Start Tomorrow - any suggestions?

[topazbeauty]

So tomorrow I start hemo. I was hoping we could wait it out and get my fistula in place but alas, that is not the case. They are going to put in a cath and then do a short treatment in the hospital, with my schedule to be worked out from there. I'm hoping I can do treatments at night so I can still work. I'm not trying to over due it, but I work full time right now and would hate to cut down my hours drastically. My company has been great, very supportive, and flexible, but I feel kind of crummy because I know my work has slipped, maybe not quality, but definately quantity. So I guess, the big quesiton on my mind is what to expect?

Anything you wish you would have known going into your first time? Or something you wish you would have brought/done?

[pamster42000]

I think it would be wise to bring a blanket because dialysis units are usually cool. If you plan to stay awake bring something that will help the time pass faster like headphones so you can listen to music, recorded books.The unit my daughter went to had a TV for each individual patient to watch.  Bring your cellphone so if you want to call some you can, or they can call you. If your allowed bring something to drink and eat. (They will figure the amount of your drink into the fluid they take off).

My daughter chose to sleep during her time of dialysis, but then again her time was 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. She had difficulty sleeping at night so I guess this was her time to catch on her sleep.

Bring a positive attitude...ask questions.
I hope you have a wonderful staff at the unit like my daughter had.

Good Luck!   

[RightSide]

Dialysis wasn't bad.
What was bad was caring for my access at home.

What I didn't expect was how much of a hassle it was going to be to keep the catheter site dry and clean.

Shampooing my head without getting water on the catheter site was a real hassle.  I finally bought a Korshield and that's worked well for me.  I recommend you get one too.

I also didn't reckon on how easily those catheter site bandages start to peel off.  I bought a whole bunch of spare Tegaderm bandages, and when the bandage put on by the tech starts to peel, I put on another bandage alongside it to keep it fastened down.

[jdwills83]

Take a friend to talk to (play cards), I got pretty emotional my first time.  oh and the cath, yeah they are a pain in the ass to maintain....but trust me, all worth the wait for a good working fistula!

[staceyand joe92]

The first time I went to dialysis I felt so helpless. I am a bit of a control freak and I felt like a science experiment. BUT i started feeling so much better and the fatigue went away.  I had some problems with the tape over the catheter site ( sensitive skin) that took some trial and error to figure out but eventually we found out what worked for me. I learned to love baths and I became a pro at washing my hair in the sink. 

I take a DVD player with me and started watching tv series that I wasn't able to keep up with before. I always take a blanket and I wear a zip up sweatshirt .

[boswife]

All great info here    .. for us, well, He was in the hospital haveing a really rough time, so when they decided to start dialysis (just like you in a way, where he got the cath then straight over to dialysis treatment) we just sort of went with it with reliefe.  He did his first 3 sessions there.  It was kind of scarry going to the center  (outside of the hospital) first time because by then, we were more stable..lol.. so had more energy to put into fear    Anyway, nothing at all to fear!!!!  Everyone was wonderful, very supportive, and being there with other people just like him really brought us comfort, not fear.  I dont know, i think our whole experience has been basically really smooth, and ........can i say pleasant??  Of course it would be more pleasant to NOT have it at all, but considering that we do, it has been much better than where our minds had taken us.  He has tv in there, and can eat, and we bought him a small movie machine??? so he sometimes rents movies to watch, so he's made it pretty acceptable to be there.  Also!!! we got him a down (spelling for duck feathers???) blanket that REALLY helped keep him warm.  Before that, he had 4 blankets on him and well, that's not too compfy.  Also, got him a thermose so he could put his ice chips in there.. He likes that a lot.  Sorry so long.. Hope your time goes well..

[Rerun]

Expect to sign a ton of papers and if it is DaVita they want what funeral home you will go to if need be.  I about crapped!  Don't worry, I'm still alive and you will be too.  Just paper work. 

I take a DVD player and have invested in Netflix.  Three movies a week. 

Blanket.... YES

Snack.... Hide it if you have to.
Water.... a small bottle

Cell Phone..... Yes

Take advantage of a book while you have both hands.

[Maker]

Ditto on the zip up hoodie sweatshirt when you have a permacath.  And wear an old tank top that you don't mind getting stained underneath it.  I wear my PJ pants a lot and just get really comfy 

Do you have a laptop?  If so find out if your center has wi-fi.  That really helps me pass the time.  Enjoy it now while you can...one good thing about having the catheter is you can use both hands to type 

Your center might give you some extra supplies for your catheter (like tegaderms) if you ask.  It is a pain and my tegaderm always starts peeling up at the bottom.

Like StaceyandJoe said, I've learned to love baths and I wash my (long) hair in the sink.  Tried leaning back in the tub and sticking it under the running faucet, but I always managed to get the catheter wet when I did that.

Good luck!  Post and tell us how everything goes!

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Topazbeauty I was working full time when I was on APD but when I chose to go onto heamo I had to cut my hours from 35 hours a week to 24.5 which my company agreed to because of the disability discrimmination act which exists in the Uk where any employee with 1 or more years service must be allowed access to essential medical treatment without loss of job with appropriate adjustments to pay.

If there is a nocturnal dialysis facility in your unit see if you can get a slot. Alternatavely you could get training to do your own home dialysis. I had all these options but chose in centre daytime dialysis with the resultant loss of income but maybe that's because my career isn't that important to me now that I am only three years away from retirement.

If I were a younger person I would deffinately go for one of these options.

[YLGuy]

One thing that is good about the permacath is you have use of both hands. 
I bring:
blanket
little pillow
laptop or dvd player
a book
Ipod
headphones
eye cover
ear plugs
gum
frozen bottle of water
Nepro
piece of fruit

Good luck.  Let us know how it went.

[peleroja]

I found the Tegaderm very hard on my skin, and they switched me to an island dressing.  If you have a problem with fluorescent lighting, you may want to wear your sunglasses into the clinic.  Be prepared to be bored out of you skull unless you can sleep.  That's all I can think of.  Best of luck to you!

[fc2821]

Wish you the best of luck! Everyone has offered great advice. I always take (in an easy to carry bag) a small pillow,a blanket, something to read, cell phoneheadphones, a snack, hard candy (my mouth gets dry), a pen and little pad. You might think of something you might want to ask your doctor about or something you might need to jot down to mention to yor family.  Luckily the clinic I am in now has internet access. In fact I am using it as I type this. I have a fistula, but it it not totally limiting. You can adapt to using one had. I get tired of TV and helps to pass the time with the internet.
  Starting can be abit scary,at first. Everything is new. But you will do ok.You already have one thing I wish I had when I started in clinic hemo in 2007, a great source of information and support from the people at IHD.

[RichardMEL]

Topaz - just sending *hugs* with best wishes for your first treatment. It can be daunting but you'll find it is more boring than anything else. Everyone else has given great suggestions re blanket, laptop etc so hopefully you will be fine! best wishes  

[boswife]

soooo, how did it go??  hoping for the best!!

[RightSide]

Your center might give you some extra supplies for your catheter (like tegaderms) if you ask.  It is a pain and my tegaderm always starts peeling up at the bottom.

Like StaceyandJoe said, I've learned to love baths and I wash my (long) hair in the sink.  Tried leaning back in the tub and sticking it under the running faucet, but I always managed to get the catheter wet when I did that.

Wow!  I'm glad I'm not the only one who encountered these problems!

I always have a hand mirror with me when I'm bathing in the tub.  With the mirror, I can watch the catheter site as I bathe the area around it, to be sure it doesn't get wet anywhere.

If anyone wants to buy spare Tegaderms cheap, I found a website that sells a box of 50 for $25:
http://www.medsupplies2you.com/

[Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with that website in any way]

[topazbeauty]

Hi all!

Thanks for all the great tips, I posted an update to my first day (new post "update to first day") but I don't know how to link it here 


sorry!

[murf]

Agree with all the other suggestions. I would only add that I wear a beanie. An old adage: keep your head and feet warm to stay warm. Hope all goes well.

[RichardMEL]

I can only wear a beanie during footy season!!! 

(Carn the Tiges!!!)