Just told that I have Kidney failure

This all came as quite a surprise to me.  My primary care doctor did not bother to send me to a Nephrologist even though my creatinine  has steadily gone up for the past four years.

Right now I am worried, scared and have no idea what to expect.

 Will I be able to work once I start the dialysis? 

 Will I be able to drive myself to and from?

 Do I need someone with me?

 Should I start any kind of special diet yet?

   I certainly agree ..... "get new Drs. if possible"!

   I was in the hospital three times from January 2011 to June 2012 - and each time it was kidney related. The first time in was with a 911 call from my home. When being wheeled in from the emergency vehichle at the hospital, I passed out - and I was out for over 24hours.

   My daughter tells me that I was given dialysis twice during that timeframe, in addition to being on life support. And of course, before the dialysis, a port was placed in my chest. Within a few more days, I was given dialysis one more time - this time while conscious.

   My Primary Doctor called in several other doctors - and they did decide if certain conditions were met within a few more days, they would try something other than dialysis. As it turns out, three months after I was released, I went back in to have the port removed - since they felt I would no longer need to even consider dialysis.

   Most of what was done was rest and then a renal diet.

   A year later, I was back in the hospital with what they refered to as "kidney failure". This time, they placed nefrostomy tubes on each side of me - left and right kidneys. I was in for about two weeks - and then another two weeks in a rehab facility. Note - I live alone!!!

   My kidney problems were directly caused by my advanced prostate cancer blocking the kidneys from the bladder ... so much of my hospital time the second time was for many tests.

   about three months later, the nefrostomy tubes were removed - I guess thinking I would be OK. Within a month, I was back in the hospital with a creatine level of around 14, as I recall. Within 8-days, the creatine level was brought down to reasonable levels ... and a nefrostomy tube was put in for my right kidney and an internal stent for my left kidney.

   That was 13-months ago, and my kidneys have been OK since. Both the nefrostomy tube and the stent have maintenance requirements - needing to be replaced about every 4-months. But ... NO dialysis!!!!!

   Please check alternatives. There may even be other alternatives better than what I've mentioned. In my case, advanced prostate cancer did the damage. Maybe ....... that allowed other options for me. But check out the options.

   What was given to me as a scenario for dialysis was likely ... either two or three times a week for the treatments - and the treatments are time consumming (two to three hours per treatment + travel time). The one time I had dialysis while I was awake, there was no pain in receiving it ... but it's a huge time commitment.

   Good luck on search for a new medical team. My cancer profile is given below - for your info and if needed, for comparison.   

   To make a long story short ... the nefrostomy tubes  

The blood pressure medications are typical for kidney patients it helps slow down the kidneys because they work extra hard because your glomeruli are not filtering correctly.  My Doc says its like an 8cyl engine running on 4 cyl's.

Have you been diagnosed with FSGS or something else for your kidneys?  I'm sorry I do not know anything about EKG's.  Get a notebook and write down all your questions and bring it with you, it really helps. 

Best of luck tomorrow.