device failure

[brenda seal]

Laurie is using a Fresenius machine - Sleep Safe ( Ha ) - tonight the alarm went off and the message said " device failure . Switch off " How do you know what failed and why ? what will happen tomorrow when he hooks up ? This has never happened before , usually when the machine alarms - it says check patient line .

[Grumpy-1]

Brenda - when you get ready to do the next session on the machine, call the help number on the machine.  They will talk you through that issues and if they can't fix it they will send out an new machine over night express.  You didn't say if he finished the session or not.    It has happen to me a number of times and they are very good at helping you.  Grumpy

[brenda seal]

Thanks Grumpy , No the session still had about two hours to go . We did have to ring the help line  once before when it wouldn't let Laurie prime, the guy was marvellous and calmed him right down and sorted the problem . His emotional state is far from good and if I can avoid a drama tomorrow at hook up time that will be great .

[JLM]

I had a Systems Failure last night.  We were having thunder storms and I got a voltage spike and I had to shut down and call tech support.  They talked me to the proper screen so they could know the numbers there.  I had to start again from new everything and start over.  Thank God I ended at 7:30 this morning instead of 6:45.  I hate that when it happens.  I think I'll look for a surge protector.

[brenda seal]

Well I rang the technical support guy and he asked me for the error code - when I told him he said machine has had the richard . He said to use manual bags over the weekend and someone would contact us on Monday . The first drain bag was very dark in colour , much darker than usual , not cloudy but like black tea ! Hoping this is Ok . Laurie thinks maybe the machine is responsible for his  Oh I don't know how to explain but he can hardly walk to the bathroom without passing out with exhaustion and gasping for air . He thinks the dwell time on the machine is not long enough and is waiting eagerly to see if using manuals makes him feel any better . What do you think ?

[MaryD]

Drain bag colour sounds quite strange.  How long had the fluid been in?  It will be interesting to see what the next bags look like. 

My fingers are crossed for Laurie feeling better on manual.

[KAF454]

According to my pd nurse the occasional dark bag isn't a problem. Cloudy is bad - dark is just dark.

I'd be up in arms about waiting until Monday to get the cycler swapped out. I had a system failure on a Sunday night, called Baxter and they couriered a replacement to my house the next day... on Memorial Day.

[Joe]

I'm also not sure about waiting until Monday. I had my machine start having system errors in the middle of a cycle while we were coming home from vacation. Called Baxter and they walked me through resetting it and finishing up my cycle that night. When I got home and was setting up for the night, I couldn't get the system errors to clear. Baxter had a new machine to me by 0900 the next morning. I got to skip my dialysis that night ( which was kind of weird, but nice).