

He said some doctors do like the PD/fistula combo but he doesn’t recommend it. The fistula is a risky surgery. Sometimes it doesn’t work. And it’s often permanent for the rest of your life.

So yeah – that’s a relief. Gotta keep these arms sexy!

Also, I can walk normally again. Holefully discharged tomorrow. An unexpected 6 days here. Thought it was gonna be a quick visit lol. Guess I’m making up for the 13 years I avoided doctors. The bill always comes due!