I’m Considering Nocturnal... Anyone Have Experience?

[MonicaJade]

Yesterday while in the dialysis waiting room, I read all the different kinds of dialysis there are. Home hemo is out of the question because it would be too much trouble and between the clinic and our small house, the clinic is better. I don’t want PD because I don’t want a cath in my abdomen. I read once that you can’t take a bath with a cath. But CAPD did look enticing, if it didn’t have the cath... btw, can that cath be taken out and my body go back to normal if I ever had one?

Anyway, the point of this post, I read on that paper that there is Nocturnal and you sleep at the clinic for 9 hours and it would eliminate phosphorus binders (I’m guessing because it takes 9 hours instead of 3. I currently do Monday Wednesday and Friday from 11 til 3 altogether, so that would give me my days back. I think I am really considering that one. Does anyone here do it all night at the clinic? What’s it like?

I am on the transplant list, but I’m just wondering about other dialysis while I wait...

[Simon Dog]

Nocturnal will be great IF you can sleep through treatment.

Your bed will probably be a dialysis chair, and the nocturnal shifts tent to start early - 8PM or maybe 9PM.   If you can't adapt to an early to bed early to rise sleep cycle, it may not be for you.

[MonicaJade]

Hmm, thank you Simon Dog. And one of my main reasons for wanting to switch is the diet. What is the diet like for nocturnal patients? I actually enjoy eating fruit and vegetables, and a lot of my stress comes from being forced to not eat bananas and spinache and other fruits and vegetables that I genuinly like. I love nuts too. I love smoothies and fruitt bars and carrots and olives. I eat a certain amount of spinache and carrots sometimes but.I feel bad hearing everyone talk about how bad white bread and pasta is, but that’s what I have to live on because the healthy stuff is too healthy. I really don’t want diabetes, and want to be as healthy as I can. Is the nocturnal diet better than the daytime diet? It sure sounds like it. Btw, I don’t have a fluid problem or restriction, I just don’t like eating less healthy.

[kitkatz]

I loved nocturnal.  The clinic I am in stopped it due to staffing issues, now I do extended run for 6 hours three days  a week.  My blood work is usually spot on.  It does help with potassium and phosphorous.

[MonicaJade]

Okay, thanks kitkatz.

[MonicaJade]

Well, it turns out that my clinic does have nocturnal, and my mom says it’s okay that it ends at 3AM, she likes getting up that early. I was surprised and didn’t think she’d want to do it when I heard the time.

 The manager said all she has to do is ask the next doc that comes in and if he signs off on it I can start. I’m excited, especially all the good stuff I’ve seen and heard. I don’t think I will have sleeping problems, but I hope not.

[Jules1108]

Well, I am currently on nocturnal and have been for almost two years. My experience is a little different than what everyone is talking about. I have to be there at 7:45, on at 8pm. I sit in just a regular dialysis chair with individual tvs. They dim the lights and everyone stays pretty quiet. But I only run 4 hours, everyone runs all differnt times with the longest being 6. Some people sleep but I am a nightowl so I never do. I watch tv, watch movies on my ipad and play games. I love it so much better than days, so relaxing and laid back. Right now we have 11 patients with 1 nurse and 1 tech and they are wonderful.  I am glad I switched.