I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: News Articles => Topic started by: okarol on March 20, 2009, 11:38:43 PM
-
Nighttime Dialysis Helps Patients Balance Work, Family, Health
POSTED: Thursday, March 19, 2009
UPDATED: 9:33 pm EDT March 19, 2009
It's happening in an ordinary looking strip mall in Detroit, Mich., but the people who rely on the lifesaving treatment offered there say it's far from ordinary.
Three nights a week, 22 patients arrive at Fresenius Medical Care University Dialysis Center to have dialysis while they sleep.
Clinical manager Arlene Cirku said the nocturnal dialysis program is something unique.
"Most dialysis centers offer treatment during the day, and it starts at 5 in the morning possibly until maybe 6 at night," said Cirku.
Dialysis is a process that slowly removes waste from a patient's blood by filtering it through a special machine. It's necessary for people suffering from kidney failure.
"When you're diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, it means transplant, or dialysis, or you die," said Cirku.
Patients need dialysis at least three times a week, and it takes hours at a time. Fresenius clinical social worker Betty Brown said that makes it more difficult to lead a normal life.
"The only thing that's changed is that you're on dialysis. All the other responsibilities that you always had, they continue. You still need to have a check coming in, you need to cook, you still need to make sure the kids get to school," said Brown.
That's why the nocturnal dialysis program is so important. It allows patients to get their treatment at night, so they can continue to meet their responsibilities during the day.
"A lot of them do sleep, and then get up after their treatment in the morning and proceed to work," said Cirku.
One of those patients is 37 year-old Reginald Thomas. He's been doing dialysis for three years, after a combination of high blood pressure and diabetes damaged his kidneys.
"Since I've been doing it at night, it's a lot better. My labs come back better," said Thomas. "It was hard with working, and I found myself to be more tired doing it during the day."
Thomas and the other patients spend 8 hours a night, three days a week, undergoing dialysis together.
"It turns into like a family atmosphere. You run with the same people every night, every other day, you get to know them, be concerned about their health too," said Thomas.
After they're hooked up, most patients read, watch television or listen to music until they fall asleep. Yes, some patients do snore, but Thomas just laughed and said he doesn't mind.
Experts said nighttime dialysis is not only more convenient, but also has health benefits. Daytime dialysis typically runs 3 1/2 to 5 hours. Patients on nighttime dialysis are hooked up to the machine for 8 hours, so their blood can be filtered more slowly.
"Because it's over a longer period of time, and slower, more like the body, often times patients' medications are decreased, or they're no longer on heart medications," said Cirku.
Experts said nighttime dialysis patients also often have fewer restrictions on their diet.
Thomas has been on the kidney transplant list for three years, waiting for the kidney transplant he said would change his life.
"It'd mean the world. It would free up a lot of time that I wouldn't have to spend here. I could spend doing other things and would probably feel a lot better," said Thomas.
According to Gift of Life of Michigan, there are 2,491 people in Michigan waiting for a kidney transplant as of March 1st.
To learn more about organ donation and join the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, click here.
To find out more about nocturnal dialysis with Fresenius Medical Care University Dialysis Center or to find other locations, click here. or call 866-4-DIALYSIS.
To find other nocturnal dialysis options in Michigan, and to learn more about kidney disease and how to prevent it, go to http://www.clickondetroit.com/health/18971007/detail.html#- to find the links
-
OKarol
Thanks for finding all the great Articles
Kim