Introduction:

The change of dialytic modality is an event of high stress and uncertainty when it is not desired, and which is described as a transition process, where the person moves from one state of life to another, involving the domain of new roles, knowledge and skills to return to the state of equilibrium prior to change.

Objectives:

To describe the experience of patients who change from peritoneal dialysis to hemodialysis.

Material and Methods:

Qualitative, descriptive study, based on the phenomenology. Nine informants selected by convenience sampling were subjected to semi-structured interview at home. The analytical development resulted from a deductive and inductive process from which emerged the thematic axes in which the experience of the participants was articulated. The authorization of the Ethics Committee was obtained and the findings were confirmed by the informants.

Results:

Three main themes emerged: the meaning of the transition experience, the phases of the transition process, and the changes of the being human in transition in terms of how were the psychic, physical, social and family modifications.

Conclusions:

The transition from peritoneal dialysis to hemodialysis is revealed as an experience of great vulnerability, which denotes changes in the health status, and in the relation between roles and skills, and it also requires changes in the behavior patterns of the participants and, therefore, results in the need to redefine a sense of themselves.