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Starting Peritoneal Dialysis: What do I need to know?

Kidney & Bladder | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (13)
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@trishak

My wonderful husband had a kidney transplant in May 2024. The doctors thought his kidney was slow to graft. However, after several months of poor kidney performance and many different tests, his transplanted kidney was declared nonfunctional in February 2025. He currently has a temporary HD line for dialysis and goes to a local clinic on Mondays and Fridays.
We are at a new crossroad and need to make a decision about in-house or home dialysis. My husband loves his independence and we both love traveling.
It's challenging trying to find our way with our new norm. I'd appreciate hearing more about personal experiences with dialysis.

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Replies to "My wonderful husband had a kidney transplant in May 2024. The doctors thought his kidney was..."
Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Mar 2 12:12pm

@trishak Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! I am truly sorry to hear that your husband's transplanted kidney has failed on him. Has he been able to reestablish himself on the transplant list?

When you go to your dialysis center, ask them about resources of information about in-home dialysis. There is both peritoneal and home hemodialysis. A vascular surgeon could determine if your husband is a good candidate for peritoneal dialysis; factors that might preclude that form include excessive scarring in the abdominal area.

I know @rickkaplowitz does hemodialysis in center and has done a lot of traveling, even international! He maintains his independence and cheerful attitude.

For me, I am on peritoneal dialysis since Sept 2022, and now have a schedule to do an overnight dwell of fluids, draining each morning. This frees up my day, thankfully. I have a portable bag heater purchased from Stickman Dialysis Supplies https://kidneystuff.com/products/daytripper?pr_prod_strat=jac&pr_rec_id=915848acf&pr_rec_pid=200689057819&pr_ref_pid=201058779163&pr_seq=uniform&_gl=1*c2cixg*_up*MQ..*_ga*MjQ3Mjc1MTk0LjE3NDA5Mzg4Njc.*_ga_9GM5WY6SQ7*MTc0MDkzODg2Ni4xLjEuMTc0MDkzODkwOS4wLjAuMA..
This allows me to take off on trips, and I can use my power port in the car to warm up my bags.

You're right, this is a new normal for you, and you've come to the right place for experiences!
Ginger

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