Life expectancy of Stage 4 Chronic Renal Failure?

My father is 91 and in stage 4 CRF. He as no other illness apart from Mild Dementia and an enlarged prostate. (Catheter fitted 3 years ago) He has elected not to have dialysis. Or any other medication. Are we talking months, a year, or longer? His GFR has recently increased from 23% to 25%. Please give it to me straight. Thank you.

There are lots of dialysis patients that can help answer this question at http://www.ihatedialysis.com - go to the forum and post a question - it's a really great group of people with experience and knowledge to share.

I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but with stage IV renal failure and no dialysis, he's looking at less than a year.

A good hospice service can help make the time he has left easier and more comfortable for him and your family. I wish you all the best in this difficult time.

Kidney failure without dialysis is a horrible way to go. It makes a person feel extremely sick and nauseated all the time, and makes it almost impossible to hold down any food. It might be a good idea to ask him to reconsider the dialysis - just to make him more comfortable. Nobody would want to live with the discomfort of a failed kidney, so people usually decline extremely fast once the nausea sets in and they can't eat anymore.

At his age, it is usually not a good idea to start dialysis because of how it will affect his quality of life and it won't prolong his life a great deal. Honestly, I don't know his life expectancy at this point. Due to his age, and therefore increase risk of cardiovascular disease, the CRF increases that risk significantly. My best ballpark guess, supposing that his GFR stays above 20%, is about 1-2 yrs.