Gloria vividly recalls all the details about choosing, training for, and starting peritoneal dialysis (PD). After 3 months, she is still getting used to her routine, but she feels good and is "getting back to normal."

Choosing PD

Gloria was faced with choosing a dialysis option when her transplant failed. "I'd had my brother's kidney for 6 years," says Gloria, "but for some reason it was scarring." Then, Gloria got pneumonia. "I was in the hospital getting sicker and sicker," she says. "I needed to start dialysis."

With little time to prepare, Gloria started hemodialysis (HD) in the hospital, using a catheter for access. She knew she didn't want to do HD. She started to think through her options.

Since Gloria hopes to get a second transplant soon, she talked to her transplant surgeon about what to do. "I didn't want to get a fistula made," she says, though she did get vessel mapping done just in case. Meanwhile, she started to think about PD. She liked what she found out. "PD is gentler on the body than HD in a center," Gloria says. Being able to set the time of the treatments appealed to her. "You can fit it into your schedule," she says.

Her biggest concern was the risk of infection. "I didn't want to get an infection that would rule out a transplant in the future," she says. After her team assured her that good technique would reduce her risk of infection, Gloria chose to do PD while she waits for a new transplant.

Getting started

Gloria had a PD catheter placed soon after she got out of the hospital. Three weeks later, it was healed and ready to use, and Gloria was ready to start training.

It took 3 full days (8 am–3:30 pm) of one-on-one training to teach Gloria to do PD treatments on her own. "The staff were really nice, really helpful," says Gloria. Even so, she found the training a challenge. "I wasn't feeling very well," explains Gloria, "and it was hard for me to think and remember things."

Now, of course, she does 4 exchanges a day with ease, and thinks the procedure is "really quite simple." "I think anyone who wants to do PD could learn how," she says.

Settling in

Gloria and her family are getting comfortable with fitting PD into their lives. Gloria does her exchanges at 6 am, noon, 5pm, and 9pm, but she can adjust the times to fit her schedule.

Although she is not working, Gloria keeps busy at home and driving her 12-year-old son to and from school, events, and lessons. "PD is a good choice for people who have active, busy lifestyles," she says. "It's flexible."

Supply delivery has been easy to set up. "Baxter gives me the day and a 3-hour window," she says. She stores the boxes of supplies in the garage, and her husband and son help her move boxes in as she needs them. For vacation, Gloria called to have her supplies shipped right to her hotel.

Gloria thinks that PD is great choice for people who want to take care of themselves. "The responsibility is on you," she says. "You have to do the treatments, take your temp and blood pressure, weigh yourself, go in for doctor visits." She knows that she can rely on the PD staff at Northwest Kidney Centers for support, "but it's really up to you," says Gloria.

These days Gloria is feeling good and planning a trip. She is keeping her fingers crossed that a kidney transplant will come through. Although waiting is hard, "I'm thankful I have the option to do PD," says Gloria.