Is 2 hours dwell time enough to be effective?

[wolfmmann]

I have now been on the cycler for a few weeks. I got a call from my PD nurse the other day to tell me my last lab results show I'm not get enough dialysis, so the Doctor increased my exchanges from 4 to 5, four of which to be done at night and 1 midday. The Doctor also decreased my dwell time to 2 hours to accommodate the extra exchange. I am bit concerned that if 3 hours of dwell wasn't effective, how is 2 hours going to be adequate even with the extra exchange?  I thought the dialysis solution fully effective for up to 4 hours.

[mariannas]

It really depends on the person.  I do manual exchanges and I do two exchanges of 1.5% for 1 hour (if I leave it in any longer I just start absorbing it) and one exchange of 2.5% that I can leave in 5-6 hours. 

I *think* more exchanges are recommended because the solution can only take out so many toxins before it becomes ineffective and you start re-absorbing and then the toxins just start circulating again.  It is probably more complex than that, but that is how I (sort of - I am so not a scientific person!) understand it. 

[peleroja]

How good your dialysis is working is a combination of (1) the type of fluid (1.5, 2.5, 4.25; the higher numbers remove more fluid, but they all remove the same amount of toxins), (2) the amount of fluid (2000, 2500, 3000, etc.) and (3) the dwell time.  I started out 5 years ago on 4 manual exchanges a day (7 am, noon, 5 pm, 10 pm).  Three years later they upped that to 5 a day (7 am, 11 am, 3 pm, 7 pm, 10 pm), then 6 a day (7 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm, 10 pm), and then I was forced to use the cycler.  All of my manual exchanges had been 2000 ml.  When I went on the cycler the exchanges were upped to 2500 ml with a dwell time of 1 hour 38 minutes.  So, it appears that more fluid goes with a lower dwell time.  Apparently more fluid removes more toxins.  Of course, if you're eating all the wrong things, that wouldn't be helping!!!!!

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[KICKSTART]

Have you had a PET Test yet ? This is a guide to how well your dialysis is working and tells if you are a high transporter or not. In my case i am a high transporter which means most of my dialysis takes place within about a 2 hour dwell , after that i just start to re-absorb the fluid. It has nothing to do with the strength of fluid you use , if you havent had a PET test yet , they are usually done once a year.

[Ohio Buckeye]

My dwell time is 1 hr. 23 mins.
Have they did a PET test to determine how you transport?

[wolfmmann]

I have had a recent PET test. I don't understand what everything means, but the bottom line of my test results says, " Low transport classification."

[Ken Shelmerdine]

I don't know what the answer is Wolfman. I was convince by reading each post that you were a high transporter and the 3 hour dwell time  was just reintroducing the toxins back into your body  thus showing an inadequate dialysis. But after reading your last post this is obviously not the case. I do hope this can be solved for you. 

[KICKSTART]

I would double check your Pet Test results , because if you are a low transporter i wouldnt think a 2 hour exchange was going to be long enough , bring it up with your doctor , it may have been overlooked , they dont always gather all the info before they act!!