Dumb Questions

[kitkatz]

Okay I will be starting Nx stage in November, training that is.  Here are a few dumb questions you all can answer for me.

How do you throw everything away? Do you have biohazard bags and special pick up with the garbage service?

How far can you get up when you are on the machine, or can you get up at all?

The center says to be prepared for sixty boxes for the first time around, I have a bedroom reserved for it all.

What kind of chair should I be looking for?  Vinyl is so uncomfy, but how do you keep anything else clean?

What type of cabinets do you all have in your room? I found one I like.

Do I need special electrical hook up or drain areas for the bathroom?


Okay, That is it for now.

[jbeany]

How do you throw everything away? Do you have biohazard bags and special pick up with the garbage service?
No, you just need heavy duty trash bags and regular trash pickup.  You trash output will average about 2 large bags a week.

How far can you get up when you are on the machine, or can you get up at all?
You can stand and move only about 2 or 3 feet from the machine, provided you aren't inclined to get dizzy. (I do, so I stay put!)

The center says to be prepared for sixty boxes for the first time around, I have a bedroom reserved for it all.
I have most things stacked on one garage floor to ceiling shelving unit, 6 foot tall by 3 foot wide and 2 ft deep.  There is also another single stack of boxes in another room.  The prebagged and pureflow boxes are very heavy, so make sure your shelving is too.

What kind of chair should I be looking for?  Vinyl is so uncomfy, but how do you keep anything else clean?
Hydrogen peroxide is a must for cleaning the upholstery.  I also keep the chuck tucked under my arm during the entire run, just in case I get a leak.

What type of cabinets do you all have in your room? I found one I like.
I've got a plastic drawer bin on wheels, so I can slide it around easily.  My dialysis room is also my craft area, so I put the drawers in the hall when I am sewing.

Do I need special electrical hook up or drain areas for the bathroom?
No special electricity is needed.  You have several options for the bathroom.  If you are using bags, you need nothing - you will get a really long drain line that should reach to any nearby drain.  If you are using the pureflow, if has to be hooked into the water supply.  There is an option to connect to the faucet.  They also supply the connections needed to tap into the pipes under the sink, and connect both the water and the drain lines down there, so the faucet is left alone, and does not need to be turned on when you are running the pureflow to make a batch.  it was a simple plumbing job, and took my hubby less than an hour.  The dialysis room is next to the bathroom, so we actually drilled small holes thru the wall that exited to the underside of the bathroom counter.  No water lines are visible unless you open the cupboard doors.


I also highly recommend a small set of walkie talkies.  Get a set with a charger, so you don't spend a fortune on batteries.  Mine have an emergency call button, which will bring hubby running if I'm having a problem, or just make it possible for him to be out in the garage or yard without worrying about being out of earshot.  They save a lot of running for the partner.



I wouldn't suggest putting the machine anywhere near where you sleep if you are a light sleeper - it does make a lot of noise, even when not being used.

[kitkatz]

Thanks JBeany! Great answers!

[lola]

Okay I will be starting Nx stage in November, training that is.  Here are a few dumb questions you all can answer for me.

How do you throw everything away? Do you have biohazard bags and special pick up with the garbage service? Everything except sharps go's in regular garbage, we had to go from one can to two.

How far can you get up when you are on the machine, or can you get up at all? Nope can't get up, BUT if you need to you can pause for up to 15 minutes and leave machine anything over 15 you have to end your session.

The center says to be prepared for sixty boxes for the first time around, I have a bedroom reserved for it all. Kit I cried when the Semi came, VERY overwhelming the first time.

What kind of chair should I be looking for?  Vinyl is so uncomfy, but how do you keep anything else clean? Otto is just in our old recliner, when he gets on and off he puts a little blue thingy to catch anything that might leak.

What type of cabinets do you all have in your room? I found one I like. Otto is in the living room so we just bought a rubber maid cart with wheels and 5 drawers, the rest of his supplies are stacked up in the basement.

Do I need special electrical hook up or drain areas for the bathroom? nope they send different hookups, we drilled a hole in the floor so we could run everything to the laundry room in the basement so nobody trips over them(we have 3 young kids) just buy LOTS of bleach to pour down the drain since it gets smelly after a week or two.


Okay, That is it for now.

I really hope this works for you Kit, Otto feels so much better and works without looking like the walking dead.

[RobinM]

Hi KitKatz,

I hope NxStage works as well for you as it does for me.  I love home hemo. I feel so much better on it than in-center.  Just hang in there with the training -- it seems really confusing at first, but it does get easier.

Oh, and no question is a dumb question!  Ask a lot of them.

[G-Ma]

and Davita hires and pays for the plumber to come out and hook up the plumbing for pureflow.

[monrein]

Good move in my opinion KK.  I'm sure it'll seem crazy at first but of course many people do it and you will too.  Gotta love the flexibility and the control.

[kitkatz]

Bed or chair?  If so what kind do you all use?

I was considering getting a craftmatic bed for the room. That way it can be used for company and I can sit up or lie down during dialysis. But then company ain't allowed in the dialysis room, so it would be for my comfort only!

[monrein]

Geesh, I'm glad no one ever told me no company during home hemo.  I used to dialyze in my kitchen down in Nova Scotia and often used to tutor some of my college students during the first two hours.  I also had very regular dialysis dinner parties.  I'd cook dinner, hook up, we'd all eat together and then my guests would help clean up.  We'd then play scrabble or cards or just chat to pass the time.  I did 5 hours three times a week at that time.

[silverhead]

Several years ago we purchased a nice matching pair of Lane recliners, after Sharon's health declined and she had the Nephrostomy tube inserted in her back she could no longer lay down in our nice new bed, but the recliner works wonderful for her, I put "my" chair on the other side of the room and we use it for dialysis and the other one is for her the rest of the time, the couch is next to her chair and I sleep on it in case she has problems in the night. The recliners work great for her treatments, much more comfortable than the chair in the centers.....
Tom