Hey out there, I have pritonitis and the culprit is yeast,and the lab can't identify what kind, all they know is that it's not one of the usual kind. I was hospitalized for 6dys and have been on antib. since. 2/that i injected into 2/separate midday exchanges and 2/orally. I'm done with the injections, but i'm still taking the other two. I must say that i have not felt my best, in fact, there are times that i feel awful. I'm takng diflucan and one other antib. that i've never heard of, my doc says that this new med. is making me feel this way, so he cut the dosage from 1000mg to 500mg. This has helped, and although I still do not want to eat, and somtimes i vomit or just fell tired, it's not as bad as it was. When the lab tested diflucan and the other drug to see if they were effective in killing this type of yeast, the diflucan only responded intrmdly. and the
other drug came closer to killing it. When i'm done w/treatment, if the yeast is not gone, then the cath. has to be removed and a temporary cath. will have to be put in and i'll have to go on hemo for a while until my peritoneal lining heal's. I am really afraid of hemo, I've been on dialysis for 2 1/2yrs and only 2months of that was hemo w/a graft. I was so very depressed, and afraid everyday.
I DO NOT KNOW WHAT SCARES ME MOST, THE PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH HAVING THE TEMPORARY CATH. PUT IN(WITH THE LITTLE BIT OF MED.THEY GIVE),OR BEING ON HEMO AGAIN. PLEASE SOMEONE RESPOND
THANK YOU,
KAT!

Kat:

Please hang in there, and know that my thoughts are with you right now.

If the antibiotics and antifungals that you are on are even midly effective in treating the fungal (yeast) infection that you have, chances are good that you will be able to stay on PD.

BUT, even if your peritonitis goes away, your membrane may be damaged and will need a break. I know it must be terrifying to think about changing modalities now, but if you don't resume hemo if you really need to, you will end up feeling worse simply because you won't get adequate dialysis.

Enough of that, however, since I think I am probably preaching to the choir, and you probably know all of that.

What scared you the most about hemo? If it is just the insertion of the catheter, ask the doctor to give your more medication prior to inserting it. It is not unknown to have a patient be put to sleep almost to have a catheter inserted.

If it is that you had a bad experience, remember that you aren't new to dialysis anymore. You have stabilized and your BUN and creatinine levels are probably lower than they were when you first started on dialysis. This goes a long way in simply making you feel better no matter what the type of dialysis you are on.

There will be adjustments, of course. Your diet may need to be modified, and you may need to rearrange your schedule. I am sorry that this is happening to you and wish there was more that I could say or do to help you with this situation.

Can I do anything to help?

Please let us know how things turn out for you.

Carol