Started PD

[jeannea]

I started PD training today.  I've been doing in-center hemo about 4 months.  I got my PD catheter in and waited 2 weeks and started training.  The nurse told me that if I want I can try it on my own in my house tomorrow night.  How many days did you go to training before you tried it at home?  I think I can do it but I'm a little nervous.

Jeanne

[Hanify]

I only did about 3 days training before I did it myself.  I was the same as you - had done haemo for 4 months, so I was quite keen to change.  I remember following my instructions booklet and thinking I couldn't imagine doing it off by heart as it were.  Now it's just a piece of cake.  You'll be fine.  You get really quick and really blase and you will make a silly mistake at some stage - usually about the time you get blase ha ha.

[bevvy5]

Hubby started PD in early August, with two training sessions of about three hours each.  He did that for about five weeks, then switched to a cycler, which was a training session of about three hours.

At first it took two of us and "the book".  After about a day or maybe two, he was at it like a pro.

Good luck and you can never use the hand sanitizer too much!!

[djgaryb11]

I did 4 days of training before I did it myself at home ( manual way)....after a month of doing it the manual way, i was trained on the cycler in one day, then did it that night at home.

[looneytunes]

Hi Jeannea.  My hubby and I had 3 days of training on PD and then we started it at home.  After about 5 weeks, we did about 3 hours training on a cycler and started on it that night.  You will do just fine.  The most important thing is to remember the protocol for cleaning your hands and like bevvy said...don't skimp on the hand sanitizer!

Best of luck to you.  Let us know how it goes.

[rookiegirl]

I did Monday-Friday PD training @ the clinic.  On Friday night is when I had to do CCPD (cycler) on my own.  I only lasted 4 nights on the cycler because I didn't like it.  It kept me up during the drain cycle.  I had trouble with the pinching at the end of the drain.  So, I did CAPD (manual) until I had my transplant.

[peleroja]

Kaiser is kind of anal; I trained for a week.  If necessary, keep your instructions right next to you and just "do it by the book."  I've been on PD for 6 years now, and I still sometimes can't remember what step comes next!  Luckily I just do one manual during the day as I'm on the cycler.

[jeannea]

Thanks for the advice everyone.  I went in for training again today and she had me do the steps myself.  I'm going to go to the center again tomorrow and then try it at home tomorrow night.  I'm feeling more confiident already.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Jeanne

[looneytunes]

Fingers, toes, eyes...all crossed!  Good luck!  You'll be just fine.

[KICKSTART]

Clean hands , follow the book, deep breaths and you will be fine ! Is there anyone there who can sit with you ? I found that i tried to remember each stage without the book , but someone was there to test me, so to speak before i did each stage to see if i could remember what came next. You will make silly mistakes , like forgetting to clamp off ! The main thing is clean, clean ,clean , dont be tempted to touch anything and if you have long hair try tying it back for a while so you are not tempted to touch it.

[rookiegirl]

forgetting to clamp off !

I know this too well.  I've had so many mishaps where I forget to clamp off.  I'm talking at home.  What a mess.

[jeannea]

I've had 2 nights with it.  First night was smooth.  But in the morning I clamped in the wrong order and had some fluid on the floor.  Oh well.  Second night was ok.  I had one alarm from rolling over onto the patient line but that's an easy fix.  I didn't take off as much as I had needed to but that's because I didn't get any red bags in my first delivery.  My nurse called Baxter and the bags came today.

The one real problem I'm having is with electricity.  I'm in an addition to the house that's only 5 years old.  But when the heater turns on the lights in my room and the bathroom flicker.  They dim and come back, kind of rhythmically.  Has anyone had experience with this?  I called Baxter and they told me how many watts it draws but said beyond that they can't give advice on electricity issues.

Jeanne

[Jie]

I found it is easy to do a dummy way at the beginning: follow the instruction step by step. No mistake will be made this way.

[Hanify]

My machine doesn't make that flickering happen - but the power tools my husband uses in the shed do.  I don't think you should worry about it.  Good on you.  You sound like you're going well.

[djgaryb11]

Since you are living in an addition to the house, it sounds like there are too many electrical outlets or rooms going through one circuit breaker....I had somewhat of a similar thing happen in my apartment.....my bedroom and my bathroom are on the same circuit breaker...when my cycler machine is on, I can't really use anything in my bedroom or bathroom that will draw lots of wattage...like a hair dryer or an electric heater...or the circuit breaker will trip...so take a look what you have plugged  in your bedroom...or bathroom....or any other rooms that are on that same circuit breaker...you might want to turn something off or unplug it when your cycler is on.