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Hemodialysis - overheating/outofbreath/sickness

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 1:11 pm
by Dyi
Hi everyone.
So I have been dialysis-ing since 2017, first on capd then apd and now hemo. Reason for the changes is that both capd and apd stopped working. Been on hemo for almost a month and a half and its not going well.
On friday of last week toward the end of a 3 n half hr exchange on the machine I experienced my body suddenly becoming boiling hot, making me sweat profusely, then I couldn't catch my breath and was painfully vomiting (sorry for graphicness of this post), I thought that perhaps it was because I may have been constipated having not opened my bowls before. However the same thing happened on monday again near the end of the exchange minus the vomiting this time. I had not eaten deliberately after the first time to make sure I was empty this time.
I am worried that this will happen again and it is making me apprehensive about going back on the machine, I also starting to fear that hemo may not be working.
My nurse suspected it was a panic attack and yet I don't know of any panic attack that has me going from a calm sleep to suddenly feeling like I am being cooked from the inside.

Anyone experienced this or has some knowledge that can help stop this happening again, please get in contact.

Re: Hemodialysis - overheating/outofbreath/sickness

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 4:31 pm
by wagolynn
Hi Dyi,
Sounds as though you have had a bad time, vomiting is never fun.
It doe's sound like a panic attack.

I have been dialysing on Haemodialysis for about 9 years now, whilst I have not experienced the effects you describe, I have seen other patients have similar episodes.

There was a patient who vomited, she became very worried about vomiting, and did so for several sessions until she was put alongside an older lady who loved to talk (she had some interesting stories from her life), the sick patient listened to the stories, and forgot to be sick (her own words), after that she was not sick again.

I have seen patients have panic attacks, usually after a few sessions, they had some worries about the process, and had kept them bottled up rather than asking about them, once they got their worries cleared away they were ok.

It is not unusual for new patients to have some problems as the body chemistry is subject to a quick change, and it takes a while for the patients system to learn to accommodate this, were you having a large amount of fluid taken off?

There are a few patients, very few, who are allergic to the dialyser materials, it take several sessions to find this because it is so unusual.
Of course the manufactures make every effort to prevent this by carful choice of materials etc.

The principal way to check if dialysis is working is by your blood results, are they all within the target ranges?

I find it best to eat around 1 to 2 hrs before dialysis, we were also having drinks and a biscuit twice in each session, but due to the virus problem we are now wearing masks throughout the session making it impossible to eat and drink.

Remember, dialysis is a well sorted process, the unit staff are there to protect you, and modern machines will stop the process if they detect anything that will harm the patient so the risk of things going wrong are very low.
So try to relax, and let the staff and machines get on with it.

If you have questions just ask, I find it a big help to learn about the condition and the treatment.
The more you understand, the less there is to fear.

Let us know how you get on, someone else may be able to make some suggestions.

Best wishes.

Re: Hemodialysis - overheating/outofbreath/sickness

Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 1:48 pm
by Thumps
I had wondered whether some of it might be a reaction to the dialyser materials, Dyi

Anyone else got any ideas to suggest to Dyi? I haven't experienced dialysis so have nothing to offer :(

Re: Hemodialysis - overheating/outofbreath/sickness

Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2020 6:26 pm
by JMan
Here we go again. Staff not fully informed/trained/or aware of dialysis side effects, can't or don't give an informed answer to patient, or give a 'fob off one'.


There are many things that can give similar effects. Is the machine your on set to 'profiling' sometimes called 'sodium profiling' this is where more fluid is taken off at the beginning. The size of the dialyser might be too big (artificial kidney). The dialysate concentrate might be too harsh on you (low potassium or calcium really makes me feel ill).
The pump speed might be too high. Are you eating or drinking on dialysis, its best to do so at the beginning of the session.
They need to TRY alternatives as well as monitoring your blood results.

Whats you weight gain between sessions, taking too much off too quickly really isn't great for you or your heart. Again if they are trying to they may have the flow rate' thats the dialysate flow rate. https://www.kidneypatientguide.org.uk/HDanim.php

Hope you can work something out, try and discuss it with your consultant. Heamo is a crude and harsh treatment that needs to be managed well.

Re: Hemodialysis - overheating/outofbreath/sickness

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 5:35 pm
by Thumps
Thanks JMan - Dyi is a friend of mine so i've passed this on to him. He's a bit lost with things at the moment so I hope he finds your advice valuable.