Peritoneal Dialysis and Hyperglycemia: What You Should Know

Peritoneal dialysis is a form of kidney dialysis that you can do at home. However, the sterile solution used in the process contains glucose, which can raise your blood sugar levels and lead to hyperglycemia.

When you live with diabetes, you’re at risk for certain kidney complications, including kidney failure. Treatment may require dialysis, a process that helps ease the burden on your kidneys by flushing your body of waste products.

One type of dialysis is peritoneal dialysis (PD), which you can do at home by yourself or with the help of a machine. This allows you more freedom to move around and do more tasks than you could if you did dialysis at a clinic.

However, this form of dialysis uses a sterile solution that contains glucose, and it can raise your blood sugar, leading to possible hyperglycemia during or after your dialysis.

This article will discuss the form of dialysis, your risk for hyperglycemia, and you can manage that higher blood sugar. We’ll also discuss other complications that can arise from PD treatment and hyperglycemia, in general.

Nearly 1 in 3 people with diabetes also develops chronic kidney disease as a complication, and that can lead to renal failure.

Those choosing PD as a treatment option may find the at-home use and portability of the dialysis machine to be the most appealing factors. But it can also present challenges for people with diabetes, given that the sterile solution used may contain glucose and cause your blood sugars to rise.

People with diabetes are able to use PD, but they’ll want to work with their diabetes and healthcare to monitor their blood sugars during and after the procedure.

What is peritoneal dialysis?

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a treatment for kidney failure. The procedure uses a membrane that lines your abdominal wall, called the peritoneum, to filter waste products from your blood.

Healthcare professionals start by implanting a plastic tube in your abdomen. The tube is called a catheter. Once the area around the catheter heals, you hook the end outside your body to a bag filled with a sterile mixture.

The fluid flows slowly into your abdomen, where it absorbs waste products. Then it drains out into the empty bag, which you throw away. You can do this up to six times per day or hook up to a machine that does it for you at night.