Take regular health check-ups – dialysis patient urges Guyanese amid drastic life changes

Sharing the drastic life changes he has had to make following his diagnosis with chronic kidney disease, dialysis patient Colvin Luthers is urging his fellow Guyanese to take control of their health by undergoing regular check-ups at their nearest health facility.
Making the call during the Health Ministry’s “Health Matters” programme, wherein the focus was on kidney care and treatment, Luthers shared that he has been on treatment for the past eight years.
He disclosed that after experiencing headaches and a persistent hiccup, he chose to visit a doctor, and an examination discovered that his kidneys were not functioning properly. He recounted, “I didn’t know where it would have led me. I was oblivious to the whole dialysis, but after researching, I realised that would have been a drastic life-changing situation to begin with, where I had to walk away and leave my life behind me. It was a complete change.”

Prior to being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, Luthers outlined, he was suffering from hypertension. However, he did not take it seriously, nor did he take medications prescribed by the doctor. At that time, he was residing in Montserrat, but he returned to Guyana in order to have a second opinion on his condition; and it confirmed his previous diagnosis.
Chronic kidney disease is an impairment in kidney functions extending over three months, and despite challenges, Luthers is undergoing treatment three times weekly. Dialysis is a treatment for people whose kidneys are failing. When a person has kidney failure, their kidneys don’t filter blood the way they should. As a result, wastes and toxins build up in their bloodstream. Dialysis, however, does the work of the person’s kidneys: removing waste products and excess fluid from the blood.
Sharing his experience, Luthers expressed, “You’re not 100 percent, even after dialysis…There are lots of aches and pains due to treatment; a lot of side effects: headaches, dizziness, tiredness, because you got to use different medications according to what causes the kidneys to fail. I will ask a lot of family members to be patient; to read and understand the sickness, and give that patient 100 percent support, because that matters.
“From day to day, there are certain things that you definitely can’t do that you used to do. For instance, I started jogging, but I had to stop,” he disclosed.
To persons who are not regularly screened, or who do not pay attention to their health, Luthers encouraged, “I think prevention is better than cure. So, I would like to stress on people to go to the health centres, especially those that have chronic diseases, to follow up with their treatment.”
Advisor to the Health Ministry, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, has called on health organisations to up their game and interest on kidney diseases. The former Health Minister voiced, “We need more attention on kidney diseases. It is a major public health problem, but just like HIV in the 1980s, we continue to neglect this important problem. Here is the crux of the matter: Not only does kidney diseases affect people’s health, bring about premature death and disability, but it serves as a multiplier effect that makes heart diseases (and) diabetes worse. Therefore, it is a public health problem that we need to focus more attention on.”
Guyana has made advancements in kidney replacement therapy, and has become the leading transplant country in the Caribbean. It is expected that this programme would be extended in 2024 with a Centre of Excellence. Dialysis is also made accessible with annual grants issued by Government to the tune of $600,000. This does not include testing provided to each patient, bringing the subsidy to about $1 million per year.
Highlighting that replacement therapy is the last resort, Dr Ramsammy has said that persons with kidney disease, or those who are at risk, need to be identified at the earliest. (G12)