needing advice

[brenda seal]

Hi my name is Brenda and I am carer for my husband Laurie , who started on CAPD this week . He trained at the clinic for three days  and started at home on Thursday . His blood pressure has been creeping up steadily since then and he is retaining a lot of fluid in his legs . He is using green bags at the moment as per instructions . Does any one know why he would be retaining so much fluid and what we can do about it ? I would be grateful for any advice

[kellyt]

I have no answers for you, but know someone here will.  Hang in there.  3 days of training doesn't seem very long?  Is he watching his fluid intake?  Take care.   

[WishIKnew]

Well, I'd check with the clinic and see if he can do a red bag  - the reds pull off more fluid.  When I was on CAPD I did a red every morning and that was the exchange I got most of my extra fluid off in.  Then I did greens the rest of the time.  It takes a little time for your husband's body to adjust and to get your prescription just right.  Hang in there!

[Poppylicious]

Hi Brenda.  I'm afraid I can't answer your question but just wanted to say a big fat

 

to ihd.

 

[Rerun]

Welcome Brenda, this is where you introduce yourself and lots of people don't read these.  Go ask your question under "Home Dialysis"

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?board=25.0  Just hit "new topic" and ask your question.

If I were you I'd call his home trainer and tell them the problem.  Fluid overload can get serious very fast.

Rerun, Moderator   

[jshabanian]

I would definitely call your center to ask for advice.  It does take a little while for your body to get used to the pd.  I pulled off so much fluid at the beginning!  My dry weight kept going down, down, down.  I didn't even know I had that much extra fluid on my body.

They may tell him to do an extra bag one day. 

Good luck to both of you and welcome to our board!

janet

[Joe]

First  , hope you find answers to your questions here. And I agree with WishIknew, check with your center and see if they will let you roll a red bag in. It does take a bit for the body to adjust to PD, but it will get there. Let us know how you do.

[willowtreewren]

I'm not familiar with CAPD, so I can't answer your question, but

 

Aleta

[looneytunes]

Hi Brenda and welcome to IHD!  You've found a great spot to land in cyber-space for advice, support and a little bit of fun.  I am a care partner to my hubby who did CAPD for a while.  3 days of training isn't much...ours was for 2 weeks.  I would guess that the greens are not strong enough or maybe the dwell time is not long enough.  Definitely check with your nurse.   

[fearless]

The amount of fluid removed depends on:

number of exchanges (more exchanges will remove more fluid)
length of exchange (longer removes more UNTIL a certain point where the body will start to reabsorb) usually 1-2 hours is ideal
concentration of dialysate (red-most, green, or yellow-least)

also need to be sure to remove all the fluid from the belly when he drains (before each fill)
Keep the salt intake low.  It's harder to remove the fluid when the salt is "hanging on to it"

It would be nice to allow your husband to adjust the number of exchanges he does, or the concentration of the dialysate, so that he can learn how much fluid he needs to remove on a daily basis.   As long as you keep careful records of what you do the clinic should be able to figure out what's needed for good KT/V.   

My main symptom as I approached the start of dialysis was fluid overload.  What a relief it was to finally have a tool to remove that fluid!

[brenda seal]

Thank you everyone for the advice and encouragement , Laurie had to go back into the clinic today ( monday - we live in Australia  ) as he hardly drained anything this morning and it was cloudy  . Seems he has an infection , they are treating with antibiotics . He has to go back on Wednesday so maybe they can adjust the strengths of his bags when this is cleared up . He has only been issued with yellow and green bags , no orange or red ones , we didn't know they existed . When I have a little more time I will introduce him properly and tell you his story as it is long and complicated .

[billybags]

I hope that every thing is getting sorted Brenda. How has he managed to get an infection so soon?  Has he cut down on his fluid in take and is he watching his diet, it all makes a difference. CAPD is really great when you get into the swing of it. It will take a few weeks. Please keep posting and let us know how things are. By the way  to the site.

[lmunchkin]

Welcome to this site Brenda.  Lots of support here. The infection is probably the culprit here. Nothing operates right when it is looming in the back ground.  Once that infection is gone, you may see some improvement in removal of those fluids.  Keep us posted!

Again Welcome,
lmunchkin
 

[WishIKnew]

Infections happen - glad they are taking care of it.  Hang in there!