Post-Dialysis Treatment Symptoms

Hi! My dad is an elderly hemodialysis patient who uses a chest catheter for his treatments–his platelet level is low and being monitored with the plan being for him to have a surgical graft done in the near future. He is not a home dialysis patient although he was a PD patient for a couple of years before being changed to an outpatient hemo patient about 2 years ago. He has asked his nurse practitioner and the kidney center nurses about recent symptoms that he has noticed about 30 minutes after getting home from treatments: nausea and gas, especially during and after resting in a recliner (he has tried other chairs and that has not seemed to make much of a difference). More recently, when sitting, he has noticed having trouble catching his breath. After he gets up and becomes a bit more active, the breathing issues seems to subside, although the gas/nausea can and often does continue into the next day. The medical professionals have not been able to come up with a definitive answer for him, so my dad and I are wondering if anyone on this board has experienced or has a family member who has experienced this.

Thank you for your input.

Hi Greeneyesinva,
Nausea could occur from not getting enough dialysis altogether (the lab tests dialysis clinics use to measure “adequacy” are, quite frankly, not worth much). Or, it may be his body’s response to removing too much fluid at once. Conversely, his shortness of breath could be from not enough treatment for anemia (clinics are cutting back, because EPO is expensive and they are penalized if hemoglobin levels go too high–but not if they drop too low), OR, perhaps they are leaving ON too much fluid.

Since these boards are for folks doing HOME dialysis, you might also want to try “I Hate Dialysis,” which has boards with lots of folks doing in-center hemo, who may be more likely to have had the sorts of problems your dad has run into. Or, perhaps he might want to try home hemo himself, in the hopes that a gentler, more effective treatment might help him to feel better more of the time.

Thanks, Dori, for your ideas…I will go to the other board as well.