Mental from red alarm 39, 38, 39 etc

[cassandra]

 


Nicely humming along, and alarm red 38 comes along. Checked lines etc, moved bag, works for 5 Min's, and alarms again. After 4' time I ring tech support. 7 choices!! I press 5 (why not give it a go right? I'm on D, just read a research paper that D makes me cognitively speaking very limited. 7 choices?
Henry (tech support) starts with the nonsense questions about venous pressures and things. Pfffff. Than he asks me when I last bleached the waste line.
By this time I sort of start to loose my niceness. "Dear Henry if it was the waste line it would alarm red 35. And I bleach twice a week cos I can't handle the smell. Now can you help me with alarm 38 or do I just start again tomorrow?"  So Henry and I go through the lines and sack checking again. "Can I ask your helper something?" Me "dear Henry, this is the UK, what is it you would have asked my helper? I'm not going to wake up hubby as he's working early tomorrow ". So I had to disconnect the drainline and drain in a nearby sharpsbin, and it alarmed red 38 again of course.
So Henry is going to send me something that has to be plugged in at the back of the Pureflow or something. And I could 'abandon treatment '.

Okay so I decide to try a few more liters, as the sack would be too heavy to get out, so I could start making a new batch. I managed 40 Min's treatment time in the 2,5 hrs on the machine. Of course I ended up having 2 spurters while getting off. I'll clean the mess up tomorrow.

Thanx for letting me rant.

Why can't I be normal

[Simon Dog]

>ring tech support. 7 choices

This is one of my pet peeves regarding NxStage support.  There should be a number that takes you right into the tech support queue, rather than have to spend a couple of minutes giving automated responses to irrelevancies such as "press 2 for customer support" (as opposed to tech support).   If someone calls with the blood pumped stopped, the extra time navigating their touch tone menu can mean the difference between a timely solution and losing the 190ml of blood in the filter and lines.

[Jean]

I am no help at all, since I know nothing about what you are doing. Just thought I would offer my sympathies. Sorry   

[PrimeTimer]

What are Red Alarms 38 & 39? Are you getting a high effluent reading? Have you recently flushed the drain line with the washing soda kit that NxStage gives to some customers?

I forgot what 38 and 39 are and can't look them up since I gave back our manuals when we stopped doing home-hemo. I remember getting high effluent readings and maybe alarms shortly after rinsing the drain line with the washing soda kit. I kept seeing huge white chunks of the washing soda coming out the end of the drain line during treatments and suspected that the soda was clumping inside the line before finally giving way and washing out. After going thru that a couple of times, I stopped using their washing soda kit. Problem stopped. Don't know if this is your problem but sure hope they help you with it. Here in the US we were able to talk to NxStage tech support pronto if we had an emergency during treatment. Guess they don't offer that option anymore ?? Wow. 

[cassandra]

Aw thanx PT, Jean and SD, red 38 and 39 are alarms for fluid occlusion, and  balance chamber nonsense.
Still waiting for that thing that needs to be plugged in the back of the Pureflow. But today had only 4 alarms in the beginning of the session, so I could do the full 2.5 hrs.

PT I did not get the washing soda kit from Nxstage, but I bleach the wasteline at least once a weak, so it's unlikely to be that.

Thank you all for your sympathy. 

Love y'all, Cas

[MRSD]

Last time I had those alarms, the dialysis line was linked by the cartridge where I couldn't see it. I just have it a tug and it unkinked. He time before that , there was a small leak in the balance chambers . It is usually a cartridge issue ,  not a drain line issue

[cassandra]

It was 'solved' by a cycler swap. And to my surprise I got a OneS. So I just yank the liters up to 16 when: I feel I had enough and I want to empty the Sak while using it. I love it.