I'm at stage 3 now, believe the quality of life with dialysis equals zero, and do not believe in transplants (of any kind). So I need to know realistically what to expect. Thanks for your honesty.
At stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) you will most likely notice the following three things. 1st you will become uremic (urine in the blood) from a buildup of urea (a nitrogen waste product) in your blood. This can cause lethargy, difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, and nausea/vomiting. 2nd you may start to develop edema (swelling caused by fluid) in your ankles, on your abdomen, in your face or eyes, and in your lungs. This is due to the inability of your kidneys to remove excess water from your blood. This can cause difficulty breathing. 3rd you could have an increased potassium level from your kidneys inability to eliminate the extra potassium your body doesn't need that is in the food you eat. An inceased potassium level can cause your heart to beat irregularly and you could have a heart attack.
Continue to treat your cause of kidney disease, it might not progress to CKD 5, at the least you can have more time before you need dialysis.
There are two main choices you have for dialysis (this is assuming that you don't change your mind about a transplant). You can have hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Hemodialysis takes between 3 to 5 hours 3 times per week. There are several people who still even continue to work while they use this option. Others do nocturnal dialysis where they dialyze 8 hours at night 3 times per week. Even more of those people work. Peritoneal dialysis is where you dialyze at home by using special bags of fluid that are prescribed by a doctor. Many people that choose this option have a high quality of life.
CKD is not the end of all quality life. Many people live for many quality years now thanks to new advancements in CKD treatment options.