Living With Dialysis:
Support For You And Your Family

Many people on dialysis can continue to live a meaningful, family centered life, but “normal” often looks different from before kidney failure. The biggest factors are the type of dialysis you use, how well the treatments fit your schedule, and how reliably you can keep up with sessions, diet, and medicines. Home therapies such as peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis often give patients and families more control over when treatments happen, which can make it easier to protect family routines like dinners, school drop offs, and weekend activities.

What matters most is building a plan that works for your specific health, energy level, and support system. At Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego, our team talks with you and your family about work hours, caregiving duties, and transportation so we can match you with a home program and schedule that gives you the best chance to keep doing the roles that matter to you at home.

Caregivers for a spouse or partner often carry a lot of hidden work: helping with treatments, managing supplies, keeping track of appointments, and watching for symptoms, all while trying to keep the household running. The risk is that one person becomes the full time “dialysis manager” and quietly burns out. A healthier pattern is to treat dialysis as a shared project that involves both partners and, when possible, other family members or friends.

Practical strategies include dividing tasks by strength (for example, one person handles ordering supplies while another does machine setup), using written checklists so everything is not stored in one person’s memory, and scheduling regular “off duty” time for the primary caregiver. Our nurses and social workers are trained to work with couples on this. During training for peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis, we can show you safer ways to share responsibilities, and we can connect you with counseling or support groups if the emotional load is getting heavy.

Children usually cope better when they receive simple, honest explanations instead of vague reassurances that “everything is fine.” The key is to match the level of detail to the child’s age. Young children might just need to know that “the kidneys are not working, so a machine cleans the blood,” that treatments are scheduled, and that adults are in charge of keeping the person safe. Older children and teens often want more specifics about what dialysis does, what side effects to expect, and how this might change family routines.

Including children in small, age appropriate ways can help them feel less afraid and more connected. That might mean letting a child hand you a bandage, help set a timer, or choose a quiet activity to do together during treatment. Our team at Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego can role play these conversations with you, suggest language for different age groups, and point you toward materials you can share with kids when questions come up later.

Many home dialysis patients continue to work, study, and stay active, especially when treatments are timed to fit their natural rhythm. For example, automated peritoneal dialysis at night or nocturnal home hemodialysis often allows people to protect daytime hours for work and family. Even with daytime schedules, home treatments can reduce travel time compared with in center dialysis, which can make it easier to coordinate rides, childcare, and job responsibilities.

Activity and movement are usually encouraged, not discouraged, once your nephrologist clears you. Light to moderate exercise, such as walking, stretching, or strength work, can improve energy, mood, and blood pressure. The main requirement is planning around treatment days so you are not exercising when you are most drained. The HDT team is committed to helping patients plan realistic schedules that fit both dialysis and daily life.

“Easier” depends on what your family finds most stressful. In center dialysis reduces the hands on work at home, but it usually requires fixed chair times three days a week, travel to and from the unit, and strict arrival schedules. For many families this means repeatedly rearranging work shifts, school pickups, and childcare. Home dialysis, including peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis, move more of the work into the home but give you far more control over when treatments happen and who is present.

Families who choose home dialysis at HDT often say the biggest benefits are reclaiming commuting time, being able to coordinate treatments around family routines, and having a quieter, more private environment. The tradeoff is that someone in the household, often a family member, must be willing to learn the steps and stay engaged with treatment. Our training programs are designed to make that manageable, with stepwise teaching, written guides, and 24 hour support so your family is not left to figure things out alone.