You may not be able to do all the things you used to do. Adjusting to the effects of kidney failure can be difficult. You may have less energy. You may need to make changes in your work or home life, giving up some activities and responsibilities.

Following your schedule of exchanges will require some adjustment. If you do continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis during the day, you have some control over when you do the exchanges. A few times every day you must stop your normal activities and take about 30 minutes to perform an exchange. If you do automated peritoneal dialysis at night, you will have to set up your cycler every night. You may have to go to bed early to get all the hours of dialysis prescribed by your doctor.

Keeping the same schedule you kept when your kidneys worked can be difficult now that your kidneys have failed. Accepting this new reality can be hard on you and your family. A counselor or renal social worker can answer your questions and help you cope. The word “renal” refers to the kidneys. Renal social workers specialize in helping people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney failure.