I've just completed the 3rd surgery on the fistula in my arm. This time it needed a patch to strength the blood flow throughout the arm....

Dialysis is loud.  There are alarms, staff yelling across the room to each other, lids slamming, the door buzzing to open and close,...

I think the hardest part for me being on dialysis is limiting my liquid intake.  You really must think about all the things that break...

Have you ever had cramps in your legs in the middle of the night?  The kind that shoots you out of bed with intense pain.  Well, welcome...

When I go to dialysis, I take a lot of stuff with me.  I have a blanket, pillow, heating pad for my shoulders, arm warmers, my purse...

My dialysis center has a dietician on staff a couple days a week. When I first started dialysis, she sat with me and asked me a ton of...

One of the side effects of dialysis is dry skin.  Makes sense since they are pulling fluid out of your body almost every other day. No...

Today I got my letter accepting me into the transplant program at a local hospital.  I’m not a stranger to transplant.  8 years ago, I...

In 5 months, my phosphate dropped from an 11 to a 4.5.  It wasn’t just eating plant-based cheese or eliminating high phosphate foods from...

Every month the dialysis center does a specific set of blood tests.  One is a phosphate test.  I knew nothing about phosphate. Now I know...

It’s been about 8 weeks since my fistula surgery.  I head back to the doctor for my final check-up.  Once released, the dialysis center...

There are dark days on dialysis when you think about the restrictions on food, liquid consumption and travel it can take you into a tailspin

Birthdays are different now.  I used to hate getting older.  Now, I am glad I have them…it means I’m still alive!  This year, my birthday...

Since I started dialysis, I have felt much better.  I believe my body was just overloaded with toxins since my demise of my kidneys. Even...

I am the kind of person who loves to take a shower in the morning.  It’s like my cup of coffee – it wakes me up and helps me get going! ...

Driving with a catheter in your chest can be quite uncomfortable, especially when your catheter is on the left side of your chest.  The...

When you have a fistula, you can no longer have your blood pressure checked on that arm.   You also can’t have blood drawn from it or...

Emergency dialysis requires a chest catheter.  This method of getting dialysis in not sustainable…. the risk of infection is too high,...

My work has been amazing with all my appts and surgeries but having to go to dialysis 3 days a week, in the middle of the day, meant I...

After the first day of treatment, my back was killing me.  Not sure if my kidneys were in shock or if it was sore from the recliner at...