I have often said I can deal with having to do dialysis but it's the comorbidities that bother me. Here are the two main things that currently bother me:
Left knee pain:
I've been diagnosed with Grade II Osteoarthritis which is causing pain in my left knee. The pain started off behind the knee, on the back of the leg and was diagnosed by an MRI as a Baker's Cyst. I was advised to take an anti-inflammatory drug. This helped with the pain. But then I went on a trip to Goa last week which messed the knee up completely.
Ever since I've returned, I have been unable to sleep well on dialysis. Whenever I remove fluid at a rate greater than 400 ml per hour or go even slightly below my dry weight, the pain becomes unbearable. I have now been advised an injection of hyaluronic acid. This is supposed to give temporary relief for a few months to a couple of years. I might take it next week.
Numbness of left hand:
Ever since I've returned, I have been unable to sleep well on dialysis. Whenever I remove fluid at a rate greater than 400 ml per hour or go even slightly below my dry weight, the pain becomes unbearable. I have now been advised an injection of hyaluronic acid. This is supposed to give temporary relief for a few months to a couple of years. I might take it next week.
Numbness of left hand:
This started maybe about a year back. I usually don't dialyze on Tuesdays. This is my 'weekly off' from dialysis - the night when I could sleep at a 100% efficiency. While dialysing, I generally sleep at 80% efficiency. It also gives me some 'me-time' at night! I used to look forward to these days.
But for the last few months, I have developed some numbness in my left arm and especially my left hand which just does not allow me to sleep beyond an hour at a time. My hand becomes completely numb. I need to get up, shake my hand, sit up and massage the hand a little to relieve the numbness and then try to go back to sleep. Strangely, I do not have this problem when I am on dialysis. So, on non-dialysis nights, I am up by around 4 a.m. which is when I give up trying to go back to sleep!
I have consulted a neurologist who put me on some medication for nerve pain. It was also thought to be a vascular issue (Steal Syndrome) which was ruled out by a test that measured blood flow to the hand. Currently, it looks like the doctors don't know what's causing the numbness and therefore don't know how to treat it. So, I guess I will just have to grin and bear it!
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