Urine Output

One of my many worries is having a lot less urine output than before. If you are on dialysis, this means everything you drink (and eat to some extent) needs to come out as sweat or UF during dialysis. I saw some of my lab results from before and it looked like 1700 mL to 2100 mL per day of urine output. However, while I was on peritoneal dialysis, that number dropped, especially near the end, to almost nothing. My nephrologist thinks that may be the effect of inadequate clearance while on PD, which increases the toxins in my blood, which may reduce urine output.

I think I mentioned previously that post-surgery, I did not have any urine during the week in the hospital, and also the first two weeks after discharge. Only after the third week was there a trickle. Since then, I thought that I was making more and more urine. A week ago, the dialysis center asked for a 24 hour sample and I think my result was only 50 mL. If I’m improving daily, surely I’m at 100 mL or 200 mL after another week.

I found a small sample cup used for PD and collected urine since 8am yesterday (it’s 1am now). Not quite 24 hour but maybe we can extrapolate. I also bought a few disposable measuring cups to use. So after pouring all the urine I collected into the measuring cup, there was only 50 mL of fluid. Sigh, there was no improvement at all (or slightly if you extrapolate another 7 hours). Add to the fact that I’m not improving as quickly anymore… still can’t eat or sleep regularly, shoulder and neck still hurts, I can’t help but think my recovery has stalled. There’s always this thought, “What if I’m like this forever?”