| Author | Subject: Full Renal Failure Recovery |
| Catalina | Posted At 16:31:49 08/22/2002 Just last week a dear friend of mine went into the hospital with Full Renal Failure. I was shocked as my friend had NO history of kidney dysfunction or any apparant problems related to that. She did however, have symptoms of a reoccuring rash and swelling to her hands, arms and legs. After seeing a doctor (at a clinic)she had some basic blood work and was then referred to a Dermatologist ! Anyway, the little I know about kidney dysfunction I know "timing" is almost everything. Needless to say, my girlfriend's looking a life long struggle with Full Renal Failure. So far, as she is still in the hospital, they're adminstering dialysis every other day. The doctor has told the family that she will need dialysis at least 3-4 times weekly. Here's a question for anyone who might be knowledgable about this; Since Sunday, 8/17, my friend has been mentally out of it! She at times doesn't have any idea where she is and is extremely incohrent ! Is this normal for what she's gone through? Is there any chance that due to the amount of time she had toxic blood pumping through her vital organs, she may suffer from permanent brain damage? I almost hate asking this question, but I know nobody else will dare as the doctors. Has anyone with Chronic Renal Failure been left with this type of disability once they were stablized otherwise? Your comments and information are greatly appreciated. Thank you, A Very Concerned Friend |
| Beth Witten | Re: Full Renal Failure Recovery (Currently 3 replies) Posted At 11:24:45 08/23/2002 You don't say what your friend's cause of kidney failure is. If she had a rash, it's possible that she has lupus or some other condition in addition to kidney failure that could be complicating how she is behaving. Obviously, other health conditions need to be identified and treated as well. If your friend's kidney failure is permanent, like her doctor says, she will need treatment on a regular basis. She should have 3 options if she wants to live: * Hemodialysis is a type of dialysis that uses a kidney machine and dialyzer to clean toxins from the blood (this is what she's on now). It's generally done 3 times a week in a center or can be done at home. Currently there are some patients who doing it daily or every night to study if this helps people do better. * Pertoneal dialysis is done at home daily either 4 times spread out during the day using no machine or done overnight while sleeping using a machine. * A kidney transplant can come from a live donor (usually family or friend) or cadaveric donor (family donates organs after death) and is another treatment, not a cure for kidney failure since people still need to get regular medical follow-up and take expensive drugs to prevent rejection. Although toxins that build up in the body with kidney disease can affect people's thinking and memory and people on hemodialysis say they feel mentally less "sharp" during the last hour or so, most people on dialysis do not act "out of it" or talk incoherently. Perhaps this is related to another health condition. Active lupus can cause this. Medications can bring lupus under control. If your friend has lupus, you can find out more information at www.lupus.org. Due to confidentiality, the doctor will probably not talk with you but should be communicating with the family about what going on with your friend. You (or the family) should tell the doctor about your friend and her normal actions and activities prior to her illness. If healthcare professionals don't have a history with the ill person, they may believe that what they're seeing is typical for that person when it's not. Finally, many people with kidney disease live full active lives. Most stay active in their homes, communities, and even hold jobs. I hope you will look around the Life Options web site (www.lifeoptions.org) and the Kidney School web site (www.kidneyschool.org) to learn more about kidney disease and the people that have it. Please let your friend and her family know about us. |