Someone very dear to me and my family has been diagnosed with End Stage Renal Failure. This means that she her kidney's can no longer do their function and if without further treatment is going to kill her. Options available as stated below are treatments such as Dialysis or through a transplant.
Currently she has been going through Dialysis for approximately 4 years now and the money that is being spent on her is close to about $100 a week and is greatly affecting the family financially as well as emotionally. To be honest I don't really know where to start and suggestions and recommendations as to where to go from here would be most appreciated. Here in the Philippines People with this type of disease does not have access to better options.
Below is a summary of what she is experiencing right now.
End-stage renal failure (or late chronic renal insufficiency)
The terms end-stage renal failure and end-stage renal disease are used interchangeably, and the abbreviation ESRD is commonly used. Typically, patients will have kidney function in the area of 10-15% or so. These are the common symptoms you may experience at this stage (and some people may start experiencing some of these earlier):
- Symptoms
- anemia (may begin earlier than this)
- easy bleeding and bruising
- headache
- fatigue and drowsy feeling (more than normal or usual for you)
- weakness
- mental symptoms such as lowered mental alertness, trouble concentrating, confusion, seizures
- nausea, vomiting, and generally less desire to eat
- thirst
- muscle cramps, muscle twitching
- nocturia (night-time urination)
- numb sensation in the extremities
- diarrhea
- itchy skin, itchy eyes
- skin colour changes (grayish complexion, sometimes yellowish-brownish tone)
- swelling and puffiness (more than you had while in advanced renal failure, and most likely in the feet and/or ankles)
- difficulty breathing (due to fluid in the lungs, anemia)
- high blood pressure (with IgAN, you may already have had this since the early stages)
- decreased sexual interest
- changes in menstrual cycle (and difficulty getting pregnant)
- decreased urine output (however, you should be aware that some people with ESRD will continue to get rid of water as urine, but not wastes - therefore, the urine may be very clear and normal-looking, and some may have increased urine output rather than decreased).
- poor digestion (varying degrees of gastroparesis).
- Treatment
The exact time that dialysis starts will vary slightly depending on various factors. Consult your nephrologist.
- Dialysis
- Kidney transplant
