Can someone knowing from experience tell me what to possibly expect if my dad starts kidney dialysis?

[Purple1998]

Hello, so I recently found out my dad might have to go through kidney dialysis. (I'm sorry if I shouldn't have put this under life limiting it's just when I googled his age etc it all says his life is limited to a number of years).

Anyway, I've never heard of anyone under going it and other than what I've googled I don't know much about it or what people go through.

My dad is turning 70 next month, however he is ill in health in many areas, he's heavily smoked, suffered as a manic depressive throughout his life and was an alcoholic for many years. His body is totally f%^!ed basically and doesn't have the motivation to better his lifestyle to a high percent. He no longer drinks and has cut down cigarettes but the damage is done. 😞

I love my dad with all my heart, I truly am contemplating donating my kidney we are the same blood type. However I'm 24 and have a new born son and my partner really doesn't want me to I also see why and do have to think about my baby now also, and I know it sounds awful but I don't know how much it would prolong his life by... has anyone donated to someone is this ill of health before? Did it give them a longer better life also considering age?

What I'm asking basically is what should I expect? What will he be going through? Qaulity of life? Life expectancy? Please share what knowledge you all have to someone who has no clue what to expect.

Could I add that one kidney has failed and the other one is working 25% and declining.

Join the Kidney Care UK support group on Facebook, and visit the charity’s website as well. They have lots of information that will be helpful to you and your family.

Hi. My dad was 77 and had to have kidney dialysis 3 times a week and it completely wiped him out afterwards. He always was Cold afterwards and during. He lasted 2 more years but there were others who were younger who lasted longer. Do you know if he will have a line in his arm or chest? I hope that helps x

My late husband was on dialysis for two periods of time…a couple of years before he had a transplant, and then a further 10 years after the transplant failed.

He was, relatively speaking, young - starting in his early 30s and at that time he did it at home using peritoneal dialysis, which involved hooking himself up to bags of dialysis fluid 3 times a day, and then once again before going to bed. Whilst that took time, it was also relatively easy to get on with day to day life at home and locally, and travelling was not to difficult either. We went to Europe, South America, Australia and India while he was on PD. After the transplant failed he first went back into PD. He was a bit older then, and had to be careful about the amount of fluid he consumed, and also restrictions from a diet perspective. He felt tired often, and if he’d overindulged would get bloated. He then moved onto an overnight version of peritoneal dialysis, which involved being hooked up to a machine at home overnight, every night. That was tiring, and again the same restrictions on diet. Both the manual and automated versions of PD involved a tube inserted in the stomach, and used the peritoneum as a filter for the fluid and toxins in the body. Not that difficult to do at home, but a huge responsibility of course, and constant treatment of any kind is wearing.

By the time he was mid forties he’d moved onto haemodialys, 3 times a week in the hospital. Quite draining, sometimes lead to cramps, but was a more effective treatment, albeit carried out less often. Although a session was ‘only’ 4 hours or so, what with the travel, the waiting and the general inefficiency of the NHS it wrote off the whole day. The last few years before he died he was doing haemodialys at home, which took out a lot of the travel and irritation and suited him better. Again, travelling while on haemodialys was pretty straightforward, though not encouraged by the hospital. The right insurance cover was essential.

Physically dialysis is tough, and the dietary constraints might also be a challenge. Do not underestimate the mental strain it causes as well. But, while it is effective it’s not as effective as a real kidney. Mine weren’t a match, but he did have one transplant which sadly only lasted 5 years. But his quality of life with that was far better than on dialysis, not that he let it get him down. He could work after the transplant, but on dialysis it just wasn’t really practical. He worked for Tesco in a management position when the transplant failed, and they couldn’t dismiss him on the grounds of capability quickly enough…absolutely terrible treatment. For a well matched healthy kidney of success is high, so if a transplant is a possibility then try and pursue that. I think the longest surviving kidney recipient has had the kidney for 50 years or so. The norm is much much longer than my husbands lasted, which was also tough for him to mentally accept.

My mum has kidney disease due to her traumatic birth with me. She needed dialysis when her only kidney was functioning below 7%.

She only needed this for 3 months as my sister was in the process of donating a kidney to a stranger so my mum got a kidney from a stranger in return. My mum hated dialysis, she did it in hospital and was given the late slot which was 5pm - 10pm 3 times a week. Her arm hurt in the meantime and it often went wrong.

My dad had renal failure but couldn't have dialysis because his heart was failing, he was 83 when his kidneys totally failed & only lasted 10 days. Is your dad by any chance diabetic? This can increase the chances of renal failure & also Metformin can damage the kidneys. The only good thing was that my dad's death was as peaceful as it could be, he was sedated for the last 24 hours.