High creatinine reading indicates need for dialysis?

Question

I notice that doctors tend to push dialysis for a patient with high creatinine; and I suspect that a lot of patients get on dialysis too early and thus unnecessarily.

What is the observation of people in this regard? My own opinion based on contacts with people who have successfully avoided dialysis is to see if you can bring down your creatinine level to the range normal with yourself considering your age and sex and other peculiar conditions.

Before kidneys finally stop working altogether and you will enter the phase where death watch is irreversible, modern medicine can always get you to keep you alive, yes with dialysis.

But not with the heart: when it stops it might not get pumping again even with all the wonders of modern medicine. The heart is the organ to watch out for by early instead of too late medical intervention.

Try everything you can to stave off dialysis, restore the normal function of the kidneys by all possible means first.

What do you guys say?

Answer 1

I disagree with you, I think it is better to start dialysis while you have some kidney function because it makes the transition easier. If you Wait until "kidneys finally stop working altogether" before starting dialysis it will be much harder on your body.

The hardest way to start dialysis is to show up at a hospital on death's door and have dialysis that night after the placement of a catheter. If you are seeing a clear trend of diminishing kidney function you should prepare for dialysis by having a a/v fistula created. The hope is that it will mature by the time you have to have your first treatment and you will be able to start treatment without ever having a catheter.

Even better would be to start with peritoneal dialysis. Studies have shown that peritoneal dialysis helps to maintain kidney function. Which gets back to the fundamental reason I think your logic is flawed - starting dialysis with some kidney function is much easier than starting dialysis with no kidney function.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

When you have high creatinine you need dialysis. You can do dialysis and watch your creatinine labs and see if they come down. If it looks like you are regaining kidney function, your doctor can have you hold dialysis for a treatment or two and recheck your creatinine after that. I have seen about 3 or 4 people regain function in the 18 months I've been a dialysis technician. It's rare, but it happens. And always be willing to get a second opinion.

Answer 4

Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR): Your GFR tells how much kidney function you have. It may be estimated from your blood level of creatinine. If your GFR falls below 30 you will need to see a kidney disease specialist (called a nephrologist), Your kidney doctor will speak to you about treatments for kidney failure like dialysis or kidney transplant. A GFR below 15 indicates that you need to start one of these treatments. I would see a nephrologist right away.

For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDBCn

Answer 5

There are lots of kidney and dialysis patients that can help answer this question at http://www.ihatedialysis.com - go to the forum and post a question - it's a really great group of people with experience and knowledge to share.

Answer 6

Hello,
One of the most common signs of Alzheimer's is memory loss, especially forgetting recently learned information. Others include forgetting important dates or events, asking for the same information over and over, increasingly needing to rely on memory aids (e.g., reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own. If you want to know more about how to solve this memory related issues you absolutely have to visit this site http://memoryloss.toptips.org
Bye