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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from www.intensivecarehotline.com , where we instantly improve the lives of Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care, so that you can have PEACE OF MIND, real power, real control and so that you can influence decision making fast, even if you’re not a doctor or a nurse in Intensive Care!
This is another episode of “your questions answered” and in last week’s episode I was explaining why your critically ill loved one might need Dialysis or Haemofiltration for kidney failure and this week is basically the second part of that question and this week I want to dive into
“how long your critically ill loved one can stay on a Dialysis machine and also what’s happening if your loved one needs Dialysis outside of Intensive Care”
Now, if you have read or watched last week’s “your questions answered” episode, by now you have a good understanding why your critically ill loved one has gone into kidney failure and why he or she needs Haemodialysis or the kidney machine in Intensive Care. If you haven’t watched or read last week’s episode, you can click here to read or watch the episode Dialysis part one
Hopefully this is only going to be a short term measure to get your loved one’s kidneys going again and hopefully the Dialysis machine is going to be effective and your loved one’s kidneys started working again.
As I explained last week, most critically ill Patients in Intensive Care that go into kidney failure and require the Dialysis machine only require the kidney machine temporarily until the kidneys have recovered and start working again.
But just like with anything else in Intensive Care, there may be the situation where the kidneys don’t recover or the recovery process takes a lot longer than the Intensive Care team and you would have initially expected.
If that’s the case there are a number of things that may have lead to this including and not limited to
• Your critically ill loved one’s kidneys are taking a lot longer to recover(this can often be the case in multi- organ failure where a number of organs, including the heart, the lungs and the liver fail as well)
• Your critically ill loved one’s kidneys have been irreversibly damaged and therefore require ongoing Haemodialysis
In both cases, your critically ill loved one is dependent on the Dialysis machine and if your loved one is in multi- organ failure, generally the kidneys can be controlled well with Dialysis and Haemofiltration, whereas the other organs such as heart, lungs and liver are more difficult to control.
If your critically ill loved one’s kidneys have been irreversibly damaged(chronic kidney failure), the most common reasons are
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure (Hypertension)
• Glomerulonephritis(inflammation of the filtering system of the kidneys)
• Polycistic kidney disease(formation of cysts in the kidneys)
• Anaemia(deficiency in the number or quality of red blood cells)
• Overuse of drugs such as Aspirin, Ibuprofen and Paracetamol
• Some infectious diseases
In essence, if your loved one’s kidneys have been irreversibly damaged, the process in Intensive Care is to stay on the Dialysis machine in order to achieve the following goals
• Maintaining a good and healthy fluid balance, so that Urine Output can be replaced through Dialysis
• Effective clearance of the kidney markers such as Urea and Creatinine and therefore minimize toxins in the blood
In theory, a Patient can stay on the Kidney or Dialysis machine forever and there are no limitations. However there will be a point where your loved one is ready to leave Intensive Care, irrespective of the irreversible kidney damage and irrespective of the need to require ongoing Dialysis.
In essence, if your loved one’s kidneys have been irreversibly damaged there is no reason to stay in Intensive Care if your loved one is ready to leave Intensive Care.
Once your loved one has reached that point, Dialysis and the replacement of the kidney function is taken over outside of Intensive Care and Haemodialysis is generally required three times a week for a few hours a day.
That can either be done in Hospital, in specialized Dialysis centres or even at home with professional help or even independently.
The good news is that there is usually help from specialized services available or training if your loved one can do it him or herself.
I hope that this episode has helped you to understand how long your loved one can stay on the Dialysis machine and also helps you to determine and understand the next steps outside of Intensive Care.
If you want to have control, power and influence whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care and if you want to be perceived as strong, influential, impactful and knowledgeable by the Intensive Care team and if you want to be in control of your and your critically ill loved one’s destiny and if you want to make an impact, download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT NOW by entering your email below!
In your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT you’ll learn how to speak the “secret” Intensive Care language so that the doctors and the nurses know straight away that you are an insider and that you know and understand what’s really happening in Intensive Care!
- How to ask the doctors and the nurses the right questions
- Discover the many competing interests in Intensive Care and how your critically ill loved one’s treatment may depend on those competing interests
- How to eliminate fear, frustration, stress, struggle and vulnerability even if your loved one is dying
- 5 “killer” tips& strategies helping you to get on the right path to PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence in your situation
- You’ll get real world examples that you can easily adapt to your and your critically ill loved one’s situation
- How to stop being intimidated by the Intensive Care team and how you will be seen as equals
- You’ll get crucial ‘behind the scenes’ insight so that you know and understand what is really happening in Intensive Care
- How you need to manage doctors and nurses in Intensive Care(it’s not what you think)
Thank you for tuning into this week’s blog and I’ll see you again in another update next week!
Make sure you also check out our “YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED” section where we answer your questions or send me an email to [email protected] with your questions!
Also check out our Products section where you get more Ebooks, Videos and Audio recordings and where you can also get 1:1 consulting!
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and I’ll see you again next week with another update!
Your Friend
Patrik Hutzel
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