Patient Story - Jake

Jake is a 66-year-old man from California who grew up witnessing the devastating effects of chronic kidney disease. His grandfather, father and sister all battled and eventually died from polycystic kidney disease (PDK). Sadly, Jake inherited the disease as well and was diagnosed in his sixties.

When Jake's kidneys failed in May 2003, he started on peritoneal dialysis (PD) that same month. He continued the treatments for five months until he contracted peritonitis and a fungal infection and had to be hospitalized for 10 days. His catheter was removed, and he had a fistula created in his right arm and a perm-cath.

Jake then started hemodialysis at a clinic and continued to do so for five months. During the first month, Jake's restless leg syndrome increased and by the second month, Jake started to feel tired and was unable to walk two flights of stairs without having to stop for air. "I was going downhill," he said. "The days I came back home from treatment, I would have to take two-hour naps." He also experienced extreme drops in his blood pressure and severe cramping almost every time he dialyzed. He had to nap several times a day and became very irritable.

Jake quickly became unhappy with his altered lifestyle. He was a retired firefighter, but missed traveling around the country with his wife in their RV to attend dog shows, something they liked to do almost every weekend to show their Springer Spaniels. He also missed attending car shows featuring their 1956 Ford Thunderbird. On in-center hemodialysis, Jake couldn't travel on weekends or holidays because the dialysis clinics in his destination cities were always full. He had to limit his trips to large cities where clinics could fit him in, and also had to avoid certain days because the clinics were too crowded.

Jake started to become depressed about his condition and wanted to change the way his dialysis treatments limited his life. He consulted with the family's nephrologist, who told him about a new, portable hemodialysis system that allows patients to do treatments anywhere. He decided to try the NxStage System One, and within a few weeks of starting on daily hemodialysis, Jake felt a tremendous improvement in his overall health and well-being. By the second week, his night cramps had stopped, and his restless leg syndrome was gone. In addition, Jake used to take nine different pills to control his blood pressure but within months of his new treatment was able to stop taking those medications. "The thought of performing dialysis treatments outside of the clinic might be scary, but once people see how easy it is, they are much more comfortable," he said.

Jake has been on NxStage therapy for four years now and is doing great. His wife is always there to help when he does dialysis with NxStage, but Jake does the entire treatment himself. "With NxStage, I have control of my dialysis, and the procedure is much gentler on my body than in-center," Jake commented. "Since I do treatments more frequently, I don't have to limit my fluid intake as much so my diet is less restricted to go along with my improved appetite. The benefits of daily therapy with NxStage were immediate for me and have lasted for the past four years, enabling me to feel well and continue to still do the things I enjoy."

Jake has been able to travel and enjoy the activities he used to before his kidneys failed. Every summer, Jake and his wife spend a few months in Washington State camping in their motor home. He's proud to say that his life isn't scheduled around his dialysis treatments anymore. The dialysis is scheduled around his life. "I take the machine wherever I go. I'm not limited to a certain time and a certain place. I have complete freedom now."

Jake is very optimistic about his future and is happy to be alive and feeling so well. He saw his grandfather die of this disease and is thankful he found a treatment that is so easy and flexible, and that he's been able to continue for this amount of time. "I'm not depressed or discouraged to be on hemodialysis," Jake said. "As long as I have to undergo treatment, I'm happy with this system. It has changed my quality of life so dramatically, beyond what I ever imagined."

This patient has given NxStage Medical Inc. permission to share his/her experience with daily home therapy on the NxStage System One. The experiences reported by this patient will not necessarily be experienced by you. All patients differ and their experiences will vary.