Draining questions

[jvarnold]

My b/f was a fast drainer at first, he would drain and fill in about 25-30 min. It seems that within the last couple of months it has taken him about an hour or sometimes two hours to fill and drain. The extended time is also accompanied by pain/uncomfortable feeling in his abdomen. Has anyone else experienced this and is it just the peritoneum stretching to accommodate for the fluid?

Thanks!
jvarnold

[paul.karen]

Does he have fibrin in his lines or bag?  If so that is an easy fix with heparin.
With that said the last few days i also have been draining slower then usual.  I am chalking it up to (hopefully) a few bad cassettes.

You can call Baxter if that is who he is using and they will bring you a new cycler usually within 24 hours.  The cyclers do go bad and need maintenace occasionally.

Good Luck

[jvarnold]

Is fibrin little white strands in the catheter? He told me that was protein and it went away shortly after he drained. He's not on a cycler, he uses Fresenius bags and the IV pole. I didn't know if this was a common issue with PD patients or not, although I have read people do have discomfort with both draining and filling.

[billybags]

jvarnold, If he has been draining ok and then it is taking him a lot longer and he has pain I would get in touch with your nurse, It could be fibrin which is easily sorted out. It could be he is very constipated that is normally the case. My husband has to take 2 senacot and lactose twice a day whether he needs it or not. Your nurse could also get his abdomen scanned to see if it is constipation, but you must tell her.

[peleroja]

In addition to looking for fibrin, double check that he's not constipated.  That can also be a fault in slow draining.

[*kana*]

That is way too long to drain.  It is proably fibrin like the others have mentioned.  I'd go crazy if it took that much time to drain. 

[rookiegirl]

He should definitely tell his PD Nurse if he sees fibrin in the cath or go ahead an add heparin.  When I was on CAPD (manual exchanges), the first sign of fibrin, I added heparin to my solutions.  I normally had to do this every 2 months.

As everyone said, make sure he is not constipated.  Constipation was the cause of my Peritonitis and I was hospitalized for 4 days.  I always took Colace everyday and if needed Dulcolax laxatives.

There's something about the warm solution that made my bowel lazy.  Now that I'm post transplant, I no longer have problem with constipation.

Hope all works out for him.

[cloud393]

I agree with the fibrin comments, but it could also be that the cath has changed positions. I had this happen three times.  The cath would end up twisted around my bowels.  After the third time I gave up on PD and went to hemo.  Three surgeries to resposition the cath was enough.  Definitely check with your nurse. Let us know how things go.

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

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[Quickfeet]

Just wondering if you ever found out what was wrong.