On kidney dialysis and still hunting or shooting?

[bikerbeans]

After 45 years of bad kidneys I am finally at Stage 5 so dialysis is in the near future for me. I been to the dog and pony show at Davita and now must decide what method to try hemodialysis or peratinial. I would like to hear from those on dialysis how it has affected your hunting and shooting. I can see were either method is going to cause trouble, but I am going to keep hunting and shooting so any insight from others shooters on dialysis would be appreciated.

BB

[farmerjim]

Wife was on peratinial. It is much easier on your system as it does not have the ups and downs that the 3 times a week hemo does. It is, however a lot of work. We had the entire back bedroom filed with cases of dialysis fluid. You learn how to do it manually and then can go to the auto machines that work while you sleep. She still needed to do one daytime exchange. We still went on vacations with the back of the tahoe filled with dialysis equipment and fluids. We would pull over in rest stops and do exchanges in the car. Went on a cruse with 5 suitcases of fluids for her. One of the problems is that you must do the exchanges in sterile conditions. You don't want to get peritonitis. She got it twice. No pets are allowed in the room where you do your exchanges and sleep.
Get on a list for a transplant asap, or better yet find a donor. One of my wife's friends gave her one of her kidneys. that was 17 years ago and she is still doing fine.

Forgot this: As long as you can get your treatments done, and feel like it, hunting should not be any problem.

[Echo]

My wife went on dialysis when we got back from a London trip in 2001. Started hemo-dialysis, then shifted to peritoneal. We found the peritoneal to be less confining, even though it had to be done 4 times daily. We did it in the car, we did it in the RV (on the go), we did it on a cruise, had the dialysate delivered to the wharf side and stacked in our stateroom. Got to know the Davita delivery guy well, monthly delivery of multiple cases of dialysate. And my wife always carried a peritonitis kit whenever we traveled, but never got peritonitis.
But peritoneal D has a negative. While it actually gives better dialysis than hemo-, and is actually more convenient, it develops adhesions (like gristle, or callous) in the peritonium that crowds things up, adding weight to the patient and interfering with circulation. She was hospitalized 6 times her last year, becoming very lethargic due to Pulmonary Artery Hypertension. The artery from the heart to the lungs should be THAT big, and wasn't, due to the constriction caused by the adhesions. She wasn't getting any blood to her lungs, and so wasn't getting any oxygen to her body. She passed away 1Sep2010, a month short of her 75th birthday.
In short - hemo-dialysis can probably go on, and on, but is restricting. Peritoneal dialysis is less confining, but can't continue forever. My wife was on peritoneal for about 5+ years before she reverted to hemo, for another 2+ years...