What's your experience with dialysis? Give & get support here

More and more of our medical treatment has come under the purview of corporate medicine/for profit medicine. Many large medical institutions are utilizing corporatized systems, strict appointment durations, network referrals only, dispassionate bureaucratized patient contact, among other things. Many small/medium medical offices strive to remain economically viable and look to the next patient, next test, next procedure for the income stream. In this time of emerging animal rights, the veterinarians are not quite in the same scenario, and hopefully they will not be.
Then we have wonderful institutions like the Mayo Clinic and some others. They tend to be not-for-profit, and they are patient driven. The motto at the Mayo Clinic is that the patient comes first.
Hopefully the patient driven model can be the beacon that becomes the enlightenment.

After the 1st full week of dialysis plus delays & glitches, I got home on time yesterday, gobbled down some pasta then slept from 4:30 to 8 PM, got up briefly then went back to bed and slept until 3:30 AM. Dialysis really takes it out of you. Literally.

Still trembly this morning and still have dry heaves every day but not as exhausted and looking forward to having a bit more energy today.

This is a good day to live!

@bustrbrwn22, Two of my favorite groups of professionals are vets and pharmacists. Better listeners, more compassionate and responsive than majority of my docs. If one of docs' first tenets is "first, do no harm"; they are missing the boat entirely on pain management and improving quality of life for millions of patients.

Whenever I read of members who have medical specialists "teaming" to communicate with one another and the patient for treatment options and procedures it truly gladdens my heart.

Several years ago I told my young vet, who I'd sat with as he'd euthanized several of my beloved pets, that when my time came, I'd instructed daughter to call Him for help. Poor guy didn't know what to say but to his credit did manage a smile and nod.

Personal opinion is that docs' 1st thought is " what labs/tests can I prescribe". While diagnosis is a primary goal, most have forgotten or never learned that treating the "whole patient" should be their first concern.

@kamama94, @bustrbrwn22 and other pet lovers, I hope you'll find the link below watch worthy.

Kamama94, quality vs quantity of life has been a priority of mine for many years. I told my doc son-in-law years ago, I wanted him to insure that I meet the residential requirement of a state that allowed "Death With Dignity". More laws need to be changed to allow this, imo.

When my children moved to Colorado, it was not only closer to me but that state is one of 6 (I think?) that allows this to take place without legal penalty. Son-in-law is probably relieved too because this lets him off the hook....smiles/winks Now it is up to me to decide on timing a move to Colorado.

Pets can bring a measure of comfort and lift to our days like no other. Wish we could clone both companion dog Kerith and her trainer 100 xs 100 for all needing a bit of affection and comfort. Hope viewing this brings a smile to your day: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/golden-retriever-comforts-ca-firefighters-090335730.html

Great post, @lagrange5! Wish all would follow Mayo Clinic's lead in being patient driven!

@kamama84, and also a good day to be hearing from you! Rest must be one of the best of medicines after a dialysis treatment. So glad you are getting both rest and sleep.

No idea if this could help the dry heaves but would taking some ginger help? It stopped a period of prolonged nausea for me..when I Knew I wasn't pregnant! vbg. Have also heard that marijuana derivative, CBD, may help?

@fiesty76, ginger ale for a mild "attack," compazine for non-pg (thank heavens) upset.

@bustrbrwn22, @kamama94, @fiesty76, and anyone I missed -
Here is a discussion that you might want to take a look at: Just Want to Talk Group > What Pets Can Do: Health and Healing. I don't have a pet, but in reading your posts, I can see how your animals have/are a comfort to you. Your experiences would be a welcome addition to the conversation.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-pets-can-do-health-and-healing/

@kamama94, Knew about the ginger ale but not the compazine tips for nausea. Ahem, a guy I dated long ago suggested a bit of bourbon and coke to settle an upset stomach...it did seem to help the occasional upset. Alas, I later learned he imbibed too frequently of the spirits whether stomach problems or not....bye, bye! Smiles

@kamama94 - Like you I needed a nap after my dialysis treatment, but that was after a decent lunch. My food choices were pretty limited, and I was on a restricted diet that was provided and monitored by my dietician/nutritionist. I was also on the liver and kidney transplant list and had been flown to Mayo after acute kidney failure, ICU, and emergency dialysis, and several weeks of inpatient dialysis. I guess I was lucky in that I didn't have to think, just do what I was directed to do.
I usually enjoyed a good nap, and felt better afterwards. The day after dialysis was a good day for me.
My dialysis was 3 days a week, 3 1/2 hours (7AM -11:30AM - MWF)
As for ginger ale - it helped me, but I could only tolerate it if it was room temperature, and flat! Anything that works!
May the sun shine over you today, dear friend.