redoralive

Hi, not OP and I don't want to hijack their AmA but I've had both PD and haemo (not home haemo, I visited a clinic) and feel I could potentially give a little insight.

I personally preferred PD to Haemo by a long shot. I did manual bags which took about half an hour to drain in and out 3 times a day (so about an hour and a half of my day total). Once you're used to the cleaning process and hanging the bag, its fast and can be done anywhere. I did bags in the car before work on multiple occasions with no issues. Theres also the nighttime machine but I used to get awful cramps when draining with that. Only downside to PD was getting used to the initial bloating, and adjusting trousers so you don't catch the tube. I had PD lines inserted 3 separate times as I begged to be allowed back on it everytime a line failed. I had 3 line inserted and taken out over 3 years each time under local anaesthetic due to complications that meant I couldn't have general. 2 of my failures were due to slow bowels which meant the tubes moved and lost effectiveness, and the third was due to a staph infection.

However, you asked about haemo. My personal experience with haemo was awful. I wasn't suitable for a fistula so I had a tunneled line inserted which came out of my right boob. The dialysis sessions were 3-4 hours depending on fluid and I had them 3x a week. I had to have them at my local centre because I was terrified to make a mistake. Personally I found the neglible risk of getting sepsis or getting a bubble in the line made me scared to touch the machine. THAT IS JUST ME. The actual machines are simple and you have a lot of training before you just take one home. I also find the haemo access to be more restrictive than PD. Most people have fistulas- which limit your ability to do things with that arm as you want to keep the fistula in the best shape you can. I also found I experienced a hangover like sensation after a session- they'd make me very sleepy and I had absolutely no energy. So between sessions and the sort of lull I'd feel afterwards I was basically a zombie for the year I was on it. I had to quit my job because of the time it took up as you have to commit to being on the machine for a set period of time and its not as flexible.

Once again its all personal experiences. I met many people at my centre who preferred haemo (I was a good 40-50 years younger than them though) and some who'd done it at home and asked to be referred back to centre. No matter what you choose, I hope your ckd progresses slowly, and if you're planning on it I hope you don't have to wait for a transplant :)

Im glad to hear your decline has been slow. If you ever have questions you can PM me and I'll try to help. Kidney disease is rough and it's hard not having people your own age to relate to.

I was on dialysis almost 4 years and I only saw someone in my age group once. A large portion of my social circle were the same age as my grandparents because they'd be the people I sat next to for 13 hours every week and that whole period of my life was kidna weird.

Anyways whatever you chose to do, best of luck :)

How long did your transplant last if you don't mind me asking, and how drawn out was rejection?

My kidneys shut down 4 years ago and I spent 3 years on a mixture of peritoneal dialysis and haemo (couldn't do the home version I had a tunneled line and was too freaked out to handle it). I had a live altruistic donation 1 year and three days ago and it's working amazing. My eGFR is stable at about 110 and I'm basically like every other 26-year-old, but I'm yet to experience any sort of rejection episode and I'm really nervous that it will come on suddenly. Ckd and dialysis was an awful experience so I'm really worried about needing to go back on it. If nothing else, I hope you're managing well with the haemo-hangovers (my term for the fuzzy head I used to get after a 4 hour sesh) and I'll keep my fingers crossed you get transplanted again soon.