Kidney Patient Guide

Has anyone got any tips on how to reduce the number of trips I have to make to the bathroom overnight, every hour it seems! I have thought about changing the time of day I take my furosemide, I currently take it first thing in the morning but think if I change it to early evening this might help? Any advice will be greatly appreciated

Lorna

Don't know if it works (too busy to try) but I was told if you lie on your bed for an hour in the afternoon, it reduces your night time weeing. You don't need to go to sleep (although that would be tempting) just the fact that your feet are up and you are semi recumbent. Sitting in a chair is not as good as the whole leg is not as raised.

If you do try this and it works, I'd love to hear.

I too have to get up a lot during the night at one point nearly every half hour. I am thinking there might be something in lying on your bed for an hour, I am so tired that recently I have taken to going to bed in the afternoon for an hour or so and my night time trips have gone down, I can now sleep for about 3 hours before I have to go so it might be worthwhile trying that out...................

Liz

Not sure that there is anything you can do. Do not hold back on drinking fluid or that will hasten the deterioration of your kidneys ( by the way, thirst is a poor indicator of thirst. Once you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated). Unfortunately, damaged kidneys lose diurnal rhythm and the ability to concentrate urine, so a double whammy for night time weeing.

I would think taking the furosemide later in the day will make matters worse. I try and concentrate most of my fluid intake into the earlier part of the day, I still drink in the evening, just not quite so much.

Thanks for the advice. As much as I would love to have a sleep each afternoon I don't think my boss would like it

Lorna

Didn't pee for over a year. Now I love getting up in the night for a pee.....never underestimate how nice it is to pee!

Still keep drinking plenty of water(within allowance) but try to drink less in late afternoon/evening

I have been there and worn the t-shirt.

Warning, what follows may not be medically correct, it is based upon my reasoning in search of a solution to the problem.

The kidneys should be shut down while asleep but with defective kidneys this function does not work therefore I pee at night.

If this were the result of what I had drunk before I went to bed then I would only have to get up once. This points to water held in tissue rather than being recovered in the usual way. Commonly shows up as swollen ankles/lower legs.

When laying down the blood circulation through the legs is restored, facilitating or even restarting the fluid to blood transfer. (When standing or sitting blood flow in the legs just about stops, as return blood circulation in the legs is dependant on leg muscles working i.e. walking, running, and to a lessor degree, balance correction.)

The fluid in tissue is transferred back to the blood relatively slowly, from there the kidneys can extract the water and direct it to the bladder hence the need to pee.

The frequency of emptying the bladder would suggest my bladder was not full, as it was more frequent than the slow transfer rate (mentioned above) would indicate.

Conclusion - I was not peeing out of need but because I thought I wanted to!
This could make sense, I am laying in bed looking for a reason for not being asleep. If I tell my bladder it needs emptying I now have a reason for being awake. Once or twice around this loop and it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.

Cure - Force myself to stay in bed until my bladder is full, to break the habit. The visits to the toilet should be in the 3 to 4hr time rang which is liveable with.

The renal unit will have a nurse trained in helping patients to re-gain control of their bladders, they usually work on, the signal to go, and getting it empty, that could be another solution to the problem.

A walk before bed-time will also help remove the fluid left in tissues or a session on a bike even an exercise bike.

I hope the above make sense and may help someone.

Once again your knowledge and the ability to put it all down on paper so to speak is awesome. I ofen wondered about all the night time peeing, now I have a better idea, I however have a bladder condition called interracial cystitis which causes all my night time peeing but to be fair I pee as often during the day due to the condition. I am sure that your information will indeed help someone Wagolynn we are lucky to have you...................


Liz

Hi lizbee,
Stop it now, you are making me blush...

wagolynn wrote:Hi lizbee,
Stop it now, you are making me blush...

Oh I can feel the heat from here Wagolynn....................

Liz

lizbee wrote:Once again your knowledge and the ability to put it all down on paper so to speak is awesome. I ofen wondered about all the night time peeing, now I have a better idea, I however have a bladder condition called interracial cystitis which causes all my night time peeing but to be fair I pee as often during the day due to the condition. I am sure that your information will indeed help someone Wagolynn we are lucky to have you...................
Liz

I think it may be worth mentioning to your doctor or consultant, if the night time toilet visits are getting you down. I have heard of interracial patients getting benefit from a bit of bladder control coaching, and there may be other things that can be done to help.
Sleep depravation can be a big problem especially as with a kidney condition depression is always prowling in the background.
Perhaps you have already explored that trail...

wagolynn wrote:

lizbee wrote:Once again your knowledge and the ability to put it all down on paper so to speak is awesome. I ofen wondered about all the night time peeing, now I have a better idea, I however have a bladder condition called interracial cystitis which causes all my night time peeing but to be fair I pee as often during the day due to the condition. I am sure that your information will indeed help someone Wagolynn we are lucky to have you...................
Liz

I think it may be worth mentioning to your doctor or consultant, if the night time toilet visits are getting you down. I have heard of interracial patients getting benefit from a bit of bladder control coaching, and there may be other things that can be done to help.
Sleep depravation can be a big problem especially as with a kidney condition depression is always prowling in the background.
Perhaps you have already explored that trail...

Hello Waglynn my doctors are aware of my bladder problem, I see a urologist as well for it but have been able to cut back the amount of times I go to the loo by a bit of bladder control and some drug therapy they gave me for it. That consisted of injection a drug direct into the bladder to help make it a bit more flexible like it should be, I had 6 sessions of this and the bladder control seemed to do the trick for me and I now manage about 3 hours sleep before I need to go which is brilliant for me. Sleep depravation is terrible and I was like a zombie during the day and night, even although very tired sleep seem to never come.

Can I ask you another question well I am here, to do with dialysis and the needles used for it. are there two needles inserted one for blood to leave your body and another for blood to return to your body I am so very curious about dialysis and all that it entails so I would be grateful for an answer if you have one ......thank you.......

Liz

Hi lizbee,

Yes, two needles as you thought, is the preferred way with a fistula, this gives the maximum flow rate. The needles are spaced apart (minimum distance apart, about 3inches in old money) to guard against the blood returning from the machine going back up the needle collecting blood from you. The lower needle is usually referred to as the Arterial needle, whilst the upper one is called the Venous needle but everyone understands, upper, and lower, so there is no need to remember.
There are two main ways of using two needles, the first method, the needles (sharp) are inserted into new positions in the blood vessel at each session, this is done starting low down on the arm and moving up a little each time, called the ladder technique.
The second method is to use the same hole every time, called button hole technique. Button hole uses sharp needles for the first few times, then when a regular channel is formed blunt needles are used. Using button hole the fistula will last for many years but some units say they cannot use this method as the same person ought to insert the needles each time and this is not possible. It is better if the same person insert the needles while the button hole is being formed but after that, providing the staff know how to treat a button hole, anyone can do it.

A neckline, usually used when patients needed urgent dialysis. A tube is inserted into one of the major blood vessels that run up the neck but not usually actually in the neck, more often, in the chest, on the right, between breast and shoulder, near the collar bone. This is a single tube which is inserted in the blood vessel, coming out through the skin and has a plastic fitting on the end. The plastic fitting has, at it's other end two connections for blood lines from the machine, these join together inside the fitting to the tube in the blood vessel. This system is intended for temporary use only as there is a risk of infection where the tube passes into the body and the incoming and out going blood has to pass through the same tube restricting the maximum flow rate.

These may be of interest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemodialysis
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=fis ... &FORM=IGRE
Don't spend too much time looking at them and getting all worried.

Wagolynn thanks for the information and the explantion of the tubes and needles I am now a little more aware of what is needed. I have just skimmed over the link you gave me and I will look at again in more detail. You are a mindful of knowledge and I am grateful you took the time to give me all that information..............thank you............


Liz