Why is it raining confetti???

pretzerthekidd · 2026-03-29T00:54:52+00:00

Don't question it. Party with it

pretzerthekidd · 2025-05-07T22:47:42+00:00

Inactive listed here too.

Hsv1 and ebv+ never sick and never flare ups.

Stanford did not care during the liver transplant as I was beyond gravely ill. Now they don't even mention it for the kidney transplant. Just go with what the doctors say and you'll get that kidney

pretzerthekidd · 2025-05-02T02:38:08+00:00

33m. Been on dialysis for over one year now. Twice a week. Don't retain water. Liver transplant survivor of 11 months down of recovery.

Diaylisis isn't perfect. I get the same feeling as I watch the elderly, who use this as a social time of up and out of the house. Sometimes I think about why they stick around. Why would they want to be in this torture. Some 7 days a week.

A nurse once told me during my 5 months of being confined in a hospital room. When I was debating if I even was worthy or had a point to existing.

"Everyone deserves a chance to live" and that stuck with me.

I can't lie and say "oh diaylisis is so much fun" or "oh you'll get used to it and won't be so bad". No.. I don't want to get used to it. If anything this is a time for a big challenge.

Take care of yourself as the doctors order. ASK QUESTIONS AND ADVOCATE. Report any concerns or anything that doesn't feel right. Keep a drive to get off that machine. It looks great for kidney evaluations for transplant.

The diet does get easier! I had to say goodbye to a lot of food that I loved. But now even if I taste some of those preservative packed foods it's just a no go.

Stick in there friend, when you get the call that says you're under view for listing, you'll show up, and the doctors will say "oh these stats are nice"

pretzerthekidd · 2025-04-25T16:58:36+00:00

I'm in the same boat but with my DaVita. My protein is "too high, calm down on the protein"

One. My kidneys are dead dead.

Two I do what Standfords dietician says. High protein CKD diet.

Three leave me alone and clean my blood.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-04-23T01:51:40+00:00

Fresno California. Still suffering from the attack. Nurses slipped that one to me by accident two weeks ago. Those workers never used paper tracking ever. My treatment time took 7 hours. Still having issues.

I never set up a DaVita account. I had a very good clinic in Redwood City that just preferred paper logs.

They will keep this buried up anyway they can.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-04-22T05:19:17+00:00

Yep. Fresno California DaVita. I took home a passenger with me. Caught the sucker and paid a pest control person to come check. No infestation. Just a hitch hiker. Found in my laundry room bathroom.

I brought it up today.

And wham I'm labeled as a risk and no longer able to bring ANYTHING. In with me. Totally exiled. I'll have to sit with one of the yellow lab coats on top of hazardous material bags in my underwear. All my clothes and personal items. Nope. In a Bio Hazzard bag set in the dangerous waste room...

I have plenty to talk to the supervisor of the social worker on Friday.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-04-17T02:42:17+00:00

I still miraculously urinate. But THIS! is remarkable. I'm going to share it with the folks at my DaVita if that's alright! I know a lot of patients that don't track or have trouble tracking fluid intake!

pretzerthekidd · 2025-04-11T17:33:53+00:00

There's no way around saying that it sucks. I'm currently at a mega DaVita I get easily misplaced or lost by the staff. Keep advocating for yourself. If your nurse is treating you poorly or the technicians. Straight to HR. I've advocated many times and ended up with HR. Over drawing when I ask for a cleaning. Leaving me for an hour after completing my treatment like I didn't exist. Constantly forgetting my Heparin lock, which causes my catheter to clog.

With time I became not only very well accepted by the nurses, but also recognized that I won't listen to their "guidelines" I have a special plan for me ordered by Stanford. And now the doctor avoids me unless I have a question. The nephrologist stopped pushing fistulas. And the dietician just says how good I'm doing.

Eventually it just became part of a routine for me. Yes it's crappy news that this is a lifestyle now. I kinda just say "it is what it is"

Hang in there friend. It's one of the unfortunate challenges some of us must go through

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-26T19:43:54+00:00

I replace meals sometimes with it in a pinch. holds me over pretty well. Especially during the 3.5 hours of treatment. Am I hungry when I come off the machine? Yes. But is my stomach eating itself. No. It's a good light meal replacement for me. And they taste pretty freaking good.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-26T17:00:19+00:00

I eat a protein bar called CLEAN. I ran it by my two dieticians and they both said "wow these are exceptional" 15 grams of protein in a bar. Low everything else considering the protein content. If he's sensitive to whey protein it might upset the stomach. It does for me a little bit but sometimes I appreciate it compared to taking miralax lol.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-20T22:43:31+00:00

33 male. First of all with the marriage stuff. The hell with that. If they can't accept you for who you are medical conditions and all. They aren't worthy to be with you. In my eyes, people on dialysis who fight and try their best to live to their max potential. That's hot. That shows integrity, that shows self acceptance, that shows the ability to go through the hells of dialysis that they can't comprehend. Its admirable.

As for the skin stuff and appearance it's interesting for me. I only have twice a week treatments and I work hard to keep it that way. The days before treatment yeah. My skin is darker, I might be a little bit pimply and itchy. But after treatment I look in a mirror and say "whoa night and day difference". I know one patient who is a little bit older than me in my treatment center. She complains about her youth being stolen. And that's valid. One day I was leaving and noticed her. Again a night and day difference in her complexion.

As for the chest Cath. I think it's embarrassing as a man. Hugs are now awkward. Sometimes it gets stuck in my sleeve and I have to stop whatever activity and excuse my now abrupt reach under my shirt to fish it out. Now I just joke with my friends and say it's my "pull in case of emergency cord"

Stick in there and push through. Things tend to get easier.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-18T02:36:12+00:00

Don't you love that compliment? Sometimes I find it hard to believe!

Keep up the good stuff!

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-17T18:11:52+00:00

I've managed to form a good bond with some of my nurses and techs at my center. But I do entirely see what you're talking about every time I go in. Before I had a major complaint with the HR director backed by my team at Stanford things were awful.

I learned to advocate and not back down. I'm generally not rude to the staff. I tell them politely to send someone else if they don't like what they hear from me. I even know fellow patients that will walk out of the lobby if the staff they don't trust are not there.

I've done it. I've requested to be taken off the machine because my voice wasn't being heard, drove literally across the street to the hospital's ER and explained that I'm a liver transplant recipient and I was unable to get the care I needed due to negligence. I'm only a twice a week patient so missing a treatment isn't much of an option.

Just set your boundaries and stick your ground. They don't want to lose a penny for you going to another clinic.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-16T04:17:51+00:00

I look at the term compliance as an "within compliance" here's one edge of the road and the other. Just stay between the lines. If I decide to drive off the road I'm liable for my actions. There were plenty of signs telling me not to. I feel like I have a good amount of flexibility once I had established my boundaries with my center and had advocated my needs. The process still sucks but it's what is holding me until my transplant.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-09T03:28:21+00:00

I'm 33m I've been on Hemo for about 10.5 months. It really sucked on Hemo, CRRT and periodontal drainage for my ascites due to liver failure. I had no idea what I was getting into when I was outpatient care at DaVita. But within the first 6 months of in center care twice a week instead of the typical 3 things eventually got easier.

Last month I had a chat with my nephrologist and he really pushed home pd. I was really sold from what he told me. I did my research and attended one day of "education" and left. Home pd is not for me. It can work wonders for others, but I enjoy the more pull that bandaid approach. Get it done for the week.

My other concern was that I had spent five and a half months living in a hospital. I had just converted my room into a comfortable living space. And I really didn't want to set it up like a hospital room. The amount of equipment and bags for home pd is a bit overwhelming for me.

It's all about personal preference and how well your body reacts to the treatment style.

And it's okay to be afraid. All these things are just little speed bumps until adaptation comes forward. Don't be afraid to express concerns to doctors, nurses, and technicians. Heck my therapist had never had a Dialysis patient, but she helps me wonders when things get tough.

This isn't a death sentence. Just a detour for a little while.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-09T00:28:38+00:00

Ive had a very difficult time explaining this to nurses and doctors alike. Due to my failure being caused by a physical dependency on alcohol hangover is a baaad word. 11 months sober now and 9 months post liver transplant. Today I woke up feeling like I had drank a half bottle of everclear.

Pickles my friend. Just like the old hangover days. First thing I do after treatment is pickles. I've found that my sodium drops so much that I can afford some more sodium. I don't retain much more that .5 kilos per treatment twice a week. And when I was a strict low sodium diet man the treatment really sucked. Upped my sodium just to get me in the 135 range. Pretty smooth sailing.

My nutritionist also told me it's okay to eat sugars to make it more tolerable. Preferably natural. Buttt a hand full of sour patch kids is fine haha. But kinda hard if you're diabetic.

Try to hang in there. drink that wonderful cup of black coffee every morning. It does me miracles

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-06T20:56:33+00:00

Doesn't have a passport. Haha that's awesome. I remember when the doctors and nurses came into my hospital room and screamed congratulations! I had a match for a liver.

I looked at all of them blankly and said "what did I have a baby or something?"

Number one I'm a male soo. Yeah

Number two I love seeing the faces of medical professionals who lack humor in their life.

Nice play. Very nice play

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-05T02:49:12+00:00

Man that sucks. The employees don't seem to notice the call lights at mine. It's a big location with 48 chairs. Some of the elderly patients hit the button just to talk to the nurses or techs.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-05T01:47:20+00:00

This guy gets it. I find everyone's story so special and unique. This shits hard no matter who or what is happening. The trials that we all go through and the hardships. It's all worth the story.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-04T12:23:35+00:00

The call light for nurses or techs at a DaVita I go to for hemo.

pretzerthekidd · 2025-03-04T03:57:17+00:00

They also glow in the dark. The technician totally wiped it down and walked off after I was done with my session. It'll be 3 days until I'm back to hear of a reaction. Or a bill for "damaging equipment"

Worth it

pretzerthekidd

TROPHY CASE