Recommended Diet for a Dialysis Patient

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While you’re on dialysis, it’s important to be cognizant of what you’re eating. While on dialysis, it’s important to monitor your intake of sodium, potassium, protein, phosphorus, and the amount of fluids in the foods you consume. The best option would be to meet with a kidney dietician, however here’s a helpful guide to get you started today.

Low-Sodium
While on dialysis, keep your sodium intake to less than 2,000 mm per day. Many of the foods we eat today have sodium added as a preservative. Be sure to read labels and avoid canned foods that are high in sodium. Shop for snacks that are low-sodium or don’t have salt added. It’s good to keep in mind that if food has the label “low-sodium,” it could mean a lot of potassium has been added to substitute the salt.

Low-Potassium
Whole grain foods, bananas, tomatoes, potatoes, orange juice, and cereals can all contain high amounts of potassium. Good substitutions for these foods are choosing white bread instead of whole grain, rice over pasta, and fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, cucumbers, carrots, and applesauce.

Lean-Protein
Sources of protein, such as meat, is a key ingredient in your dialysis diet. Choose lean meats that don’t have a high content of salt or any added gravies. These meats can be beef, fish, chicken, and pork. You can also achieve your protein goals by eating foods like black beans, kidney beans, nut butter, and limited amounts of cheese.

Low-Phosphorus
Foods that are high in phosphorus are dairy products, meats, and whole grains. As mentioned above, meats can be an excellent source of protein for patients on dialysis, so be sure to eat whole grains and dairy products in moderation.

Plenty of Fluids
The amount of fluids you should drink will depend on the amount of urine your kidneys produce, so pay close attention to your doctor’s recommendation. Juices that are good for kidney dialysis patients are apple, grape, and cranberry juice. You can also drink tea, water, and clear sodas to keep yourself hydrated.

What People on Dialysis Want You to Know

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What people on dialysis want you to know by Jamie StanosBeing on dialysis is a tough experience.  If somebody you know and care about is on dialysis, here are some things they want you to know, based off a blog post I recently read:

You don’t understand what it’s like: You’ll never understand what it’s like to be on dialysis, but that’s okay.  Somebody on dialysis will always appreciate the effort you make to understand their situation and cater to their needs.

They’ll be upset sometimes, but it isn’t about you: Even if somebody on dialysis is upset when you visit them, that doesn’t mean they want you to stop visiting them altogether.  If they’re upset, it might have to do with any of the things that could make dialysis an unpleasant experience.  Don’t take it personally, it has nothing to do with you, and it doesn’t mean you should stop visiting.

They’ll have to cancel plans a lot: Sometimes somebody on dialysis doesn’t feel like getting together because they’re sick or tired, it has nothing to do with you.  Dialysis patients crave social interaction just as much as everybody else, and still want to do the same fun stuff they used to enjoy, but it might not always be possible.  Related to the previous point, just because somebody on dialysis keeps canceling plans, it doesn’t mean that they don’t want to see you.

There’s no cure, just treatment: This is a hard thing for anybody to wrap their head around: there’s no cure for ESRD, simply treatment.  If they stop getting treatment, they’ll die.  This is a scary thing for somebody on dialysis to live with: every day they need to make the conscious decision to live.

They’re probably bitter: Kidney failure isn’t fun.  Interminable hours spent on dialysis, keeping track of everything you eat and drink, massive needles and constant doctors appointments take their toll.  It can be hard to handle.

They’ll pretend things are better than they actually are: When somebody on dialysis says they’re “okay”, there’s a chance they are some things they’d rather not discuss.  There’s always something going on with a dialysis patient, though they might not think you need to worry about everything.

What is Hemodialysis?

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Dialysis is a medical procedure in which excess water and waste matter are removed from a patient’s blood. This practice is most commonly used for individuals who have experienced loss of kidney function and/or kidney failure, and for patients with end-stage renal disease. To put it simply, dialysis is artificial kidney function. There a few different types of dialysis methods; one of the  major primary methods is Hemodialysis which is  used “when preemptive kidney transplantation is not possible”. (source).

jamie stanos blood pressure monitor

Hemodialysis

This dialysis process acts as the kidneys to remove waste and extra salt and fluid from the blood. Hemodialysis involves the removal of the blood from the body, so that it can be run through a dialyzer, which filters the blood.
The blood is both removed from and returned to the patient’s body through an access, which will either be a vascular access like an AV graft or AV fistula, or through a catheter. Only a small amount of blood is removed from the body at once, and the blood is moved through a series of tubes to the dialyzer.

Traditional hemodialysis is a very regimented treatment. Typically hemodialysis is performed in a dialysis center, and patients receive the treatment three times a week for four hour sessions. Patients will either be placed on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule or a Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday schedule, and then scheduled a time of day to receive treatment as well. Due to the fact that the treatment is complex, there is little room for flexibility in terms of schedule. (source)

Home Hemodialysis

However, recent technology advancements have made it possible for some dialysis patients to treat themselves at home with HHD (Home HemoDialysis). This process is absolutely not for everyone, as it involved the learning and comprehension of a great deal of information. The success of home hemodialysis is dependant on the patient (or caregiver’s) knowledge of the treatment.

If home hemodialysis is a safe treatment option for the patient, it allows for more much more flexibility. There are three subtypes of home hemodialysis: Conventional, Short Daily, and Nocturnal.

Conventional home hemodialysis is performed exactly as it would be in a dialysis center. The treatments still take place three times a day, for four hours a day on the alternating day schedule. Training for the conventional practice can be short as several weeks to as long as several months depending on the patient’s specific case.

Short Daily home dialysis is performed more frequently throughout the week, for shorter amounts of time than traditional dialysis sessions. These sessions will last around 2 hours, and take place over as few as 5 days and as long as the full 7 days of the week.

There are a few inherent benefits of this type of treatment. For one, the training time is a few weeks vs a few weeks to months. The frequency of the treatments means less blood is being removed during each session. This means the side effects and symptoms of treatment are lessened.

Nocturnal home dialysis is a much slower process, which takes place over the length of your sleep (6-8 hours). Depending on what the physician recommend, the treatment can be delivered every other night or 6 days a week.

The benefit of the nocturnal treatment is that the longer process allows for more waste to be removed from the blood on a weekly basis.

For resources and more information, please visit the following sites: Kidney.org , UFHealth, NIH.gov