Many patients on dialysis will suffer from discomforts in different degree. Recently, a patient asked me” why do I lose my appetite when I am on dialysis?”. Actually, loss of appetite is also a side-effect of dialysis. Next, let’s talk about why do you lose your appetite when you are on dialysis.

Nausea.

Nausea is a common symptom when you are on dialysis. It is mainly caused by the stimulation of ammonia to the gastrointestinal tract. Some patients are easily attacked by digestive system disease, which is also a cause of nausea. Besides, acidosis that are commonly seen with kidney failure is a main cause of nausea. When you are experiencing nausea, you may lose your appetite.

Malnutrition.

As we all know that dialysis acts as an artificial kidney, which helps kidney discharge the accumulated toxins in blood. But at the same time, some useful substance will be discharged as well. So you are vulnerable to malnutrition. Malnutrition will result in loss of appetite. Therefore, you should ask your doctor to provide you a healthy diet.

Inadequate dialysis.

Adequate dialysis will help relieve the symptoms, but inadequate dialysis will bring more symptoms due to the accumulation of the toxins. The toxins in blood will accumulate rapidly with inadequate dialysis. Loss of appetite is also a consequence of the accumulation of toxins.

Low blood pressure.

Dialysis patients often experience low blood pressure. This is because lots of water is lost through dialysis. The sudden loss of water volume in blood will cause low blood pressure. So you are suggested to well control the water intake during the dialysis intervals. Low blood pressure is a risk factor of dizziness, nausea and poor appetite.

If you are suffering from severe poor appetite, you should tell your doctor and he will make some change to your treatment and your diet. If you are interested in the Chinese herbs, which can help a lot to improve your appetite, you can send an email to renal-disease@hotmail.com for a free reply!