Bad News, Probably?

[mcjane]

We were really encouraged knowing there was an alternative to in center HD & our choice hands down was PD because of what I have learned here. My husband has been on HD for just about two months & does have a fistula/

It’s not to be. My husband saw a doctor this past Monday & was told he has too much scar tissue from past surgery & will have to do HD instead. He’s really depressed about this & so am I.

It seemed that PD was so much better than HD & that he would feel healthier with PD not to mention it is so much easier to do & quicker to learn.

I even thought of getting another opinion. Is that a good idea or probably a big waste of time. Does scar tissue really matter all that much &
is there any surgery to get rid of it so he could do PD.

I am now reading the posts on the HD For Patients Board & it all seems so technical, not at all like the PD board which is so much easier to understand & covers so much of what you would like to know.
It would help so much to know why posters here chose PD over HD, did you have a choice, did you choose PD because it is better, easier on you. Whatever the reason it would help so much to know since that is the way we have to go.

What a let down this has been.

Jane

[Dori_Schatell]

I’ve heard of patients who’ve had multiple abdominal surgeries and were still able to do PD, so a second opinion might not be a bad idea. Some doctors are more supportive of PD than others, and it’s possible that a less-PD-supportive doctor might be…seizing on the past surgeries as a medical reason not to do the therapy. Or, the scarring may indeed be a legitimate issue, as it sometimes is.

PD is easier to learn up front than HD, but home HD is a lot like learning to drive a car. It takes a few weeks and makes you very nervous at first, and then you get used to it and it becomes a routine thing that you do–while still being very careful. People feel so much better doing home dialysis–PD or HD–that it’s worth considering it if PD won’t work for your husband.