Kidney Failure - KIDNEY REFUNCTION

Author

KIDNEY REFUNCTION

Tom Gower

2005-08-17, 11:55 am

Hi , I have been on hemodialylys for approx 19 months. I will
try to keep this as short as possible so please bear with me.
When I first started hemo, my kidneys were producing a fair
amount of urine. Then after a while they dropped down to almost
nothing. Just recently, I complained to my Nephrologist that I was
feeling really lousy after dialysis, and I was having a hard time
keeping my blood pessure above 80/50. She said she would change my "dry
weight" from 98 kilos to 100 klos. All of a sudden, my kidneys started
producing more urine, to the point that i started urinating several
times a day, not a lot mind you, but to go from almost none to several
times seems remarkable. I am secretly hoping that my kidneys are
starting to function again, but I am probably fooling my self. Have any
of you good people who are on hemo, experienced anything similar? I
would really appreciate hearing from you.
Thanks.....

It's not how many times we have tried and failed that matter, but
whether we tried at all.
TOM G

Pete

2005-08-17, 6:02 pm

"Tom Gower" <patriark363@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:27367-4303448B-55@storefull-3115.bay.webtv.net...
> Hi , I have been on hemodialylys for approx 19 months. I will
> try to keep this as short as possible so please bear with me.
> When I first started hemo, my kidneys were producing a fair
> amount of urine. Then after a while they dropped down to almost
> nothing. Just recently, I complained to my Nephrologist that I was
> feeling really lousy after dialysis, and I was having a hard time
> keeping my blood pessure above 80/50. She said she would change my "dry
> weight" from 98 kilos to 100 klos. All of a sudden, my kidneys started
> producing more urine, to the point that i started urinating several
> times a day, not a lot mind you, but to go from almost none to several
> times seems remarkable. I am secretly hoping that my kidneys are
> starting to function again, but I am probably fooling my self. Have any
> of you good people who are on hemo, experienced anything similar? I
> would really appreciate hearing from you.
> Thanks.....
>
>

I hate to tell you this, but you are probably fooling yourself. I was in a
similar situation a couple of years ago, and I also entertained the idea
that I might not need dialysis anymore.

To make a long story short...

The ability of the kidneys to produce urine is sort of independant of the
ability of the glomeruli to filter. The glomeruli filter, the renal tubules
produce urine. Some people have excellent tubular function when they start
and continue on dialysis, but they have lousy glomerular function. So, they
produce some of the nicest, clearest urine in the world, because there's
nothing in it.

It's not impossible for someone on chronic dialysis to recover enough kidney
function to go off dialysis, but it's extremely rare.

Pierre

Larry Krzewinski

2005-08-17, 10:57 pm

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 17:01:53 -0400, "Pete" <pierrot51@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>I hate to tell you this, but you are probably fooling yourself. I was in a
>similar situation a couple of years ago, and I also entertained the idea
>that I might not need dialysis anymore.
>
>To make a long story short...
>
>The ability of the kidneys to produce urine is sort of independant of the
>ability of the glomeruli to filter. The glomeruli filter, the renal tubules
>produce urine. Some people have excellent tubular function when they start
>and continue on dialysis, but they have lousy glomerular function. So, they
>produce some of the nicest, clearest urine in the world, because there's
>nothing in it.
>
>It's not impossible for someone on chronic dialysis to recover enough kidney
>function to go off dialysis, but it's extremely rare.

In my almost nine years of hemodialysis I ended up knowing hundreds of
dialysis patients. Only one of those patients was able to get off
hemodialysis due not to increased renal function but rather her
ability to live on a very severe renal diet. The dialysis unit I
attended told of just one other patient to go back to a normal life
and this guy had sudden kidney failure due to some catastrophic
illness and had not been on dialysis that long when his kidneys
suddenly awoke and began functioning normally. There was some hope
initially for me that my kidneys would awaken since I lost mine due to
a sudden illness as well but it never happened.

Once you are on dialysis so long your kidneys get "lazy". Since they
aren't really needed any longer they tend to work less and less.
Pierre is right when he speaks of the difference between producing
urine and having the kidneys actually filter your blood. They need to
do both or you stay on dialysis.

I want to wish you luck, though. Let us know if a miracle does
happen.

Larry

Tom Gower

2005-08-19, 11:52 am

Thanks a lot for the info guys. I guess I was just hoping
against hope. But I can live with that. Like I said before, hemo is not
the end of the world, and I'm learning to make life the best I can with
what I have to work with.......As a bit of side info, I recently bought
a protable dvd player, and it really makes the 4 hour treatment go
sooooo much faster......If there are any hemo patients out there that
are bored to death while waiting for the four hours to pass, try getting
a portable dvd player. It really works......plus I can catch up on the
movies I missed when they were playing in the theater.......

It's not how many times we have tried and failed that matter, but
whether we tried at all.
TOM G

korland@starplexscientific.com

2005-08-22, 11:59 am

Polycystic Kidney Disease patients often continue to urinate volumes
even while requiring dialysis. They simply often do not need fluid
removal, but their kidneys no longer filter. They are fortunate to not
have fluid restrictions but still have to abide by the balance of
normal dietary restrictions that other dialysis patients face. As a
matter of face, PKD patients often have serious problems when dialysis
units insist on pulling fluid and become sick as a result. Of course
after so many years of dialysis, even PKD kidneys eventually stop
producting urine plus many PKD patients end up having one or both
kidneys removed due to their increasing size.
So ability to urinate has nothing to do with ability to filter.