Managing a chronic condition like End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) can be difficult. You may mourn the life you had before your diagnosis and struggle to cope with all the new challenges you face. In today’s article, we’ll go over the top six challenges patients with ESRD face and tips on how to combat them.

Uncomfortable Side Effects:

Uncomfortable physical side effects often come with dialysis treatment, and they can definitely make life a little more difficult. They may include things like fatigue, low blood pressure, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, muscle cramps, difficulty sleeping, and loss of sex drive. If these side effects are causing you problems and affecting your daily life, talk to your doctor about them.

Weakened Immune System:

An impaired immune system is associated with chronic conditions like ESRD. Especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, this can be really scary. However, precautionary steps like wearing a mask out in public, especially during cold and flu season, and getting the COVID-19 and flu vaccine are great ways to protect yourself. If you’re still concerned, talk to your doctor about other ways to protect or boost your immune system.

Managing Appointments:

With a condition like ESRD, there can be lots of doctors’ appointments and treatments to manage. Even if you are able to do home hemodialysis, you and your dialysis partner will still have to designate a time for dialysis treatments several times a week, and this can be a hard adjustment to make. However, flexible treatment options like home hemodialysis or even peritoneal dialysis can help with this issue, as they can give you more control and flexibility with your treatments.

Medical Bills:

With all those treatments and doctors’ appointments come medical bills and financial worries. If your treatments impact your ability to work, this only adds to the problem. If financial worries are a concern of yours, talk to your social worker about resources that may be available to you.

Dietary Restrictions:

Nobody likes to be told what they can or can’t eat, which makes the special diet and restricted fluids necessary for patients on dialysis difficult. However, if this is something you’re struggling with, it may help to talk to your doctor about a referral to a dietician that can help make your new diet less overwhelming.

Mental Health:

With all the stress of uncomfortable side effects, a weakened immune system, managing appointments and treatments, financial worries, and a new diet, some patients with ESRD may suffer from anxiety and/or depression. This is not uncommon in patients with chronic conditions, but there are things you can do to help.

• Ask your medical team about a local support group.
• Avoid negative coping mechanisms like alcohol and substance abuse.
• Look into activities like meditation that can lower stress.
• Let go of obligations you don’t need or want to do.
• Ask for help when you need it.
• Stay in touch with loved ones and use that support system.
• Eat a healthy diet and get as much physical activity as you’re able to.

Health Systems Management, a dialysis management company, is based in Tifton, Georgia. Our company provides turnkey dialysis management services to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist dialysis clinics in North Carolina and Emory Healthcare dialysis clinics in the Atlanta, Georgia area. For more information about Health Systems Management, our locations and job openings for RNs, LPNs, PCTs and CCHTs please visit: healthsystemsinc.com

Primary Source: my.clevelandclinic.org