Ahhh! Nurses make a mistake - AGAIN !!!!

[jessup]

Third time within last four visits.  The nurse miscalculated how much fluid to remove from Dad.  I take Dad to dialysis and accompany him into the renal unit.  As soon as he weighs himself and then sits in his chair he tells me to go! And every visit I say no because I want to check that they are removing the correct amount of fluid in accordance to his dry weight.  I am sure the nurses wonder why I hang around for an hour or so and I am sure they know that I am keeping check.  I've tried to encourage Dad to check himself but he is totally not interested.  I have reminded him that if a miscalculation is made he may "crash" again and end up in hospital like he did 3 months ago but this doesnt motivate him to be proactive.
It can't be that bloody hard to subtract and calculate correctly especially when calculators are provided. I'm sick of the nurses saying "oh sorry" or "Oh doesn't your dad drinik and eat whilst on dialysis" or "yeah that's right ....(then me  asking to recalculate)..... oh sorry"  WTF.

[flip]

If he can't do it, then you need to take control. It's a simple calculation. Wt. - dry wt. + about 200 for the rinse. If I eat or drink during dialysis, I add some more for that. Most machines will stop pulling once the UF goal is reached. He also needs to tell them when he starts to cramp or feel dizzy. I would have a heart to heart with the unit administrator. You're paying them for a service and you have every right to demand that it be done properly.

[willieandwinnie]

jessup, sorry your Dad is having these problems. I always took my husband to the clinic when he was on dialysis and I told them what amount to take off and watched as they set the machine up. You have to stand up to them or they will ring him out like a sponge. Pissed me off numerous times and then I turned into a real bitch. Tell them outright that they are taking too much off. Hope things improve and keep us posted. 

[Ang]

hey  jessup,


i  reckon  some  nurses  have  no  (something)  cause  all  this  is  a  job.


i  had  a  nurse  do  my  dry  weight  i  said  no it  should  be   ??

came  off  a  whole  kilo  under  my dry weight  all  she  could  do  was  laugh.

sit   them  in  thechair  see  what  its  like  when  i  make  an  error,not  so  bloody  funny  i'm  guessing.

be  there  if  you  can  while  they  do  the  dry  weight  and  check  that  its  being  done  properly.

some  nurses  don't  give  a  shit cause  its  just  a  job

[jbeany]

Even if they do care, they can still screw up.  I had a pretty good group of nurses at my clinic when I did in-center, and they still couldn't always subtract correctly.  I learned to do the math myself in a hurry, and then watch what they were setting the machine at.  If your dad does nothing else for himself, jessup, try to convince him to do that much.  It saves a lot of crashing and burning in the long run!