When diagnosed with chronic kidney failure, most patients often feel discouraged, hopeless, and despairing. However, medically, there are ways to care for the kidneys so that patients can live happily. One effective renal replacement therapy is “hemodialysis.” If patients and their close ones study and understand the principles of hemodialysis well, it will help make the treatment more effective.
What symptoms signal that it’s time to start hemodialysis?
For chronic kidney disease patients whose symptoms indicate the need for hemodialysis, they can be divided into two main groups.
Group 1 includes patients who were previously unaware they had kidney disease because they never had a health check-up but have symptoms such as frequent nighttime urination, foamy urine for many years, along with shortness of breath, fatigue, and loss of appetite for a long time. Even if they are not very old, if these symptoms persist, it may mean the kidneys have already deteriorated and may require hemodialysis.
Group 2 includes elderly patients who already have kidney disease and whose condition gradually worsens until they eventually need hemodialysis. The common symptoms indicating it’s time for hemodialysis include:
- Swelling, fatigue, and pulmonary edema with critically high waste accumulation. Although many patients may feel they still urinate and think their kidneys are not yet critical, in reality, if swelling and fatigue increase and pulmonary edema occurs, it means the kidneys are failing. Waste levels in the blood will gradually rise, and if left untreated without dialysis, patients will experience vomiting, nausea, drowsiness, fatigue, discomfort, and may even have seizures.
- Abnormal electrolytes or acidosis, which may cause irregular heartbeat, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. These electrolyte imbalances and acidosis usually accompany a sharp rise in kidney waste levels.
- Severely high blood pressure caused by fluid retention. When excess water and electrolytes accumulate in the body, blood pressure rises abnormally, from a normal range of 140-160 to 200 or higher. If such high blood pressure occurs for the first time along with swelling and fatigue, it suggests kidney deterioration to the point that dialysis is necessary.
Key principles to know for effective hemodialysis
First, chronic kidney failure patients and their close ones must understand that chronic kidney failure is a condition where the kidneys deteriorate and cannot function, requiring treatment that replaces kidney function. This means dialysis must be done for life and cannot be stopped. However, dialysis allows patients to live longer with a good quality of life, free from suffering caused by nausea, vomiting, fatigue, loss of appetite, and other symptoms of kidney failure.
In cases where patients want to stop dialysis and recover from kidney deterioration, kidney transplantation is the only option to replace the kidneys. Another important point to understand is that dialysis is not as frightening as it seems and is painless because it involves lying still while blood is taken out of the body to be cleaned of waste, balancing electrolytes and excess water, and then returning the clean blood to the body. Effective dialysis must be done strictly according to the doctor’s schedule, about 2-3 times per week, each session lasting about 4 hours. Following this schedule allows patients to live a normal life.
Benefits of choosing hemodialysis at Phyathai 3 Hospital
At Phyathai 3 Hospital, besides standard hemodialysis using the Conventional Hemodialysis method, there is also a more advanced and effective option using modern technology called Online-Hemodiafiltration, or simply “online hemodialysis.” This method has special features and advantages, such as more efficient waste removal, which helps reduce inflammation and vascular deterioration, thereby lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. Statistically, kidney disease patients often die from complications of ischemic heart disease. Additionally, this method prevents skin darkening, commonly known as “non-darkening dialysis skin,” because Online-Hemodiafiltration removes waste more effectively and does not cause the skin to darken as standard dialysis does. The term “Online” in the method’s name means that patient data is displayed on the screen during dialysis, allowing doctors to work smoothly, accurately, safely, and more effectively.
Most chronic kidney failure patients often feel discouraged and believe there is no cure, but in reality, patients can live long without suffering. They just need not to lose hope and receive proper dialysis treatment. The key to regaining strength is to open their hearts, listen to expert doctors’ advice, and strictly follow it. Family members must also provide support, stay by the patient’s side, and ensure continuous and proper treatment. Even with chronic kidney failure, patients can still live a quality, happy life as they wish.
Dr. Chotima Pisetkul
Internist, Specialist in Nephrology
Dialysis Center, Phyathai 3 Hospital
