I have been on PD now since August. Occasionally, probably at least three times each week, I will get excrutiating back pain during my treatments. I will wake up with so much pain in my lower back that I will have to sit up and will hardly be able to catch my breath. The pain seems to be very localized in the area where my kidneys are. It is deep, not a muscular pain. I only get these pains during my treatments. Once I disconnect and get up and walk around, the pains cease. Is this normal? Is it something I should be worried about? Other than this, I feel exceptionally better than I ever did on hemo so do not want to have to go back to that. Please advise....

I assume you are cycling from reading your post.

Is your dialysate warm? If not, I have heard of this type of pain with cold dialysate.

Is it possible that you are receiving some air in the fill cycle?

Check both of these things and let us know.

I would share this problem with your PD nurse in the interim. If you are not running a fever, and have no other signs of infection (cloudy fluid, consistent pain, chills), this is probably not a big deal. More than likely, this is simply something we need to figure out how to get to the bottom of.

By the way, how long have you had this pain? Does it happen ever night? Does the pain ever move, or is it always in your back?

If you do have signs of infection, or if this pain radiates down your arm or is in the center of your chest, you should immediately seek medical attention.

Carol

[This message has been edited by Carol Isaac MacKusick (edited 10-12-2001).]

Carol,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, the dialisate is warm. I am using a Baxter cycler which warms the bags and will not start the treatment unless the bags are adequately warmed. The pains are not every night and they are always in the same place. There are no signs of infection. My drain bag is always clear, with the exception of some occasional fibrin. I don't see any way that air could be getting in the lines. The cycler will not allow me to start my treatment until the lines are properly primed. The pains occur every two to three nights. They are very localized, never going anywhere other than my lower back.

I will call my PD nurse and discuss it with her. I wondered if it could be caused by a vitamin deficiency.

Mick:

If it is a vitamin deficiency, this is a new one to me.

Let me know what your PD nurse says.

Does anyone else have any ideas?

Carol