Who can eat at your clinic while dialyzing?

[RichardMEL]

We got BIRTHDAY CAKE yesterday!!!!

It was one of the patients birthdays and the STAFF (!) organised a lovely sponge cake with fresh cream (oh boy don't tell the dieticians! ) and we all got a piece.... wow! I was in heaven (well for 5 minutes )

Did I say I love my unit??? I hate dialysis but if I have to be stuck on it my unit is the place to be

[KT0930]

Richard, if I ever have to go back on hemo, I'm coming to your unit! You make it sound fabulous.

[karen547]

We can eat at our clinic but I don't know about ordering food in, no one has ever done that when I'm there, only the staff ordering dinner.

[Ang]

in  my  center,  we  are  given  sandwich,biscuits  and  a  drink,  you  can  bring  your  own  food  as  extra  if  you  like.
i  reckon  its  rather  inhumane  not  allowed  food  on  dialysis,sit  in  the  bloody  chair  for  4  hours  and  see  how  we  feel  most  days.

[RichardMEL]

I took in chocolate mud cake last week... mmmmmmmmm yum!!

we all enjoyed some. it was excellent.. though I could feel my potassium rising as I ate. Luckily we ate when I started dialysis so much of it hopefully was leached out he he.

[Jamesw]

I don't eat during dialysis or just before, I've found for myself that if I eat just before dialysis guaranteed cramps and bad ones at that. I haven't dared try eating while on dialysis I however am always quite hungry immediately afterwards, everyones different so that's just me. Although it is extra difficult to not eat at my unit as our neighbor in the building is a caterer.

[oswald]

when i started dialysis again a couple years ago, i started at a different unit.  i always ate jolly ranchers and any other kind of hard candy i could get hold of.  the charge nurse found out and literlly hollered at me for eating.  so then i used to sneak it, then she found out again and went absolutley ape sh@#.  another nurse told me that the charge nurse had a patient that choked to death on candy.  what happened was she hollered at the guy and threatened to take him off the machine so he jammed about 1/2 pound of candy in his mouth and choked to death.  ever since then she didn't allow eating in the unit.  the guy was about 90 years old and fell asleep with the candy in his mouth.  i used to argue over this subject all the time.  she got fired right after i got my transplant.  after that they allowed eating candy and something to drink while on the machine.  man, i wish i was there when she got fired.  i would have let her know how i really felt without any backlashing.

[mikey07840]

In NJ State law prohibits food in the dialysis treatment area. Both centers that I have used have allowed and provided drinks on request or you can bring them in.

[rose1999]

At Dad's clinic (UK) they can eat whatever they want in the first hour - they call it Happy Hour  Dad is still careful but he says some eat bananas, chocolate etc and seem to suffer no ill effects 

[petey]

At the in-center clinic where Marvin went for 12 1/2 years, there was a STRICT no eating, no drinking policy.  There is no ice!  The patients can't have a slip of water while they are on the machine (but, Marvin would occasionally ask for two Tylenol for some made-up reason just so he could get that little, tiny cup of water).

We traveled some, and Marvin visited different clinics.  Most of them had the no-food policy, but the nurses turned their heads and didn't look if you brought something in with you.  There was this one clinic in the mountains of NC -- It was a small clinic (maybe 16 chairs) and, when everybody on first shift was on and running, the head nurse announced it was time for a "biscuit run."  She took orders and a patient's wife went to McDonald's for everybody.  They had an ice machine, and Marvin really loved having a cup of ice to munch on.  They let the patients' caregivers come back on the "floor" any time (you didn't even have to ask permission and then wait for them to push the door release!  heck, they didn't even have the door between the lobby and the "floor" closed), and most caregivers sat right there by the patients the whole time (the nurses got chairs for all the caregivers).  That was a really, really nice clinic with wonderful nurses and techs (if you're ever in Cherokee, NC, use the DaVita clinic there!).

Now that Marvin's on home hemo, he eats a snack when he wants and has a drink (we figure the drink into the fluid we take off).  However, we have heard that eating a lot while on the machine can make you sick (that thing about blood rushing to digest the food).

[Gramapat]

The first unit where I started gave me a list of things to bring to treatment.  It said bring a small snack (like crackers) and water if desired.  I was only there for 2 weeks before I switched to a unit closer to my house.

The unit I am at now doesn't allow eating.  They have an ice machine.  I am there from 6:45 p.m. to 9:45  p.m. and there are several people who ignore the no-eating policy.  The techs and nurses don't say anything - there are no food police in my unit.    It doesn't bother me when other people eat unless they eat raw fish.    One little old lady brings raw fish in once in awhile and although it doesn't make me gag, the odor stings my nose. 

I don't eat for a few hours before dialysis but man am I ever hungry when I'm done!!

[fluffy]

i find that i have to eat and rink something during the first two hours of my treatment, otherwise my bp starts to drop and the machine alarm goes off. I did get yelled at once for showing up with a can of coke and a bag of chocolate covered peanuts

[RichardMEL]

I don't eat during dialysis or just before, I've found for myself that if I eat just before dialysis guaranteed cramps and bad ones at that. I haven't dared try eating while on dialysis I however am always quite hungry immediately afterwards, everyones different so that's just me. Although it is extra difficult to not eat at my unit as our neighbor in the building is a caterer.

I would imagine that if you ate just before dialysis that would send your body weight up by the weight of whatever you ate - thus the calculation for what to take off fluid wise would be skewed by however many grams what you ate was... that would mean they could end up taking off too much fluid and thus causing the cramp.

On the other hand as someone else suggested here with "happy hour" my unit nurses also say it's ok to eat chocolate or whatever in the first hour as the machine will leach out all the potassium. They even encouraged me to bring in Chocolate Mud Cake for everyone one time. IT WAS DIVINE - and NO GUILT!

[twirl]

this morning I ate a turkey sandwhich, a Georgia peach and some little fish crackers
our director would like to stop the eating rule
but so far, we can eat

[monrein]

I always eat a main meal (not huge but not tiny either) and drink a tea + another drink (I allocate 600ml for fluid).  I also eat a few cookies with my tea.  I've always done this so I just know that my dry weight will be over by about .4 kg.  My meal kills the first half hour very nicely.   

[flip]

I thought they might put a stop to our eating when Davita took over but it hasn't yet. I pass right by Burger King on the way in so lunch is usually a Whopper Jr., Dutch Apple Pie and a Sprite.

[Wallyz]

I dont'  like to eat while dialysing (during the day, i am doing nocturnal now.)

I didn't like the people bringing in Fries (chips for you Anglo diasporans) or Chinsese food.  it was just rude.  Also reading this thread I saw epoman complainign about staff being fed in front of patients.  Yeah, that ticks me off too.  I talked to some of the friendlier nurses about it, and they changed it before I left.

[monrein]

Wallyz, I'm curious about what bothers you when others eat?  Does the smell make you feel sick?   I'd hate to ever offend anyone in my unit and I hope that if there was anything I was doing that bothered them, they'd say something and we could reach a compromise.
We all talk about food at my self-care clinic and the nurses even bring little goodies in from time to time.  One guy is a caterer and he brought an incredible lunch for all the staff one day.  I bring in stuff occasionally for the staff and the other day one of the techs brought me some cassava cake she'd made.  I enjoy the smell of food from the kitchen even though it's stuff I can't have.
Tell me why it bothers you.  Now I worry I'm being offensive.

[flip]

I'm in center from about 11-3 and I don't like to miss lunch. My opinion is that I would rather watch someone eat as to watch them bleed.

[Wallyz]

Wallyz, I'm curious about what bothers you when others eat?  Does the smell make you feel sick?   I'd hate to ever offend anyone in my unit and I hope that if there was anything I was doing that bothered them, they'd say something and we could reach a compromise.
We all talk about food at my self-care clinic and the nurses even bring little goodies in from time to time.  One guy is a caterer and he brought an incredible lunch for all the staff one day.  I bring in stuff occasionally for the staff and the other day one of the techs brought me some cassava cake she'd made.  I enjoy the smell of food from the kitchen even though it's stuff I can't have.
Tell me why it bothers you.  Now I worry I'm being offensive.

The issue is the greasy food smell, causing nausea, and the fact that this is food that most people are told that they shouldn't eat on dialysis.  So, like the staff eating food in front of us, eating the greasy, salty, potassium filled food in front of people who are working hard to restrict their diets is thoughtless.  Now, I have said something to staff, but I wouldn't say anything to another patient.  They aren't working there, they have to be there. I understand wanting to extend a middle finger to patronizing dietitians.

People who bring their dinner, and its a good renal meal that doesnt push a lot of smell all through the room, I have no problem with.  I just can't do it.

[monrein]

Well, I would definitely say something to another patient or to a nurse /intermediary if something they were doing made me nauseous and I really hope they would do the same, should I be causing them nausea.  A compromise would be reached.   

[flip]

That's a no-no in our center. Staff has their own break room and they each get an hour for lunch. Eating or drinking in the patient area is strickly forbidden.

[thegrammalady]

i get up at 4am and get to the center at 5:15. i don't leave till 10am, if i don't eat breakfast i get sick, i mean really sick, my blood pressure drops, i cough, gag and throw up. we are allowed to eat at my center but i wouldn't care, i'm eating breakfast!!!!!

[monrein]

That's a no-no in our center. Staff has their own break room and they each get an hour for lunch. Eating or drinking in the patient area is strickly forbidden.

The staff at my clinic also have their own staff room and they don't eat in the patient area, but when they cook or reheat things we can smell the food and we often talk about food.  They are very understanding and sympathetic about our restrictions however. 

[Trikkechickk]

My Davita Center lets us eat, (I don't), use cell phones and have visitors.

I get up at 3:30am so I can have coffee, my fruit/protein smoothie and then take care of personal business before I leave at 6:15 am.
I use my D time to get the remaining hours of sleep (and to kill time).