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What's your experience with dialysis? Give & get support here
Kidney & Bladder | Last Active: Apr 24, 2023 | Replies (345)Comment receiving replies
I had a liver transplant and suffered an AKI during surgery. I had to have dialysis for a few months until my kidneys improved to grade 3. I have now regressed to a solid grade 4 and my nephrologist has starting mentioning dialysis and transplant evaluation. They also suggested I find a living donor and maybe I won't have to ever have dialysis. In the beginning I was on dialysis for only a few months and I am not looking forward to having to go back on dialysis. I hated the absolute boring waste of time. I have no idea how people do dialysis for years and hope I can avoid that even though I understand it is likely inevitable.
Replies to "I had a liver transplant and suffered an AKI during surgery. I had to have dialysis..."
@transplant2017, I hope that you doing well.
This morning, I read your posts from March, and I realized that I, too, had the dialysis set-up that you had, but mine was before my intended liver transplant when my liver failure affected my kidney and I suffered acute kidney failure. I had an emergency dialysis line in my neck and then they put a port in my upper chest. I was on inpatient and then out patient dialysis before a simultaneous liver/kidney transplant. One thing that I did learn through the experience was that I became more accepting of the process of dialysis as my mind adjusted to the schedule.
I am not on dialysis since transplant in 2009, however I want to let you know that I am thinking about you.
When did you have your liver transplant? Has there been any change in your kidney function? What are the doctors saying about a transplant?
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@transplant2017 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. We are a diverse group of people who share our stories and experiences, to support others on their own health journeys.
When we kidney disease patients hear those words - dialysis or transplant - it can indeed trigger a wide range of responses, each person has their own story. What is your current eGFR, if I may ask. It sounds like your AKI happened during surgery; was it caused by medical procedure? Your team had to do an emergency port, probably upper chest, for the catheter. Since you needed it right away, you were not given any choice in how it would be done, and were not prepared psychologically or physically, for dialysis. Prior to the liver transplant, did you have any kidney issues?
If you decide to search for a living donor, get the word out to friends/family/family-of-choice. How? An email or notice to people, with as much info as you care to share. Here is a Mayo Clinic article about transplant https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/kidney-transplant/about/pac-20384777 And, here on Mayo Connect, we have a transplant discussion group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/transplants/ that has a wealth of information in different threads of talk.
Dialysis can seen as a time waster, but it can also be seen as a bridge to better kidney health in light of a transplant. And, given your circumstances, you may have the choice of in center hemodialysis, home hemodialysis, or peritoneal dialysis if you can. My husband was on PD for 5.5 years before his transplant, and for him, there were some accommodations to be made, but his life went on as before, right down to traveling on his job, and camping. A good source for more information is rsnhope.org.
Although you did not mention what part of the country you live in, there are resources available to you anywhere! Please come back with any questions you have. Do you have family or a support team with you?
Ginger