This sheet gives you information about how to care for yourself after your procedure. Your health care provider may also give you more specific instructions. If you have problems or questions, contact your health care provider.
What can I expect after the procedure?
After the procedure, it is common to have:
Fatigue. Energy levels usually return to normal the day after the procedure.
Itchiness. Your health care provider may be able to prescribe medicine to relieve this.
Achy or jittery legs. You may feel like kicking your legs. This sometimes causes sleeping problems.
Follow these instructions at home:
Eating and drinking
Talk with your health care provider about how much fluid you can drink. Keep track of your fluid intake to make sure you do not drink more fluid than is allowed. …show more content…
You have chills.
Your vascular access feels warm.
You find a pimple on your vascular access.
You have any of the following around the vascular access site:
Swelling.
Redness.
Bleeding or drainage.
Get help right away if:
You have a fistula, and pain, numbness, or unusual paleness develops in the hand on the side of your fistula.
You have a fistula or graft and you do not feel a thrill.
You develop dizziness or weakness that you have not had before.
You develop shortness of breath.
You develop chest pain.
There is pus at the vascular access site.
There is bleeding at the vascular access site that cannot be easily controlled.
Summary
After hemodialysis, it is common to have fatigue, itchiness, and achy or jittery legs.
Keep close track of your fluid intake, limit intake of sodium, potassium, and phosphorous, eat high-quality proteins, and take vitamin and mineral supplements as directed by your health care provider.
Take proper care of your vascular access, and contact your health care provider if you have problems with your vascular access, such as warmth, swelling, redness, drainage, or bleeding at the vascular access