Monitoring
If you have been diagnosed with kidney disease, your healthcare provider will probably be doing blood tests to check your electrolyte levels on a regular basis.
Monitoring is especially important:
- During hospitalizations or long-term care
- For surgery
- If taking diuretics (water pills)
- In hot weather (diuretic doses may have to be reduced)
- If salt intake is restricted
Keep follow-up appointments or lab tests since kidney damage can happen quickly if risk aren’t identified and controlled.
Nonaggressive Care and Hospice
Annually, about 20 percent of people on dialysis stop it. Death usually happens within 7–14 days. People receiving hospice care are far more likely to die at home.
Last Update February 2023