Daily Questions on NxStage

[looneytunes]

We have finally brought our newest family member home; our very own NxStage system.  I'm sure I will have questions daily so I am starting this thread hoping some of you who have been using it for a while can follow this and help me as I go along.  I will be doing all the set up for hubby since his eyesight is not good. So far, I am very comfortable with using the system and we are really excited about how much better he feels already after only 2 weeks of treatment. 

Last night I worked on getting all of the necessary supplies organized in our bedroom.  I bought a 4 drawer clear plastic rolling chest that has a good sized work surface on the top.  It will hold about 2 weeks of daily supplies.  We initially thought a dialysis chair was a must but have decided we just don't have the room for it so we will use the bed with lots of pillows for him to sit up or lay down as he wants. 

Initially we will be using his chest catheter since his fistula is not ready to be used yet.  Also for the first week or so, we will be hanging bags until we have some bathroom modifications completed to be ready for hookup to the Pureflow unit. 

The first question I have is this:  The training nurse did not submit our initial order to include the disposable drain lines (she forgot that we would need these) and so we only have a few of them that the clinic had in their storeroom.  As these are not "sterile" connections, can I soak them in bleach water after a treatment and re-use them the next day?  I have a total of 6 of them to last about 2 weeks. 

I appreciate all the encouragement I have gotten from the IHD gang on this and am convinced it is the best way for us to go.  So, a heartfelt thanks to all of you. 

[silverhead]

Like you said, they are not sterile, one should last a week for you. When you are all done with a run there is always about 200ML of saline left in the bag, hook up the yellow clamp line to the bag and squeeze it down the line. that will flush the line well enough and get rid of the saline and make disposal easier.....

[josie]

Good for you for using NxStage. I have been using it for over a year, and felt amazing better from the first training treatment with my nurse. My numbers in bloodwork are better, and I love that I am no longer on the unit and have so much control over my own treatment and health. Keep up the good work, and by all means, ask lots of questions. I was very overwhelmed at home in the beginning!

[M3Riddler]

We have finally brought our newest family member home; our very own NxStage system.  I'm sure I will have questions daily so I am starting this thread hoping some of you who have been using it for a while can follow this and help me as I go along.  I will be doing all the set up for hubby since his eyesight is not good. So far, I am very comfortable with using the system and we are really excited about how much better he feels already after only 2 weeks of treatment. 

Last night I worked on getting all of the necessary supplies organized in our bedroom.  I bought a 4 drawer clear plastic rolling chest that has a good sized work surface on the top.  It will hold about 2 weeks of daily supplies.  We initially thought a dialysis chair was a must but have decided we just don't have the room for it so we will use the bed with lots of pillows for him to sit up or lay down as he wants. 

Initially we will be using his chest catheter since his fistula is not ready to be used yet.  Also for the first week or so, we will be hanging bags until we have some bathroom modifications completed to be ready for hookup to the Pureflow unit. 

The first question I have is this:  The training nurse did not submit our initial order to include the disposable drain lines (she forgot that we would need these) and so we only have a few of them that the clinic had in their storeroom.  As these are not "sterile" connections, can I soak them in bleach water after a treatment and re-use them the next day?  I have a total of 6 of them to last about 2 weeks. 

I appreciate all the encouragement I have gotten from the IHD gang on this and am convinced it is the best way for us to go.  So, a heartfelt thanks to all of you.

Looneytunes,

First welcome to the world of NxStage.  Im sure you and hubby will love it.  Yes you can re-use the drain lines. Just flush them with a chlorox/water solution after using.
Is your hubby on the standard 2.5 hour or so  treatment length?  Many on NxStage do longer treatments in order to dialyze the phosphours to a normal level. Phosphorus requires more time on treatment to get dialyzed out.
What blood flow is your hubby running at?
Will you be planning any trips after everything is settled down? That is the great thing about NxStage, just get up and go, no calling centers to see if there may be an open seat...

Feel free to ask any questions. We are here to help...

///M3R

[Dianejt]

I'm so happy you started this thread as my hubby is going to go on Nxstage after the operation to remove the cancereed kidney. I'm sure we will also have lot's of questions. Good luck Looneytunes.

[looneytunes]

Oh NxStage gurus...I'm so lucky to have you to ask questions of...today was our first day to run here at home.  We had a REAL power failure (a squirrel must have gotten on the lines) and after doing the manual rinseback, the power came back on, so we had to tear down and set up all over again...we were only about 10 minutes into the run.  But, that went ok. 

About 7 minutes before we were done, we got an alarm of air in the dialysate inlet line (using bags) so we just ended early and that procedure went fine also. 

My question today is this:  When the NxStage is plugged into the wall outlet, a fan runs continually.  Is that normal?  Should I unplug it to kill the noise of the fan?  It isn't real loud but we are not used to that noise and it will annoy me when I'm trying to sleep. 

Thanks! 

[silverhead]

The fan running is from the "Jewel Box" (It's the added component on the back of the cycler, underneath it you will see 2 green lights) it is a hard drive to collect data that can be sent to NxStage and to make software updates as they might happen, NxStage apparently doesn't need to collect the data anymore and I just unplug it from the wall when we are done, (it also has a battery in it, so it takes a few minutes for it to quit running) it's funny that we can easily sleep through the Pureflows noise when it is making a bath, but the fan noise from the Jewel Box drives me nuts......
Tom

[looneytunes]

I know what you mean...I could sleep through the noise of the PD cycler but immediately know I could not sleep with that.  Thanks for the help! 

[Adam_W]

I'm just the opposite with the fan noise. My machine is about a foot from my bed, and I find the noise of the fan to be quite soothing while I'm going to sleep. The noise of the PF doesn't bother me either, except when the water pump squeaks, which mine does occasionally.

Adam

[cookie2008]

We change our drain line weekly we flush with bleach and water mixture, at the end of treatment we unplug the machine hopefully to keep the electric bill down.    On chosing to do Nxstage I also went home with a permacath until my fistula healed due to having it raised.  Ask alot of questions there is alot of experienced people that do Nxstage..   Also join the site Nxstageusers.com

[Wallyz]

I'm just the opposite with the fan noise. My machine is about a foot from my bed, and I find the noise of the fan to be quite soothing while I'm going to sleep. The noise of the PF doesn't bother me either, except when the water pump squeaks, which mine does occasionally.

Adam

After my transplant, my wife had to use a little plastic fan to make the white noise that she was used to from the cycler to get to sleep.

[looneytunes]

Yesterday's run went smooth without any problems or surprises.  I was able to flush the waste line using the female connector adaptor.  I received our centrifuge and lab supply box yesterday and was pleased to find out the unit is very lightweight (unlike the ones in the clinic I was trained on).  We are skipping treatment today as hubby has a fistulagram scheduled to find out why his fistula is not growing after 7 weeks though it still has a strong buzz. 

Today's question is this:  Is there a trick to spiking the warmer bag so it won't leak while spiking it?  The procedure we were given to follow says to spike it after it has warmed and it is very hard to get the spike into it while laying on the warmer tray.  Invariably it leaks down the side of the cycler while I am pushing iwth all my might to get the spike flush with the top of the port.  The spike is a little flimsey and I'm always afraid I will break it (have once). 

Thanks! 

[M3Riddler]

When Spiking, try to rotate the spike while you are pushing it in the bag. This seems to work for me...

///M3R

[looneytunes]

Hey Riddler...thanks for the response.  I found a solution today, I use a hemo clamp on the bag just before I spike it.  Had minimal leakage today. 

My next question is related to the little extension set that goes with the MLA.  Does anyone else have trouble getting the cap off when it's time to attach it to the dialysate inlet line?  I have had trouble with it every time.  Tonite I had to rob one out of another MLA bag (thereby wasting the MLA set) because even with pliers I could not get it off. 

Overall, hubby is feeling better and we are SO in like with staying home to dialyze. 

[looneytunes]

I have a new question for you experienced users...can I "make a batch" while using hang bags to run hubby?  If so, how is it done since the warmer line for the cycler is plugged into the same spot that the PureFlow normally plugs into. 

[silverhead]

I think I've figured out what you mean, if it is the electrical cord that you refer to, I have always had the Pureflow plugged into a multi outlet box using a cord that I had on hand from a previous computer or printer.....

[looneytunes]

I guess it is the power cord that runs from the PureFlow to the Cycler (near the bottom of the center of the cycler).  I will look through my box of misc cords (doesn't everyone have one of those boxes) and see if I have a power cord that will allow me to plug the PureFlow into it.  Thanks, Tom, for your response. 

[rocker]

Yeah, I actually have the warmer plugged into a different wall outlet - I have the cycler plugged into a small UPS, and the warmer sucks enough power to overload the UPS.  Not only that, but the thing I want the UPS for is the cycler.  If the power goes out, I don't much care if the PureFlow or the warmer stays on, but I'd like the cycler to run long enough to do rinseback.

I use an old computer power cord to plug the warmer into the wall.

 - rocker

[boswife]

ok loonie, soooooo, was this REALLY the last question you had and smooth sailing from here???  Im so excited to get started, and soooooooooooooo worrysome all the same...