I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Introduction => Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: willcon on July 24, 2008, 07:37:53 AM
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Hello, my name is William, I am 58 years old, married and live in Florida. I have been browsing this site for a while now and have been impressed by the members and their willingness to share their feelings as well as advice. I will be starting PD in the near future, I have an appointment to discuss the placement of the catheter in early August.
I have known for sometime that the day would come when I would need dialysis, but know that it's really here, it's been difficult to come to terms with the fact. The information provided by you folks has been a big help.
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:welcomesign; Willcon. Glad you're here.
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:welcomesign; :flower;
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Welcome William, It is not easy to come to grips with dialysis as most of us here can attest, but hang in there, ask questions. we are here to help
Boxman, Moderator
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:welcomesign;
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:welcomesign; willcon. You have found a great bunch of people. Post often, somebody is always here. :flower;
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Welcome to our community, William! I just love your age (hint, hint)!! A friend told me that once that all the good people were born up to 1950. do you agree! You have to the right place at the right time. IHD is a good place to prepare for anything connected to the renal challenge, as I call it. There is lots to read, as you have seen already. But we need you to post as well. You see, we are a family and we need to know how you are doing (all the time!)
Bajanne, Moderator
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Welcome from another PDer. Been doing it 5 years. What do ya wanna know????? lol
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I did hemo for a couple of months and switched to PD at home. The catheter placement is a breeze. The spot was a little tender for a couple of weeks and now I hardly notice its there. What is difficult to come to grips with is needing dialysis at all. It scares me when I realize I am on life support!! Its a pessimistic way to look at it, but reality just the same. Has your doctor talked to you about transplant? I am trying to get on the list still and have done all the pre-req's but have still not made it on the list yet. Maybe you haven't gotten that far yet. PD is a lot to deal with as is any dialysis and the realization that your kidneys don't work as they should. Best advice is read all you can about it, about dialysis, lab work and know your numbers. You will do fine is you are proactive.
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:waving; :welcomesign;
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:welcomesign; As you have read, this is a great group of people and lend much support to each other. I am so glad you joined us. We are all here for you.
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:welcomesign; lots of info here so post often. Good luck with the cath placement.
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:welcomesign;
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Welcome William! I have been a PD nurse for about two years now. If there is anything I can do to help you let me know! :welcomesign;
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:welcomesign;
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Thanks for the welcome, I'm sure I will have questions as things move forward.
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:welcomesign;
I am on PD also. It is flexible and not hard to learn.
Placement of the catjeter was moy difficult for me.
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Thanks Ohio Buckeye, what type of placement problems did you have, the placement really has me concerned.
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:welcomesign;
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Welcome, William.
We're in the same boat with similar situations. I hope you find what you're looking for here at IHD. It's been most helpful for me in getting my head around this issue.
-Devon
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:welcomesign;
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Hello Wilcon;
I am Rasman, a new member. I understand the emotions that you are experiencing. When I was told that I would be starting PD I really was in denial mode. The first day was psychologically tough but after that it becomes what much of daily life is: a routine. I adapted and went on with things. The hardest part is scheduling the time. Other than that it was easy. I had no problems with my catheter which definitely made life easier. just be prepared for the "Wall of Baxter" (the supplies). Once statrted my energy level went up quite dramatically from before so there is a plus. I still had kidney function so the fluid restictions were much better than Hemo. In fact I rarely watched what I drank. The hardest part is the fear of the unknown. Get over that first hurdle and you find you adapt to the routine. I hope this helps in some small way. Take care,
Rasman
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Hi Rasman. Good advice. Please go start your own introduction, and tell us about yourself. Welcome to IHD, I look forward to your posts.
Rerun
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:welcomesign;
Hi!
xx
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Welcome William, good to have you aboard.
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Thanks to everyone for your post.
As Rasman mentioned, I guess I've been in denial mode. But I'm beginning to come to grips with the fact that my routines are about to change and hopefully the way I feel everyday will also change for the better. I'm pretty tired of feeling like crap all the time. If PD can help me feel better than I do now, then "let's get started".
Thanks Rasman, good post, I sure hope my energy level goes up like yours did.
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:welcomesign;
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Willcon,
Welcome aboard. Please keep us all posted on your progress. Feel free to share and ask many questions as I did when I first started on PD. I've been on CAPD for 10 months.
Rookiegirl :2thumbsup;
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William welcome to IHD. I too started dialysis going straight on to PD with a Baxter cycler at age 58 and I've been doing it for two years now. I know how you must be feeling because although I knew for years that eventually I would have to dialyse it still comes as a shock and fills you with fear. But I can honestly say that for me that fear was needless. After a few initial problems I soon realised that it was not the life changing experience that I had dreaded.
Because the dialysis takes place at night it doesn't really take up much of my time apart from setting it up each night which takes about 10 minutes. I still do everying I used to do pre dialysis except swim in the sea and I still work full time.
Just a couple of tips. The exit site for the catheter is usually about level with the bellybutton and about 4 to 6 inches to one side of it. If you have a favoured side for sleeping on for example maybe your right side, then have the catheter fitted to your left. You can still sleep on the side that the catheter is fitted as long as you make sure you don't double it over when you lie on it.
Also I would recomend having full anaesthetic rather than local when you have the surgery.
If you use a Baxter and the slight noise it makes keeps you awake then there are a couple of things you can do to make it quieter. If it does becaome a problem just ask and I'll explain what to do.
Keep us posted and good luck :thumbup;
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Welcome to IHD.com As you begin your PD process come back often and ask questions.
kitkatz,moderator
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Willcon How you doing with PD? :thumbup;