Dialysis Support Group

I am so pro pd it's not even a contest. I did pd for 8 years and I feel it is the BEST modality there is. I did it overnight on the continuous cycler so it didn't interfere in my daily life. The catheter isn't so great (ugly) but other than that a few other inconviences there is no comparison between pd and hemo. It is so much more gentle on your body cause you're not dealing with blood products. You don't feel exhausted and washed out like you do on hemo. And you're doing it everyday so you can pretty much eat and drink what you want whereas in hemo there are so many restrictions.

Unfortunately I had to stop pd after 8 years because I developed an abcess in my stomach and it was pretty devistating. I can't go back to it either because my stomach is all messed up. So I'm stuck on hemo although I've been learning NxState which is a home dialysis machine - not as good as pd but I have no choice.

Anyway, as you can tell I'm very partial to pd - I think it's the next best thing to having your own kidneys or a transplant. But I have to say that many people have differing opinions so you should keep investigating.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

Dale

While I am not a dialysis patient, my Mother was and I cared for her. And, my husband is a dialysis nurse so we kind of keep up with a lot of what is going on because it is such a growing need.

I will tell you that I agree with Dale 100% and if you have the choice, take the PD! It is less stress on your body as you are doing it everyday like Dale mentioned. Most people that I have talked to that have done both really had a much better quality of life with PD but you do need to be very careful because we deal with so many different bacteria now days that can be extremely dangerous.

I knew a lady that was doing PD prior to transplant and she and her husband enjoyed travelling. So, they purchased an RV so that she did not have to concern herself with any of the things she needed to do treatments, etc. and if the motel room was truly clean, and so forth.

I realize that is not something everyone can do but it does give you an idea of what can be done and you are not as limited as with Hemo. If you are travelling on Hemo, the clinics with work with you on scheduling treatments along the way on your trip and while you are at your destination. I like that as well but you are still going in and out of other clinics and trust me on this, you can pick up a lot of germs in the clinics. My husband comes home two or three times a year with something he has picked up from patients that must come in even if they have the flu, etc. So, being able to do home treatments by means of PD or Hemo is safer in my opinion for several reasons.

Good luck in making your decision and most Drs offices have a RN that is dedicated to helping PD patients so you won't be given stuff and sent home to figure it out!!

Please let us know what you decide (if you don't mind).