The cost of dialysis

I was out of the hospital with the shiny new catheter installed on my chest. Dialysis in the hospital has been smooth with no hiccups. I felt okay. It was not a process as bad as I had imagined it to be. Of course, there is always a reminder at the back of my head, “I am doing dialysis without having 2 thick needles poked into my arm.”

During the dialysis counselling session, I asked if I am eligible for any subsidies from the National Kidney Foundation. The reply was that I had to go through a means assessment and the approval will take a few months. During these few months, I would have to be on dialysis at a private dialysis center.

The price from the normal blood hemo-dialysis? $1800 per month, and this amount exclude doctor’s appointments and medication from the hospital. For this amount, 50% is covered by Medisave, the rest…. Out of your wallet, in cash. I am lucky I got my company’s insurance to cover this amount so I never had to get any subsidies from NKF.

Dialysis at the private center was different from at the hospital. For the 1st few session, I had experienced chills and fever throughout. It was not a pleasant experience.

See, the machine takes out not just the toxins and water in the body, it takes out nutrients too. Sodium, sugar, potassium etc, all gets disposed through the dialysis process. Sudden cramps and hunger pangs are common during the dialysis session.

We are always advised to take less than 500ml of fluids per day. 500ml includes soup, fruits etc and not limited to use water. If we get too much water in our system, our blood gets diluted and excess water will also end up in our lungs which will drown us. As the amount of water being drained increases, so does the risks of complications such as cramps, high blood pressure and infection.

The dialysis process is a way to extend life, not a way to live. As a patient go through dialysis, the patient gets weaker and weaker as nutrients get removed and bodily functions depletes.

I remember going through 1 bowl of fried rice along with egg and a piece of fish, after 12 buns or a loaf with white bread with kaya and butter spread on them every 3 hour dialysis session. All these carbohydrates rich food without my blood sugar spiking.

The longer a patient is on dialysis, the lesser the chance of being fit enough to receive a kidney transplant from a cadaver.

“Cost” is not just money. Money is small. “Cost” also includes time, yours and your loved ones. Includes the opportunities lost, and a myriad of things that you might not be even aware of.

We always take the ability to work, to walk, to breathe, to see for granted. Most of the time, we even complain that we need to work, to walk. It’s always when we lose the things we take for granted that we realize how reliant we are on them.