LIFE had been harsh for Suzette Penales of Talisay City ever since she was diagnosed with chronic renal or kidney failure last year.
Twice a week dialysis sessions at four hours each every Tuesdays and Fridays leave her drained and unable to sleep due to headaches.
“All my blood is drawn out for cleansing. Sometimes I experience low blood pressure,” she said.
Were it not for the charity of family and friends Penales, single and unemployed, would not have made it this far.
She blamed her ailment on her urinary tract infection (UTI) treatments and her love of junk food.
On first hearing her doctor tell her that she had no choice but to undergo a lifetime of dialysis sessions, Penales was in despair and told him that she couldn’t afford it.
She had to ask her doctor to give her a pain reliever to ease her stomach pain.
“I cannot accept the fact that I will be subjected to dialysis. The doctor had me signed the waver, but my mind was very empty,” Penales said.
Penales is one of hundreds of patients in Central Visayas who suffer from chronic renal failure.
Dr. John Li, a nephrologist or kidney specialist, said the number of kidney failure patients undergoing dialysis in Region 7 rose to 585 in 2011.
This is a 25 percent increase from the 438 dialysis patients in the region the previous year.
In Central Visayas, there are 20 dialysis centers of which 12 are in Cebu, four in Bohol and Negros Oriental.
Li cited a study that showed that 2.7 million out of 90 million Filipinos in the country suffer from chronic renal disease in 2006.
He blamed poor dietary habits and sedentary lifestyle as the main culprits behind the prevalence of the disease.
Dr. Vivina Chiu, a pediatric nephrologist and chairperson of the Department of Pediatrics of Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital said persons with diabetes and hypertension are most vulnerable to chronic kidney failure.
Both doctors advised regular checkups, healthy diet and exercise to avoid contracting the disease or any disease for that matter.
They also advised against eating too much canned food or fastfood with high salt, fat and sugar content.
People should also drink water every 2 to 4 hours everyday.
Dr. Ceasar Quiza, president of the Philippine Society of Nephrology in Central Visayas, said people shouldn’t also resort to self-medication and self-interpretation of lab results.
“If you are diabetic or suffer from hypertension, don’t wait for the time that you will feel something abnormal in your body since by then it may be too late,” he said. /Christine Emily L. Pantaleon, Correspondent