"Good life consists of the roots that lead to flow." Martin Seligman (In: Eudaemonia: The Good Life)
Let's face it: hemodialysis sucks. Or perhaps it doesn't? It's all a matter of perspective. At the age of 45, I decided that my glass is still half full.....not half empty. If you want to learn why I invite you to read on. Are you ready to get inspired?
Today has been my 10th hemodialysis since my diagnosis of end-stage renal disease in early April 2019. The news didn’t come entirely as a surprise. Since 2012, I knew about the problem. Back then a kidney biopsy revealed focal- and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) with 50 percent of the kidney function gone. All in all, the decline of my kidney function took probably more than 10 years.
The first dialysis right after receiving my SVC catheter on the right side of my neck has been hard, but since then I experienced a marked improvement with every dialysis session. For the past two weeks, I now enjoy a very comfortable routine, starting at around 7.45 am and leaving the dialysis center at around 12.30pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So far, I have been spared excessive tiredness or any other side-effects of the dialysis treatments. Frankly speaking, I am in awe how well hemodialysis is developed from a technical point of view.
Now it’s up to me doing my part in making hemodialysis a ‘success’. After reading the obligatory online resources about hemodialysis and when considering my almost 20 years of experience in the nutritional sciences, I am quite confident that the dietary changes will not come as a particularly big challenge. Perhaps in the future, but for now I am good following the standard recommendations regarding protein, potassium, sodium, phosphorous and liquid intake.
There are a lot of topics on my mind I hope to write about in the coming weeks and months. So I hope you will join me again on this blog in the near future.
Cheers!
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