After dialysis last Friday, I saw my family doctor to ask some questions about some problems I had been having. The problems all seem to stem from my low platelet count. I did not realize how the low count could affect so many parts of your body. The itching on my back, the “bumps” on my legs and arms that are filled with blood and appear for a few days then flatten and leave bruises and the blood in my stool. He ordered a blood specimen to see what my numbers were and sure enough, the platelets were 11,000. He ordered 10 units of platelets for transfusion on Saturday morning.

The body is an amazing machine and if it has defective parts, it certainly can derail the entire machine.

Today after dialysis, the doctor at the Center met with me and reviewed my case. I asked him if he thought I would go of dialysis in the future. He said he would not say “never” but the possibility of going off dialysis completely was very slim. He said the kidneys are filled with filters and when they are damaged or destroyed, they do not repair themselves and lose various amounts of their effectiveness. Since I also have Amyloidosis damaging my kidneys, I need the dialysis to remove the toxins that I am unable to remove myself. He did say some patients have shorter times on the machine or have dialysis two days a week instead of three. They have shortened my time from four hours to three and one-half. I know that may not sound like much but when you have been sitting there for that long, even a half hour less on the machine is a good thing.