Fighting Fluid Retention on Peritoneal Dialysis Vol 2: Weight Loss on Dialysis Prescription Change
Hello There! Welcome back to the Summer 2023, where I struggled through another change in my Peritoneal Dialysis Prescription change. I shifted from my classic 2 Big Baxter Yellows and half a purple day fill to what feels like a whopping 1 Big Green, 1 Big Yellow, a mini yellow and more than half of a purple day fill. It may not seem like a massive change but wow.... my body felt the change!
.... and I'm going to complain about it here!
... but first the ...
The Good
Water Weight Loss
On the new regime, I experienced rapid weight loss over the course of the first week. After a month of steadily accumulating fluid around my body, my weight was being pushed as high as 56kg. However, on the new regime, I was consistently losing 2kgs a night and keeping the weight off until I reached my true dry weight (plus day fill) of 52.5kg. Absolutely insane!
Each day in the mirror, I saw a slightly different person. It actually did kinda wonders to my self image as the puffy face and swollen limbs went down dramatically overnight. I also felt lighter on my feet and felt generally healthier. It was a bit alarming but I also felt I could breathe better like there was a weight off my body.
It always astounds me how easy it is to get used to feeling poorly and get on with your day. After 48hrs, I felt much stronger, lighter and was generally happier as a result.
Eczema Subsided
Another dramatic transformation was the subsiding of my stubborn hand eczema. This has been persistently scaling up my index knuckle on my right hand since starting home PD. No doubt the endless handwashing and repeated use of alcohol rub was aggravating this scaley condition. However, on this new regime, I saw a signifciant reduction in inflammation and the gradual healing of the skin!!! I cannot give any medical reason but it was a welcomed retreat. The skin still gets dried out from the handwashing and the alcohol rub but it is no longer the broken, flakey, stinging patch that it once was! I'm hoping with a regular ceramide emollient cream I can get rid of it for good 😁.
Acne Subsided
It took several weeks to notice but the Acne that I developed the moment I came home from hospital began to subside. I have never had cystic acne previous to kidney failure other than maybe the odd regular breakouts during puberty but on home dialysis I experienced the angry, scarring type of acne. It was awful, not only was my internal body giving up but my skin was just so textured all over. I think old friends who saw me saw the acne before they saw my PD catheter!
None of the GP medications really worked and my breakouts followed the monthly cycles. However, on the new regime, I saw that my acne really started to calm down. I wasn't having massive massive breakouts and its back to more manageable non-painful breakouts that come and go and DON'T leave scars. In all honesty, I don't care about the breakout as long as it goes away. I've been so happy the acne has gone dormant, I am now just treating my hyperpigmentation and counting my blessings that I no longer painful spots anymore!
My only guess is that the dialysis is removing the water or toxins that is causing the acne or inflaming the eczema!
Gratitude Boost
Upon writing up this little post, I have begun to feel a lot better about it all. There is a lot of good that came through the pain of the regime change, in addition to just feeling generally better and having better health outcomes. I guess the nephrologist really do know what they're doing!
I think I shall postpone the Bad and the Ugly parts of the regime change for next time. As I began to type up those sections, I felt the darkness crawling back.
If anything this can only show the power of positive journaling and gratitude dumping. Perhaps give it a try if you're struggling through a regime change like I am.
Stay Positive Everyone!
Lai
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IG:@My_Kidney_and_Lai
