“I am tired of the disease and eating too many medicines”: seeking adolescent’s lived experiences about chronic renal disease

Background: Chronic renal disease (CRD henceforth), results from a range of conditions that cause irreversible damage to the kidneys and is a recognised major medical problem worldwide. CRD in children and adolescent’s is an enervating condition requiring lifelong treatment in order ‘to survive’. Several researchers have criticised the research on children with CRD as most of these studies rely on standardised tools which seem to be grounded in objectivity and quantification. Methods: This Indian study adopts a qualitative approach underpinned by Husserlian phenomenology ,using descriptive phenomenology as a method. The primary purpose of the study was to delve into the lives of adolescents suffering from CRDs to understand their perceptions about how this challenging condition affects and changes their lives. Conclusion: The adolescent participants conveyed a paradoxical nature in terms of suffering; coping with the stringent lifestyle changes and yet adapting to the disease to moving forward in life.