Guest guest Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 As I said in another post this morning... Dialysis patients have the legal right to suicide - just by stopping treatment. But you know, nobody does that, except maybe people who are very sick in other ways. I mean, just being on dialysis isn't a reason to kill oneself. Humans are incredibly resilient. Why should anyone kills themselves over a treatment that only takes a few hours? Sometimes, on my more morbid days, I think that, if it weren't for the dialysis machine, I would have expired in 2002. So now, I'm actually dead, walking the earth like some kind of zombie from the Night of the Living Dead... My family doesn't like to hear that : ) It's not different really than people with many diseases who would have been dead a long time ago without treatment. Life just goes one, and you adapt to the changes. I've heard of some people who hold the threat of stopping treatment over their family's head like a sword of Damocles. Many times, people who do choose no treatment are very quick to get back into treatment as the end approaches. The will to live is very strong. Speaking of swords of Damocles.... Look, it's a change in our way life when we reach esrd. There's no doubt about it, and, if the circumstances are that you can't work reliably, and you don't have some terrific disability insurance package, there will be some material adjustments to make. But, there's a way to be philosophical about it. Material wealth and expensive possessions are meaningless, really. There are two ways to be rich. One is to have lots of money and possessions, and the other is to not need too many " things " . As long as our basic needs are met, life can be good without having to worry about a bunch of expensive possessions. This is a good, because by now, I've pretty much run out of things to sell off : ) Pierre Re: Refusing Dialysis? Jing Wow...someone was actually in this group refusing dialysis. I would love to know what has happened to Tony as well. After I took ill my aunt was so amazed with my strength that she decided to become a dialysis nurse and loves it. She talks about me to all her patients to inspire them. They all look forward to finally meeting me. After her maternity leave is over...I did agree to accompany her to work one day. Tony....where are you? I hope your ok! Marcia Jing son wrote: Hi Marcia, You remind me of another member here who refused to do dialysis (hope my memory is right). He had a tx last May, I think. Has anybody heard how Tony is doing? Take care, Jing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Another classic post by Pierre ... you always give us something to think about Thanks Aruna --- Pierre Lachaine wrote: > As I said in another post this morning... > > Dialysis patients have the legal right to suicide - > just by stopping > treatment. But you know, nobody does that, except > maybe people who are very > sick in other ways. I mean, just being on dialysis > isn't a reason to kill > oneself. Humans are incredibly resilient. Why should > anyone kills themselves > over a treatment that only takes a few hours? > > Sometimes, on my more morbid days, I think that, if > it weren't for the > dialysis machine, I would have expired in 2002. So > now, I'm actually dead, > walking the earth like some kind of zombie from the > Night of the Living > Dead... My family doesn't like to hear that : ) > > It's not different really than people with many > diseases who would have been > dead a long time ago without treatment. Life just > goes one, and you adapt to > the changes. > > I've heard of some people who hold the threat of > stopping treatment over > their family's head like a sword of Damocles. Many > times, people who do > choose no treatment are very quick to get back into > treatment as the end > approaches. The will to live is very strong. > > Speaking of swords of Damocles.... > > Look, it's a change in our way life when we reach > esrd. There's no doubt > about it, and, if the circumstances are that you > can't work reliably, and > you don't have some terrific disability insurance > package, there will be > some material adjustments to make. But, there's a > way to be philosophical > about it. Material wealth and expensive possessions > are meaningless, really. > There are two ways to be rich. One is to have lots > of money and possessions, > and the other is to not need too many " things " . As > long as our basic needs > are met, life can be good without having to worry > about a bunch of expensive > possessions. This is a good, because by now, I've > pretty much run out of > things to sell off : ) > > Pierre > > Re: Refusing Dialysis? > > > > Jing > > Wow...someone was actually in this group refusing > dialysis. I would love to > know what has happened to Tony as well. > > After I took ill my aunt was so amazed with my > strength that she decided to > become a dialysis nurse and loves it. She talks > about me to all her > patients to inspire them. They all look forward to > finally meeting me. > After her maternity leave is over...I did agree to > accompany her to work one > day. > > Tony....where are you? I hope your ok! > > Marcia > > Jing son wrote: > > Hi Marcia, > > You remind me of another member here who refused to > do dialysis (hope my > memory is right). He had a tx last May, I think. > > Has anybody heard how Tony is doing? > > Take care, > Jing > > > > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 " So now, I'm actually dead, walking the earth like some kind of zombie from the Night of the Living Dead... " Ya but you're still expected to pay your taxes. Pierre you put dialysis into a perspective that not many people could. Thanks! Amy G. Re: Refusing Dialysis? Jing Wow...someone was actually in this group refusing dialysis. I would love to know what has happened to Tony as well. After I took ill my aunt was so amazed with my strength that she decided to become a dialysis nurse and loves it. She talks about me to all her patients to inspire them. They all look forward to finally meeting me. After her maternity leave is over...I did agree to accompany her to work one day. Tony....where are you? I hope your ok! Marcia Jing son wrote: Hi Marcia, You remind me of another member here who refused to do dialysis (hope my memory is right). He had a tx last May, I think. Has anybody heard how Tony is doing? Take care, Jing To edit your settings for the group, go to our Yahoo Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iga-nephropathy/ To unsubcribe via email, iga-nephropathy-unsubscribe Visit our companion website at www.igan.ca. The site is entirely supported by donations. If you would like to help, go to: http://www.igan.ca/id62.htm Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Pierre wrote: Dialysis patients have the legal right to suicide - > just by stopping > treatment. But you know, nobody does that, except > maybe people who are very > sick in other ways. I mean, just being on dialysis > isn't a reason to kill > oneself. Humans are incredibly resilient. Why should > anyone kills themselves > over a treatment that only takes a few hours? This is very true. At least there is a treatment. Living without treatment, that's what would be the pitts. Does dialysis hurt? I am not there yet, so just wondering... -beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2004 Report Share Posted December 10, 2004 A person who would be scheduled for dialysis, at about 10% kidney function, might possibly be able to live for a long while without dialysis, but it wouldn't be healthy to do so. It's better to start dialysis early. Starting it later brings with it all sorts of complications. Dialysis doesn't hurt. I mean, there are times when various things can happen. For example, on hemodialysis, a person who eats too much salt and therefore drinks too much in between treatment would have to have so much fluid removed the next treatment that he/she would likely experience some pretty bad cramps. But if you follow your diet and your fluid restriction, that doesn't happen. When you first start dialysis with a new fistula, the fistula can be a little painful due to spasming and sometimes cramps lower in the arm. But that's only for a few treatments, while the fistula toughens and your arm's circulation adjusts. The needles aren't painless, but, there are ways to make them totally painless. The nurse can inject anasthetic with tiny little needles. That makes the area of the fistual totally numb. Or you can put on Emla cream on your needles sites about an hour before. That too makes it pretty much painless. At my dialysis centre, they also have some kind of freezing liquid they can spray on. That takes cares of much of the pain, but it's not totally painless. As time goes by, the nerves at the needles sides become deadened and you don't feel much unless the nurse needles in a new spot. For the past year, I haven't used anything at all. I just go cold turkey, and it's not bad at all. With PD, the possible sources of pain are different. There can be cramping in the abdomen, especially if the dialysate isn't warmed to the right temperature. Constipation is a frequent problem too. Pierre Re: Refusing Dialysis? > > Pierre wrote: > > Dialysis patients have the legal right to suicide - > > just by stopping > > treatment. But you know, nobody does that, except > > maybe people who are very > > sick in other ways. I mean, just being on dialysis > > isn't a reason to kill > > oneself. Humans are incredibly resilient. Why should > > anyone kills themselves > > over a treatment that only takes a few hours? > > > This is very true. At least there is a treatment. Living without treatment, that's what would be the pitts. Does dialysis hurt? I am not there yet, so just wondering... > > -beth > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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