If you had Kidney failure, would you prefer to have dialysis, or just die?

[msc545]

Assume that these are the only two options, and that alternatives, including transplant, are NOT available to you.

Dialysis

Death

[RandomGirl42]

Thank you for inviting me to share even if it's not a very uplifting Holiday type question.🎄

I personally would chose to "kick the bucket" since I don't believe in death at all so I'm not afraid of it and if I'm wrong then I haven't really got anything to lose either way 'cuz then I'll be dead and not realize I'm wrong about it. 😊

[TonyMetal___86]

Don't talk about death cause no one wants you dead, but maybe just not a lezzie 🤣🤣
You're going to have a long life brandi POO 😁

[Anonymous]

Is assisted suicide an option? The reason I ask this is my sister had to have dialysis. That would not be a pleasant death unless you could be put down. Also just looking at the medical expenses of it all I'm not sure I'd want to go through that. Especially since your body can only tolerate dialysis for so long, hence the transplants. So, dialysis without eventual transplant would eventually be the end anyhow even with dialysis.

[msc545]

There is the possibility that a transplant might become available to you during the time that you were having dialysis, but regarding the rest of this, I think you are correct.

[msc545]

That is still just death. Not life. You really feel that death is preferable to dialysis?

[Opinion Owner]

No, I'm saying death is inevitable over a timeline even with dialysis the avg. length of time is 5 to 10 years. without a transplant. If you're taking a transplant off the table it's kind of signing the person's death warrant. And you do have to look at "quality of life".
Honestly I'm really not the one to be answering this question right now. I wouldn't talk anyone out of dialysis.

[msc545]

I'm asking the question because my friend's son just essentially committed suicide by refusing dialysis repeatedly until his kidneys failed and he died. He would never even consider trying dialysis to see what the experience was like and kept insisting that he had been told by others that it was a terrible thing.

[Opinion Owner]

How old was he? I certainly wouldn't talk any young person out of it. Quite the contrary. My sister was on dialysis when she was a teenager. She got a kidney transplant and that lasted her a couple decades. But it eventually failed and she had to go back on dialysis. She was able to get a second kidney but she was pretty weakened by then. She passed away at 48.
So yeah I wouldn't talk anyone out of dialysis. I just meant I understand why the wouldn't want to do it. My sister didn't want to do it the second time. She was a shadow of herself the 2nd time. She was very much a grab life by the balls type of person the first time.

[msc545]

It was 40-something years old.

[Opinion Owner]

Wow, that still pretty young. Maybe not medically. But it's way too young to die.

[msc545]

I think anything less than 100 is too young to die.

[exitseven]

I had a friend that had kidney disease. He had to have dialysis twice a week and a few times i went to the hospital with him and hung out with him. He was on the transplant list but nobody knew when of if he would get a kidney. One night he told me that if he did not get a new kidney soon he was going to kill himself.

I think that if transplant was off the table I would kill myself.

[msc545]

You don't feel that life, even with dialysis, is preferable to death?

[exitseven]

I watched this kid suffer with the treatments and even with dialysis he still felt like shit all the time. If there was no endgame I would not want to go on.

[msc545]

The thing is, there is no endgame to life no matter what. Why end it early?

[exitseven]

@msc545 If there is no quality of life, what is the point?

[msc545]

I agree with you. If there is no quality of life, then it becomes pointless. But still choosing between life and death does not automatically mean that you should choose death. Because quality of life is so poor, you cannot improve death. You CAN improve quality of life.

[Anonymous]

dialysis. Also worth mentioning that no one tells you that when you have an organ transplant that you are on boxes of different pills for the rest of your life to stop you rejecting the new organ and those pills have side effects and damage your other organs.

[exitseven]

Yes, my friend had what was called "moon face" from the steroids. Still he lived another 20 years in relatively good health.

[msc545]

@exitseven I knew somebody who had that moon-faced thing when I was in graduate school. He eventually did die from heart failure, but it took quite a while, and he had a number of years of good life.

[exitseven]

@msc545 My friend contracted polio as a kid and had health problems all his life. He fought very hard not to let it slow him down. He contracted Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion and would not qualify for a second kidney transplant so eventually he died. Still he had many adventures and ran a successful business in the time that he had.

[msc545]

@exitseven I'm glad to hear that he had a pretty good life despite all the illness.

[exitseven]

@msc545 Yes, and I imagine that once it got to the point where life was no longer enjoyable he would have figured out a graceful exit.

[msc545]

@exitseven probably so. I am very much an advocate of life, so I find things like suicide and even graceful exits as somewhat repellent. Sorry about that.

[msc545]

I will remind you that I'm a doctor, and as such, I was educated to revere life and to do everything I can to preserve it. I'm afraid that's morphed into being repelled by death.

[Sevenpointfive]

my mother had a scare like that recently. luckily she only needed it temporarily, but she was close.

[On_cloud_wine]

I’m bad.. I never go to the doctor because I don’t know what they’ll diagnose. But I never get sick… so!

[msc545]

That is not an answer to the question.

[On_cloud_wine]

I had a friend who’s wife had the same mindset as me and he didn’t tolerate that.. when they were married, he made her go to the doctor.. now she has breast cancer and was never treated and now she only has so many months to live

[On_cloud_wine]

And they have a daughter together and he works full time

[msc545]

You still aren't answering the question. Are you planning to or are you just going to tell stories here?

[On_cloud_wine]

I prefer not to be diagnose. I also believe in miracles and one of the reasons is because I feel like God won’t let me he sick

[On_cloud_wine]

Call me delusional, whatever

[msc545]

OK, so when you do get sick, and I hope it's not from kidney problems, but ultimately like everyone else you will get sick, I hope you are rational enough to go see a doctor instead of just getting sicker and sicker and dying.

[On_cloud_wine]

Thanks pop

[msc545]

That doesn't mean that going to the doctor caused you to have cancer.

[msc545]

Caused her to have cancer, and now I'm not your father.

[On_cloud_wine]

No, I think she never went to the dr because she feared what they’d say, so yes I agree, going to the dr is the rational thing to do if you especially expect something is wrong

[On_cloud_wine]

Sorry msc

[msc545]

You don't need to be sorry, but please take care of yourself. Many of us here love you.

[On_cloud_wine]

Aw I love you too

[msc545]

❤❤!!

[On_cloud_wine]

✨♥️✨

[jamesgoldman]

I've always said anything big and I'd 'decommission' myself

This would be something big

[queenofcardio]

I would want to live