Christmas on Dialysis:
Like many people around the world, Christmas can be a tough time for those with Chronic Kidney Disease. Many patients face the festive period alone or in a hospital with only the hospital staff as company. Others face time on dialysis, attached to a machine for 4 or 5 hours out of their day whilst being restricted to what they can eat or drink, or going to bed earlier than everyone else because they need to be attached to their peritoneal machine for 12 hours during the night.
Restrictions include the amount of fluid allowed, such as drinks, soup, gravy, ice cream or sauces as well as dietary restrictions can sometimes make having Christmas dinner feel like a waste or disappointment. Not being allowed to have what people around you have freely such as all the Christmas treats, can be depressing. It is tempting to have an extra glass with your dessert, but then you have to face an extra hour of dialysis the next day just to remove the excess fluid that their non-functioning kidney(s), or non-existent kidney cannot expel from their body. A buildup of excess fluid can cause lethargy, or for some a general feeling of sickness and bloatedness which adds to the already exhausting and difficult day. Often, each renal dialysis patient will receive tailored dietary advice as per their renal blood results as to what they can or cannot have over the Christmas period. This in itself can be difficult to follow when there is so much food available over this festive holiday and temptations are present.
There is no break from dialysis, whether or not a patient’s dialysis unit does treatment on Christmas day can depend on the hospital itself. Most dialysis units will manage their timetable to change dialysis days so patients don’t have to have treatment on Christmas day, however even that can have an affect on the overall well being of the patient. Going for 2 days without treatment on days you aren’t used to since their schedule was changed, having to spend time in the unit when their family are at home playing the new board game and having fun can affect their overall health, mental health and wellbeing: all this and more, are things the general public won’t necessarily think about or realise dialysis patients have to go through.
Christmas with a Transplant:
The main pros of a transplanted Christmas are that a person is completely free of hospital visits, treatments, restrictions, and generally means a lot of what you weren’t allowed to do before is now cancelled out. However, it is important to highlight that this does not mean transplant patients have any less of a challenging time.
Some of the pros of having had a transplant at Christmas are trivial, such as not having to be up at 6.30am to travel to the unit for starting dialysis at 7.30am, or having to go to bed early because you need to fit in 12 hours of peritoneal dialysis in. What does happen is the adjustment required by someone experiencing their first Christmas post transplant, which can take time to get used to. Fluid restrictions can be one of the biggest challenges a kidney patient has to face. Not being allowed to take any fluid over a certain amount is very restrictive, so to change from a fluid restriction to being told to take as much fluid as you possibly can is a strange feeling. Trying to drink 1-2.5 litres a day when you are used to only 1 litre or less of fluid in a 24 hour period can be overwhelming and takes time to get used to; however, being allowed to drink what you want of any type of drink is certainly something to celebrate.
Having a full christmas dinner is also a massive change; many people relish in the thought of a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings, however with the food restrictions previously imposed, it can be a difficult adjustment for some, with those people just staying with the diet they have been used to for so long. They often still have a small dinner with no dessert.
Many other patients thrive on the restrictions being lifted, enjoying their Christmas dinner and desserts plus all the drinks they want, enjoying time with their family and Christmas treats, without early bedtimes being imposed on them for treatment required prior to their transplant. Being surrounded by family and enjoying the spoils of the Christmas gifts is the epitome of Christmas and all anyone can ask for.
In summary, whilst having a kidney transplant removes a lot of the restrictions imposed on patients and is by far a much better experience for renal patients, Christmas is still a difficult time for those of us who celebrate, but we celebrate in a way that only we know how and that is with resilience and a fighting spirit.
Last Reviewed on 7 December 2024