1. Do you go to a center for a while until you learn how to do it yourself? They trained me for a week.2. Does it make you as tired as hemo? It never made me as tired as hemo.3. In your opinion, is it best to do exchanges during the day or use the machine at night? Whatever works best for you. If you're working, you might prefer the cycler at night with one midday exchange.4. If you work, about how much extra time do you allow yourself in the morning to get off the machine before getting ready for work?I don't work, but I take a lot of day trips and longer trips. Never had a problem getting supplies.5. Are there tons of supplies?Yes, expect to give up one entire wall in the room of your choice.6. If you do the overnight, do you need to have access to a sink in your bedroom?You can drain into a sink, bathtub, toiiet, or drain bag. My clinic provided a jug to drain into, but it sure gets heavy.7. Does it hurt?It has never hurt me, although occasionally I got a kind of "empty" feeling as I neared the end of the drain, but only on manual.8. Does it interrupt your sleep?I found the machine to be particularly noisy, and went through several machines before I figured out I could put the machine in the hallway and close the door to my bedroom. You may need drain or patient extensions.9. Did you ever skip a treatment and if you did, could you feel the difference?Just last week I skipped 2 overnights and a midday exchange as I was very ill and weak. I did not feel any differently. I had learned while in the hospital in Hawaii that I could go at least 3 days without dialysis.I don't want to ask too many questions at once so if there are any little details you know of how to make it easier on yourself, can you share those with me?I'm an early riser on a 10 hour dwell at night, so I hook up at 8 pm so I can get off the machine at 6 am. I use 1 patient extension so I can reach my bed, and 2 drain extensions so I can put the drain line into the toilet. You do want to be careful about draining into sinks and tubs, as the dextrose in the dialysate can build up and begin to clog the drain. It will also begin to smell.
1. Do you go to a center for a while until you learn how to do it yourself? Yes, for the first week or so.. and then again for a day or 2 to learn the cycler. 2. Does it make you as tired as hemo? Absolutely not! When I wake up in the morning, I feel refreshed and the only time I know I've done dialysis is when I wake up and have to unhook. 3. In your opinion, is it best to do exchanges during the day or use the machine at night? I vote for night time - you can sleep through it and it doesn't interrupt your day. 4. If you work, about how much extra time do you allow yourself in the morning to get off the machine before getting ready for work? I haven't gone back to work.. but you'd really only need an extra 20 minutes I'd say. 5. Are there tons of supplies? There are alot of supplies, yes... but you get used to the "warehouse" as well call it - doesn't bother me at all. 6. If you do the overnight, do you need to have access to a sink in your bedroom? It's a pretty long cord.. I connect it to the toilet in the bathroom near my room. You can also have drain bags and then just empty them in the morning. 7. Does it hurt? It can be a little annoying... but nothing too bad and it definitely gets better with time. 8. Does it interrupt your sleep? Eh, depends... it happens on occasion - don't know the exact reason for it but sometimes when draining it pulls until I bypass it. But as soon as I bypass, the pain is gone and I'm back to sleep. 9. Did you ever skip a treatment and if you did, could you feel the difference? heh, I have a few times... and nope I didn't notice a difference BUT I have some kidney function left - a good amount.. so I wouldn't recommend it until you know how well your function is.