Stopped dialysis
Posted , 3 users are following.
my mom has a very bad heart condition and was put on dialysis 8 months ago
she would get very ill every time she did dialysis so on november 27th of 2019 was her last chair time and refused to return to dialysis so yesterday she completed 6 weeks without dialysis ,, monday the 21st she had them take out the port says she wants to go on her own terms
she had sevear pain on her back she cried and almost went crazy they have her morphine and finally the pain went away then the horrible vomiting started with a horrific smell finally 3 days later the new drug worked and her vomiting stopped and today wednesday 23 of january she has had 2 very small meals she is mostly sleeping her hands are very cold very pale ,but when she wakes up she says she feels great ,im very worried i know its not gonna be good but wanted to share her oldest daughter and care taker MARTY
0 likes, 2 replies
aliceq2 marty75379
Posted
Hi Marty!
Sorry to hear about your mom. I don't really have first hand experience...but was the primary care taker of my father-in-law before he passed from kidney failure. Just want to share my 2 cents worth on what to look out for.
My fil refused dialysis...he was a long time diabetic 2 type and went on insulin for about 3 years before kidney went downhill and passed on. Please make sure to have a updated full blood works...so you will know the status of your mom. Pay attention to eGFR and iron. We were not aware to pay attention to eGFR which is the indicator on the function of the kidneys....so as it going downhill at a rate that the doctors and specialist did not raise any alarm until he almost collasped and admitted to emergency. And then we were told he only got weeks left. Discharged after 2 weeks and another week in pallative . The point I'm sharing here is that, diet plays a key role in trying to maintain the eGFR....provided the patient is willing to abide. FIL was a hard nut and and he practically gave up on himself. With diet control...he was able to prolong another 5 months before passing at 77 yrs old.
With kidney failure, he was constantly cold and swollen. Towards the last couple of months, he was taking iron injection to boost red blood cells. Also another thing to note...is the water intake. With kidney failure....water is not being able to passed out...so it gets retained in the body....FIL ballooned a addition of 20 odd kgs !
Do take care of yourself, both physically and mentally. It's very tolling on the care taker.
Kind Regards,
alice
kjc1983 marty75379
Posted
my mother was a dialysis patient for 5 yrs. I quit my job as a nurse and took care of her the last 6 months of her life. Even being as a nurse being a full time care taker is very hard. take care of yourself and get occasional outside help to give yourself a break. my mother would also vomit a lot even with meds. dialysis isn't perfect. it doesn't filter just like the kidneys. while my mom was on dialysis she slowly slept more and more until she was too worn out to continue. she chose to go to hospice house. I know a lot of people want to pass in their homes. even on hospice they usually don't do round the clock care. going to hospice house allowed for us get out of "caregiver/patient" mode and go back to just being mom and daughter. She passed after 36hrs. Even though you know what's coming the end will hit worse than a brick. contact local social services for support contacts, chose what works best for your family, and give yourself a break both before and after they're gone.