Hello Everyone ..Could you answer a question?

[Neo]

How are you all?  Things on dialysis have been alright but Ive been at the top of the list for what seems like forever. I'm hitting 5 years on dilaysis now,thank god i do nocturnal in unit and i get Benadryl shots anytime I wake up. I average about 4 per 8 hour treatment. Its the only thing that gets me through treatments it puts me to sleep and totally relaxes me its AMAZING..lol Do any of you get I.V Benadryl while dialysing?  Oh and i know i told you earlier i get 4 benadryl injections throughout my treatment. my Doc says its harmless thats why he lets me get so many becasue the machine filters it quite quickly after its injected. Is he right? Is there any harm in taking so much during my treatments??

Oh and when are they having another meet up because I would really like ot meet you all especialy all of oyu who have given me priceless advice. Nobody gets it like you do.. Thanks everyone!!!

[Rerun]

Neo I also do in-center Nocturnal.  I tried a half dose of Bendryl and I was totally awake and my arms and legs were jerking around by themselves.  It was strange.  The nurse told me I must have adverse reactions to Benadryl so, no I don't take any.  I wish it worked for me.  I seem to watch my movie and fall asleep on my own.  It was not this way at first but after about six months I sleep great. 

[lola]

Hey Neo glad to hear your doing good, have you thought anymore about home-hemo? Otto has done so much better since making the switch thanks to all out great IHD peeps.

[paris]

Neo, I hope you are at the next meet-up!   I would love to meet you in person.   I don't have an answer for you.  Just saying "hi"! 

[RichardMEL]

Just a comment about your comment about being "at the top of the list" - as you know the kidney transplant list (which I presume you were referring to) is NOT a linear first in first out type list. You cannot have a "place" on the list because of the nature of kidney matching. At least in Oz, the general criteria is blood group match, then HLA atigen match and THEN time on the dialysis - I am going to presume most parts of the world usue a similar formula to be as fair as possible. So yes, in theory, the longer you are waiting on the list/on dialysis, your chances to be offered a kidney increase simply from the algorithm they use to determine who are the best candidates. The thing is, as we all know, a 6-6 match could come along after you've waited 1 year, or you may be hard to match and wait 8 years. Recently someone down here got a kidney after waiting 11 years (sigh that would suck).

I am not trying to get you down about waiting 5 years. Certainly I would say your chances to get THE CALL are much much better than mine, as I've only been going 2.75 years. I just think it's a bit of a misnomer if medical staff say stuff like "oh you're near the top of the list" when the reality is that's a stupid statement to make. I suppose it's just a way to simplify things since when the average wait is 4-5 years in most places, so having been going 5 years that's bang on the average, so for all intents and purposes you're near the top of that hypothetical list.

Hang in there. The call will probably come when you least expect it... like in 28 minutes from now!!! (just so you can make a film called "28 minutes later..."

[graftgurl]

thank god i do nocturnal in unit and i get Benadryl shots anytime I wake up. I average about 4 per 8 hour treatment. Its the only thing that gets me through treatments it puts me to sleep and totally relaxes me its AMAZING..lol Do any of you get I.V Benadryl while dialysing? Oh and i know i told you earlier i get 4 benadryl injections throughout my treatment. my Doc says its harmless thats why he lets me get so many because the machine filters it quite quickly after its injected. Is he right? Is there any harm in taking so much during my treatments?

I will try to explain what I think is happening to your Benadryl. The tubing we use at dialysis (and everyone should be using something similar) have small ports, one on the arterial side and one on the venous side. The port on the arterial side is red and the one on the venous side is blue. There is also a place on the machine for the nurses to give you any IV meds you may need during treatment (epo, heparin, etc). I take an IV medication for nausea each treatment. I was taught to put it in the blue port and here is the reason why: any medication put into the arterial side would be quickly filtered out as it travels into the machine with the blood from your artery and thru the filters (just as your doctor said). If you put the medicine into the blue port, it is injected into blood which has already gone thru the machine and been filtered. This blood is now returning to your body and so the medicine will not be filtered out before it is absorbed by the body. I also realize that your blood does not just go thru the machine one time, but it truly makes a difference.

You may still require more Benadryl than you would take by mouth, but not nearly the amount you seem to need now. 4 injections for one treatment sounds like an awful lot of Benadryl, but it depends on how much they are actually giving you each injection. One last comment    - your dr. may say it is harmless, but if you require the medicine to put you to sleep or at least relax you enough to fall asleep (and help you to go back to sleep), then your body becomes dependent on this medicine. I am not saying that occasional use would be harmful, but repetitive use can be. Many people who work the night shift take Benadryl to sleep during the day. When these people switched to a different shift, 75% of them still required the Benadryl to go to sleep. Just be aware of what you are taking and how it affects your body. Anything taken in a large enough dose can be detrimental, even water. Our bodies are up to 75% water, but too much IV saline or drinking too much water can cause serious side effects, even for people who don't have kidney problems. I hope this helps answer your question.      

[Angelicfury]

I've never heard about Benadryl being used at dialysis. I must admit I haven't taken it since I was a kid after cutting the grass. I will ask next treatment. Thankx for the idea.

[Neo]

Just a comment about your comment about being "at the top of the list" - as you know the kidney transplant list (which I presume you were referring to) is NOT a linear first in first out type list. You cannot have a "place" on the list because of the nature of kidney matching. At least in Oz, the general criteria is blood group match, then HLA atigen match and THEN time on the dialysis - I am going to presume most parts of the world usue a similar formula to be as fair as possible. So yes, in theory, the longer you are waiting on the list/on dialysis, your chances to be offered a kidney increase simply from the algorithm they use to determine who are the best candidates. The thing is, as we all know, a 6-6 match could come along after you've waited 1 year, or you may be hard to match and wait 8 years. Recently someone down here got a kidney after waiting 11 years (sigh that would suck).

I am not trying to get you down about waiting 5 years. Certainly I would say your chances to get THE CALL are much much better than mine, as I've only been going 2.75 years. I just think it's a bit of a misnomer if medical staff say stuff like "oh you're near the top of the list" when the reality is that's a stupid statement to make. I suppose it's just a way to simplify things since when the average wait is 4-5 years in most places, so having been going 5 years that's bang on the average, so for all intents and purposes you're near the top of that hypothetical list.

Hang in there. The call will probably come when you least expect it... like in 28 minutes from now!!! (just so you can make a film called "28 minutes later..."

Yea i understand. Its ok Im not down I appreciate all the info I get from you on here. I know my surgeon personally outside his practice and he said he had a kidney for me adn they were thinking about giving it to me but it was a 50 year olds and they deciede they wanted to give me one from someone younger, adn he then made the remark,"but you are close your right up there". So maybe he was just trying to make me feel better. How are you doing by the way? Hope your doing well.. LoL its been 28 minutes no call...DAMN..lol

[Neo]

Yea i get the Benadryl in the blue venous port. But on my non dialysis nights I dont take it at all. My legs get extremely restless and painful while on the machine and the benadryl also helps to calm them. Thanks for the info you guys are like a dialysis encyclopedia..lol

[graftgurl]

Neo, it sounds like you have a good relationship with your doctor and that he is giving you benadryl for something besides just helping you sleep. Good luck on the transplant.