1 How does PD change and affect your physical appearance?
When you do PD you have fluid that you put in your tummy. It can make your stomach less flat. Talk with your doctor and/or training nurse about exercises you can do after your catheter heals.
2 Since being diagnosed with KD I have began having skin problems mostly confined to my face(possibly zits) Will this likely improve with PD?
Kidney disease can affect your hair and skin. Getting enough dialysis, eating healthy, and getting the vitamins and minerals you need can help. You can find a fact sheet about how kidney disease affects skin and hair and what you can do. See www.lifeoptions.org/catalog/pdfs/teaching/SkinAndHair.pdf
3 I am very small in size, will PD fluid make me feel less comfortable or fuller than usua?
It takes time to get used to having a catheter and extra fluid in your tummy. At first you may feel uncomfortable. After your body gets used to it, you probably won’t notice the fluid much. Be sure to tell your doctor or training nurse if you’re uncomfortable, how much discomfort you have (scale 0-10), when it hurts worse, and what helps relieve the discomfort so they can tell if the discomfort is normal or not.
4 Is it possible that ESRD has prevented my retinal treatments from being as effective as they could be if I had proper kidney function or PD? And could PD actually slow progression of eye disease?
This is a question to ask your kidney and/or eye doctor. PD is less likely to cause bleeding in the eye than HD because HD requires heparin which thins the blood and can cause bleeding.
5 I am concerned about gaining weight as I cannot currently afford money or time to spare to buy new clothing, will PD cause substantial weight gain?
Most PD solutions have glulcose (sugar) in them to help remove fluid. There are different solutions with different levels of sugar in them. If you drink more and need a higher percent of sugar to take it off, you could gain more weight, especially if you don’t limit your intake of sugar from other sources. I’ve known many people on PD that did not a significant amount of weight and some had co-workers who never knew they were on dialysis. Ask your doctor or nurse what solution you should use to keep from gaining weight.
6 Can PD help to improve mental clarity and thinking?
When your kidneys don’t work like they should, wastes build up in your tissues, including the tissues of your brain. When you do any kind of dialysis and remove the wastes, the brain should function better. The more dialysis you get, the better your memory should be. Doing PD daily is more like normal kidney function so hopefully you’ll notice a change for the better. Sometimes it takes several treatments to notice a change. Other people notice a change fairly quickly.
7 Can poor kidney function lead to abnormal growths (cysts) in the body?
The most common cause of cysts in the body is polycystic kidney disease. This disease can run in families. Sometimes people who have had kidney failure for a long time develop small cysts, but usually they’re not as large as the PKD cysts and they don’t cause any problem. Ask your doctor if you’re at risk for cysts.