I have stage 5

[marcdanna]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and have to say I'm a bit overwhelmed at this whole ESRD thing. My wife and I knew about the kidneys going bad 2yrs ago when I had to have a stint put into my heart, but had no idea I would progress so quickly to stage 5. I am absolutely terrified about having to go on a machine to live and wonder if it's really what I want to do. Can someone who has decided not to do it tell me how bad I am to expect things to get and how soon. My number was 13 but bounced back up to 18 at my last blood test a couple of weeks ago. I am set up for a vein mapping and will get fistula I suppose in the next month or so.

[cpi3per1]

Welcome to DaVita marcdanna. I am sorry to hear you got so bad so fast, but keep in mind that you will only be on a machine for 3 or 4 hours at a time. I am not personally on dialysis yet, but I am stage 4, so it probably won't be too much longer. On the other hand it could be years. That's the strange thing about this disease, you can be in a certain stage for years if you eat right and exercise and drink lots of water. I think I've been in stage 4 for about 5 years so far. It definitely is an overwhelming disease when you first hear the diagnosis, but don't look at stage 5 as being "the end" because as I said you could live many years by following what your nephrologist tells you. There are also several different kinds of dialysis if one would work better for you than another. If you check out all the subjects in the "forums", you are bound to find an explanation of all the different kinds of dialysis and how people react to them. Good luck with everything marcdanna; I hope all goes well for you.

[Harmony313]

I had the same experience.. stint in my heart and stage 5. I got a fistula bc they had to start dialysis right away when i was still in th hospital. I have been going 3 days a week, 4 hours at a time and I have to say I hate being confined to a chair and I hate the needle pokes. I researched other option and now I am having surgery next week to get a cathader put in my stomach to do PD at home. I advise you look into that option. You treat yourself at home and no blood I involved. Trust me, I was overwhelmed at first but learn all you can and take it one day at a time. Do not give up!!