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    1. About Kidney Disease
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease
      3. Kidney Disease Stages
      4. What Is a Nephrologist?
      5. What to Expect with CKD
      6. Kidney Disease Management
      7. Understanding Acute Kidney Injury
      8. How Kidneys Work
      9. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
    2. Treatments
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Dialysis Basics
      3. Benefits of Home Dialysis
      4. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
      5. Home Hemodialysis
      6. Sign up to Talk to a Home Dialysis Expert
      7. In-Center Hemodialysis
      8. Transplant
      9. Insurance & Managing Costs
      10. Choosing Not to Treat
    3. Life On Dialysis
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
      3. Staying Engaged
      4. Staying Healthy
      5. Dialysis Travel Services and Information
      6. Tips for Loved Ones
      7. PatientHub
    4. Recipes & Nutrition
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Recipes
      3. Managing Your Diet
      4. Fluid Management on Dialysis
      5. Dialysis Diet Planning
      6. Cookbooks
    5. Thrive Central
      1. CKD
      2. Dialysis
      3. Diet & Nutrition
      4. Stories
      5. Wellness
      6. See All
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    Find a Dialysis Center

    Find a Dialysis Center

    Find a Dialysis Center
    Permission to detect location was denied Current location could not be determined
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      Need help? Call 1-888-373-1470

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      1. About Kidney Disease
        1. Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease
          1. Symptoms
          2. Risk Factors
          3. Causes
          4. Diagnosis and Testing
          5. GFR Calculator
        2. Kidney Disease Stages
          1. Stage 1
          2. Stage 2
          3. Stage 3
          4. Stage 4
          5. Stage 5
        3. What Is a Nephrologist?
        4. What to Expect with CKD
        5. Kidney Disease Management
          1. Kidney Diet Basics
          2. CKD Medications
          3. Your Kidney Care Team
          4. Diabetes
          5. High Blood Pressure
        6. Understanding Acute Kidney Injury
          1. Acute Kidney Injury Treatment and Recovery
        7. How Kidneys Work
        8. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
      2. Treatments
        1. Dialysis Basics
          1. How Does a Hemodialysis Machine Work
          2. Starting Dialysis
          3. Types of Dialysis Access
          4. Your Care Plan
          5. Dialysis Medications
          6. Monitoring Your Lab Results
        2. Benefits of Home Dialysis
        3. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
          1. What to Expect
          2. Getting Prepared
          3. PD Access
          4. PD Training
          5. PD Monitoring
          6. Your Care Team
        4. Home Hemodialysis
          1. What to Expect
          2. Getting Prepared
          3. HD Training
          4. HD Monitoring
          5. Your Care Team
        5. Sign up to Talk to a Home Dialysis Expert
        6. In-Center Hemodialysis
          1. In-Center Treatment Options
          2. What to Expect
          3. Types of Vascular Access for Hemodialysis
          4. Your Care Team
          5. How to Choose a Center
        7. Transplant
          1. Finding a Kidney Donor
          2. Considering Kidney Donation
        8. Insurance & Managing Costs
          1. Understanding Medicare Coverage
          2. Understanding Medicare Advantage
          3. Understanding Employer Plans
        9. Choosing Not to Treat
      3. Life On Dialysis
        1. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
          1. Managing Your Emotions
          2. Talking About Dialysis
          3. Intimacy
          4. Body Image and Dialysis
          5. Building Your Dialysis Support Network
        2. Staying Engaged
          1. Tips for Working While on Dialysis
          2. In-Center Activities
          3. Hobbies
        3. Staying Healthy
          1. Managing Your Time on Dialysis
          2. Dialysis & Exercise
          3. Weight Management
          4. Avoiding Infection
          5. Managing Multiple Conditions
          6. Fighting the Flu
        4. Dialysis Travel Services and Information
        5. Tips for Loved Ones
          1. In-Center Hemodialysis
          2. At-Home Hemodialysis
          3. At-Home Peritoneal Dialysis
        6. PatientHub
      4. Recipes & Nutrition
        1. Recipes
        2. Managing Your Diet
          1. Eating Well on a CKD Diet
          2. Eating Well on a Dialysis Diet
          3. Salt and Kidney Disease
          4. Potassium and Kidney Disease
          5. Phosphorus and Kidney Disease
          6. Talking With Your Dietitian
        3. Fluid Management on Dialysis
        4. Dialysis Diet Planning
          1. Kidney-Friendly Shopping
          2. Eating Out
          3. Holiday Diet Tips
          4. A Chef’s Advice | Chef Aaron McCargo on Kidney Friendly Meals
        5. Cookbooks
      5. Thrive Central
        1. CKD
        2. Dialysis
        3. Diet & Nutrition
        4. Stories
        5. Wellness
        6. See All
      Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
      Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
      OVERVIEW Managing Your Emotions Talking About Dialysis Intimacy Body Image and Dialysis Building Your Dialysis Support Network
      1. Home
      2. Life On Dialysis
      3. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
      4. Intimacy

      Intimacy

      Share:
      Personal intimacy on dialysis
      Intimacy is a profound human need. A need that doesn’t change—no matter what your age or if you have chronic kidney disease. The desire for sex, on the other hand, may ebb and flow at times for many reasons. Medications, general fatigue or depression may be some of the reasons why you’re not in the mood for sex as often as you used to be.

      Sex and dialysis can go together

      Dialysis can present its own challenges when it comes to sex and intimacy. However, understanding common concerns or questions can help you feel more relaxed about being intimate.

      Intimacy and vascular access 

      Talk with your doctor or nurse if you have any worries that having sex will hurt your fistula, graft or catheter. Ask how you can protect your access during sex. Basically, you need to avoid putting direct pressure on a fistula or graft. And you need to avoid pulling or tugging on a catheter.

      Intimacy and peritoneal dialysis (PD) 

      It may take time getting used to having fluid in your belly. If it bothers you, ask your PD nurse if you can have sex between a drain and a fill, with or without a cycler. You can have sex while on a cycler—just be sure to place the line in such a way that it doesn’t get crimped.

      Lack of desire 

      There can be many reasons you don’t feel like having sex. This can be caused by something physical like anemia, medications or other conditions like diabetes or fatigue. It can also be psychological. It’s good to be checked by your doctor—to figure out the underlying cause—even if you’re content with not having sex.

      Wanting more

      If you want to have more sex—or better sex—than what you’re having, talk to your doctor, nurse or social worker about that, too. These specialists can advise you on both medical and psychological issues that could be getting in the way. Know that erectile dysfunction (ED) is very common in men on dialysis—as is sexual dysfunction (difficulty with arousal or orgasm) for women undergoing treatment. Remember, your healthcare team members are used to counseling those on dialysis about sex and intimacy, so don’t be embarrassed to speak up.
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      Talking with your partner

      You might be surprised by how many people don’t think about talking to their partner about sex. Close couples may think they’re on such a good wavelength that it’s not necessary. But discussing what you need from intimacy and sex and listening to your partner’s needs can deepen intimacy.
      Couple talking with one another.

      5 ways to reignite that spark

      • Think about intimacy.
        Think about sex. Imagine everything you love about it.
      • Explore your senses.
        Explore your senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing and smell. They all add to the pleasures of sex and intimacy.
      • Make a date.
        Make a regular date with your partner to be intimate in some way. It can be as simple as holding hands or snuggling while watching a movie together.
      • Put on some music.
        Put on some romantic music to enhance your mood.
      • Take turns with your partner.
        Take turns with your partner massaging each other with scented oil.
      Talk to your dietitian.

      DID YOU KNOW?

      Many people on dialysis have intimacy issues—your doctor can help. If you haven’t already, schedule a time to talk about it.
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