Originally Posted by
BorussiaMG
Do you inform the flight attendence on longhaul flights? I don't want to spread fear but maybe in an emergency it is good if someone knows what is going on.
Usually I drink a lot while flying, but during dialyses you are supposed to drink less. How do you manage that?
@BorussiaMG sorry for the slow response. Your question hit well we were in EZE for the Cow Do.
I'm using in center dialysis so I don't need to bring equipment or do anything in flight. I should up at the center every other day and they hook me up via my fistula (get that installed in advance so you have it when you need it) and take care of everything. Fistula's are created by surgically attaching a vein to an artery so you grow a large vein that can accommodate the high blood flow needed.
If you pick PD (peritoneal dialysis) you need treatments more frequently, that you complete. In that case you might need to do an exchange in flight. PD = basically you put liquid in your belly and after some time drain it out, there are machines to do this but you can also just let gravity work. In that case I might let the flight attendant know, and I'd insure that I'm booked on a business class or higher seat so I had some private space to work. You also will need to deal with brining all the supplies with you.
Some people do home HD dialysis with portable machines. I'm not yet at the point where I'm going that route because I still see dialysis as temporary until I receive a transplant. If dialysis becomes the long term treatment option I might look at home HD but they I'd need to bring equipment with me and schedule all kinds of supplies to be delivered to the destination.
My kidney damage is due to Lupus, another autoimmune disease. I still have some kidney function so I've not yet needed to limit my liquid intake and I think some of the things like phosphorous are getting filtered so I'm not yet on a full dialysis friendly diet.
I believe that once you need to control your liquids you will learn how to deal with that at home and will need to practice the same liquid control well in the air. Its not something that will just crop up inflight, but rather something you will struggle with daily.
I highly recommend the site I hate dialysis (
http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php) another forum if you want to learn about your treatment options and read about other people's experiences.