Peritoneal Dialysis And Stomach Bloating

[carried]

I just started PD about three weeks ago and actually ever since I had my PD catheter inserted I noticed that my stomach has gotten quite big!!!!. i can no longer fit into my slacks I have to wear stretchies because all of my slacks are uncomfortably tight I know that I have the extra two litres of fluid in my tummy but even when I drain out my stomach is still really puffed out. Is this normal??? Has anyone else experienced this??? I would appreciate any comments
Carrie D.

[RiverDog]

I have never used PD but years and years ago when I first started hemo they suggested giving PD a try and that was listed as one of the effects of it.

It is from the muscles being constantly stretched out by the 2 liters of fluid.

[shivashankerprasad]

tummy

well every time u infuse 2 litres of fluid ur weight is 2kg more.
peritonium do get stretched to adapt to the volume.
u have no problem.

[Sniper2937]

same thing

I have the same problem I have been on PD for 2 years now and I use big volumes 4 3300ml on the cycler at night and 2 2500ml exchanges during the day and my belt line has gotten a lot bigger. There is not much to do about it just look at it that you need a few new clothes in the wardrobe.

[MyssAnne]

Your height may actually have something to do with it.
I complained of this to my nurse, and she explained
that because of my height (short!), I would experience
the bloating a lot longer than someone who was taller
and could absorb the fluid in a greater area.

Not fair, that's for sure! I ended up getting new
clothes, as a previous poster suggested. I got
a lot of clothes with drawstring waists, and elastic
waists. Don't even bother with zippered, fitted pants.
At least not for now.

[angieskidney]

I have been on PD for 4 years (2001 to 2005 ... but now I am on hemo due to Peritonitis .. man that hurts!!) and I just wanted to say that people thought I was pregnant! Don't worry .. your stomach will go back down once you are off PD. Mine did .. even after 4 years of it non-stop (I never went dry like some people do). But I am lucky that I have such a long body (sadly though .. short legs .. but at least my body benefitted me when it came to PD )

[ulrika]

My daughter Sandra has been on PD since May/June/06, its hard to keep track sometimes. Her periods stopped right after the surgery for the catheter, and her belly looks like she is 5 months pregnant. As a family that jokes around a lot, we wonder what happened during surgery. All jokes aside, this is an additional sad side effect for a young woman to have to cope with. Sandra was never vain, however, she looked fantastic in everything she put on....she never had to worry about how she looked.
To all people that is travelling the journey of dialysis, waiting for a transplant, worried about transplant rejection, and those who for some reason cannot have a transplant, my heart goes out.

[angieskidney]

My daughter Sandra has been on PD since May/June/06, its hard to keep track sometimes. Her periods stopped right after the surgery for the catheter, and her belly looks like she is 5 months pregnant. As a family that jokes around a lot, we wonder what happened during surgery. All jokes aside, this is an additional sad side effect for a young woman to have to cope with. Sandra was never vain, however, she looked fantastic in everything she put on....she never had to worry about how she looked.
To all people that is travelling the journey of dialysis, waiting for a transplant, worried about transplant rejection, and those who for some reason cannot have a transplant, my heart goes out.

Ya people kept asking me if I was pregnant. I would rather people ask than assume and the ones who joke, I can laugh with them.

It did seem to keep the boys away however

Even now that I am on HD instead of PD my periods don't always come ... right now I haven't had one for 2 months .. but I know I am not pregnant, my hemoglobin is not too low, and I can't figure out any other reason other than .. this is just part of the side effects of dialysis ..

[goudrea]

PD and travelling

Doctor says PD is better for an active traveller.
Right now the dialysis is 'catheter' hemo...not yet ready for such an awful diagnosis. It takes time to adapt and the choice between PD and HD is quite difficult to take.
Any suggestions.
Can't imagine science hasn't évolved and it's still necessary to have a huge belly. Boy we go on the moon!

thanks

[shay_pcb]

It's not only the fluid being in the peritoneum that causes it your stomach to bloat. The sugar in the dialisate causes weight gain as well. I've been on PD for 8 months and have gained 20 lbs and still gaining. I don't even eat as much as I did before I started dialysis. And I too have the problem with the clothes not fitting anymore. I have sunk to buying stretchy pants also!! LOL

[angieskidney]

Doctor says PD is better for an active traveller.
Right now the dialysis is 'catheter' hemo...not yet ready for such an awful diagnosis. It takes time to adapt and the choice between PD and HD is quite difficult to take.
Any suggestions.
Can't imagine science hasn't évolved and it's still necessary to have a huge belly. Boy we go on the moon!

thanks

Ya it is hard to adapt but like always we find a way.

I had to buy all stretchy clothes.

Hey goudrea, have you checked out this fellow dialysis Canadian site: http://www.kidney-friends.net/ ? I thought it might be helpful.

I also have a thread on PD but instead of linking I will just put the same info here



You can see that the belly gets pushed out because of the fluid (Peritoneal Dialysate Solution).

Here is a great vid on PD: http://cbs2.healthology.com/hybrid/h..._name=cbs2&psv

I actually liked PD better than HD! Didn't have to worry about nurses screwing up my access by lack of experience and knowledge!

Oh and as for Shay's post, here are the Calories in PD:

[babydoll]

Re: Peritoneal Dialysis And Stomach Bloating

My periods stopped right after da cathether was inserted. Now my tummy is so damn bloated that I can hardly breath. I cry when night falls as I can't sleep. I'm sitting in my car in the garage all night while my family is sleeping peacefully in the house. I sit in the car as that's the only place it feels ok. Sitting on da lounge gives me cramps and extreme pain. The itching can kill. I have bruises and blood everywhere on my body. All my stylish high heeled shoes are collecting dust. I can only wear thongs now. But the worst is that I can barely walk. I just can't walk any more. No energy to do so. Lifting a leg is like lifting 10 kilos. I can't breath and it's getting worse. I pray daily now just asking god to call me to him as I can't take it anymore. I have had enuff. Can't bear the pain .....:-((

[jeffmoore]

Re: Peritoneal Dialysis And Stomach Bloating

Babydoll, Don't fret!, We all had a first time, and there is an adjustment to make, first have you just started PD? As far as what you are experiencing, I had a very difficult adjustment in the beginning. I was having trouble sleeping, when I first started I use to sleep in a recliner, but that soon discouraged me to the point that I wasn't even sleeping at night, I then decided to sleep in my bed, and my first experience with pain, was when I would fill, this went on for a few weeks, until my PD nurse, discovered that my intitial drain had to be adjusted, because when I would intitially drain, it would completely drain all the dwelled solution, and this would leave my tubing dangling in my abodomen, and that is where the pain comes from when I would fill, so she changed my initital drain to leave a little in, and also change my prescription to something called TIDAL, and this has help a great deal, I no longer have those cramps, but about five years ago, I developed a hernia, and the 1000 that I was dwelling during the day, was very taxing on my body, I could hardly breathe at times, so they changed my last fill to 800, so that it would relieve the pressure on my stomach, and I could tolerate the amount during the day. Babydoll, maybe you need to discuss your concerns with your PD nurse, because it sounds like you truly need to have some relief from your discomfort that you are experiencing. I hope this can be remedied real soon, and you could life productively with PD. I am in my 10th year of PD as we speak. I was previously on Hemo for ten years. Good Luck. And please don't give up. This is a very unique life that we all have to live, and there is no reason to think that it is the end. Hit me up anytime, if you have any concerns or uncertaintiies with peritoneal dialysis or even this very complex renal diet.

Glo

[jeffmoore]

Re: Peritoneal Dialysis And Stomach Bloating

I have been on PD for 4 years (2001 to 2005 ... but now I am on hemo due to Peritonitis .. man that hurts!!) and I just wanted to say that people thought I was pregnant! Don't worry .. your stomach will go back down once you are off PD. Mine did .. even after 4 years of it non-stop (I never went dry like some people do). But I am lucky that I have such a long body (sadly though .. short legs .. but at least my body benefitted me when it came to PD )

Angie, I read one of your post, and you stated that you are currently on hemo, I was under the impression that you still have your second transplant. Am I reading this correctly.

Glo

[babydoll]

Re: Peritoneal Dialysis And Stomach Bloating

Babydoll, Don't fret!, We all had a first time, and there is an adjustment to make, first have you just started PD? As far as what you are experiencing, I had a very difficult adjustment in the beginning. I was having trouble sleeping, when I first started I use to sleep in a recliner, but that soon discouraged me to the point that I wasn't even sleeping at night, I then decided to sleep in my bed, and my first experience with pain, was when I would fill, this went on for a few weeks, until my PD nurse, discovered that my intitial drain had to be adjusted, because when I would intitially drain, it would completely drain all the dwelled solution, and this would leave my tubing dangling in my abodomen, and that is where the pain comes from when I would fill, so she changed my initital drain to leave a little in, and also change my prescription to something called TIDAL, and this has help a great deal, I no longer have those cramps, but about five years ago, I developed a hernia, and the 1000 that I was dwelling during the day, was very taxing on my body, I could hardly breathe at times, so they changed my last fill to 800, so that it would relieve the pressure on my stomach, and I could tolerate the amount during the day. Babydoll, maybe you need to discuss your concerns with your PD nurse, because it sounds like you truly need to have some relief from your discomfort that you are experiencing. I hope this can be remedied real soon, and you could life productively with PD. I am in my 10th year of PD as we speak. I was previously on Hemo for ten years. Good Luck. And please don't give up. This is a very unique life that we all have to live, and there is no reason to think that it is the end. Hit me up anytime, if you have any concerns or uncertaintiies with peritoneal dialysis or even this very complex renal diet.

Glo

Thanks for the reply....What can I say? I mean for example...it was christmas 2 days ago and everyone was happy...talking about going on holidays to Egypt, London etc etc...busy drinking all nite having fun and I just looked at them and thought...who do I complain to reg. my concerns? I wanna go back to London too as that's my fave. place and also want to go to Egypt, etc etc as my goal for life was travelling the world and now am just stuck at home....doing dialysis every 4 hrs. I used to go shopping all day....now I have to rush back do dialysis and go back. I can't even travel far to do shopping...just local. Am also a diabetic so my restrictions contradict with each other and sometimes it gets very hard. I see happy people around me and I just miss being happy. I'm so very sad nowadays....it's killing me.