Life Expectancy Of Dialysis

It is important to know about the risks involved with kidney dialysis, because it is best to be prepared for the worst that could happen. Kidney dialysis is the artificial replacement of the kidney functions in an individual who has suffered from serious renal failure. The life expectancy obviously depends on the severity of the disorder, as someone suffering from acute kidney failure can reverse the process and recover soon and expect to live a long life.
The normal life expectancy of a patient is 3-5 years. It is assumed that if a person is undergoing the treatment for chronic kidney diseases, then the end is near. This is because only someone with the most advanced stage (stage 5) of this disease will be put under the treatment. This stage is also known as End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and recovering from this is virtually unheard of. The mortality rate for patients suffering from ESRD is 22% annually, and this effectively means that surviving beyond 5 years is going to be highly unlikely.
When a person decides to undergo dialysis, it is a conscious decision that he/she must make. The fact is that without dialysis, the patient will not survive for more than a few weeks. The kidneys process the urea in the body and release it in the form of urine, so when the kidneys stop working, urine stops getting released from the body. As a result of this, the vascular system will soon get flooded with liquid, and the heart will be unable to keep up with this added volume. The lungs will also get flooded, and this will result in a lack of oxygen to the brain and to the heart.
It might be hard to read such statistics, but I believe knowing such statistics can give you a chance to change your life.
How? Well it gives us a clue that dialysis is not your winning ticket home to health. That although dialysis is helpful in severe cases of kidney failure, it is not a complete solution and therefore begs the questions "why is this the case?", and "how can I change my outcome?"
There are many reasons why this is the case, among them are:
Complications Caused by Kidney Failure
Anemia
Bleeding from the stomach or intestines
Bone, joint, and muscle pain
Congestive heart failure
Coronary artery disease
Dementia
Edema
Fluid buildup around the lungs (pleural effusion)
High blood pressure
Hyperparathyroidism
Increased risk of infections
Liver damage or failure
Malnutrition
Miscarriages and infertility
Pericarditis
Seizures
Stroke