Rub it in why dont you !

[KICKSTART]

Here in the UK we are having one of the longest hottest summers for years !!! and of course we are not used to this! Bad enough , but hot summer + dialysis patient  near impossible ! We all know about fluid intake dont we !  So today , go into the unit all the windows shut , like a greenhouse in there , sweat running down our faces , ready to have even more fluid pulled off ..and guess what ?  At the nurses station which is in the middle of the unit sits a large jug full of orange and ice cubes and 3 nurses swigging back as much as they could before we got to our beds ! Ok so they have to drink i know, but apart from their breaks they have a kitchen which is about 3 strides away , where they could have drunk as much as they wanted without us seeing ..talk about torture !

[iketchum]

I have a different problem at my unit. The ac is so cold the nurses skate to our chairs. All the guys have multiple layers of blankets to stay warm.

[Quickfeet]

Those bastards. 

[RichardMEL]

wait... you have BEDS??!!!

(yeah our unit is usually too cold rather than too hot... and sweat running off you is a way of removing UF..... )

SOmetimes I see the nurses with big water bottles, but they don't do it deliberately in front of us. I think they are considerate to us.. but remember it is also their workplace too. Our nurses have 12 and 8 hour shifts with few breaks - I don't begrudge them a drink... I mean pre-D I was always drinking tea or a cold drink at my desk at work.

[kevno]

We are OK at our unit. No windows but we have Air-Con. OK in summer but freezing in winter when my bed in under one of the vents.

Why not take a cold drink of your own? I'm taking in a 250mil bottle of frozen orange juice. Takes a few hours for the orange juice to melt. So you can drink a drop at a time. so you can have a cool drink in front of the nurses

[ChickenLittle56]

At our clinic, it is so cold that even the techs are huddling for warmth . I ask the nurses why is it so cold and said the dialysis machine needs to operate in a cool room and because the are all the machines are on they warm up the room. That is their explanation for the cold room.

[Rerun]

I love hot summer because I drink what I want and then go sit in my hot car and sweat it off.  It is amazing how much 5 minutes of sweating is.  I don't know what or how to calculate it, but I'll go into dialysis and I am down on my weight.  Instead of having to take off 3 I only have to take off 2.  Then I think "damn, I could have had more". 

I feel a little fluid on my face this morning, So I'd better go move my care into the sun!   

[RightSide]

In New England USA where I live, the winters are long, cold, and dark.

So I'm so happy for the heat of the summer, where I can walk outside without a heavy coat, where I can perspire instead of shiver.

35 degrees Celsius?  38 degrees Celsius?  Bring it on, I say!

[KICKSTART]

wait... you have BEDS??!!!

(yeah our unit is usually too cold rather than too hot... and sweat running off you is a way of removing UF..... )

SOmetimes I see the nurses with big water bottles, but they don't do it deliberately in front of us. I think they are considerate to us.. but remember it is also their workplace too. Our nurses have 12 and 8 hour shifts with few breaks - I don't begrudge them a drink... I mean pre-D I was always drinking tea or a cold drink at my desk at work.

RM in the 4 hours we are on, plus the putting on/ taking off time our nurses have a dinner break and 2 x 15 min breaks , plenty of time to drink , plus they can nip into the kitchen anytime they want to get a drink ! So no real excuse to do that in front of us !

[paris]

Kickstart,  I always want to read your posts because of the titles!       They get my attention and I have to find out what is going on in your life.  You are always very descriptive and make us feel your pain, joy, excitement, disappointment.   I am sorry it is miserably hot there and that they are drinking lovely, cold orange drink right in front of you.        I do like kevno's idea about the frozen juice.    Hope it gets better for you.   

[KICKSTART]

Aww Paris ..ever gracious 

[kamar55]

Hi...My unit is cold 24/7...explanation is necessary for machines. I've actually never seen a nurse/tech with anything to drink...guess they do it in the break room. I always bring a 200ml frozen iced tea/juice box which slowly melts and a handful of sugar free mentholyptus cough drops which soothes my dry mouth. and of course, a blanket/throw. I also have one of those small battery operated desk fans which I set on my chest to blow directly into my face. I find the breeze soothing and the gentle hum helps me block out the noise so I can fall asleep sometimes. If it's too cold in there I just direct the fan away from me so I can still hear the hum.....

[RichardMEL]

I repeat again: YOU HAVE BEDS?!?!!!!!!!!

[Des]

I love hot summer because I drink what I want and then go sit in my hot car and sweat it off.  It is amazing how much 5 minutes of sweating is.  I don't know what or how to calculate it, but I'll go into dialysis and I am down on my weight.  Instead of having to take off 3 I only have to take off 2.  Then I think "damn, I could have had more". 

I feel a little fluid on my face this morning, So I'd better go move my care into the sun!   

hehehhehehehhe

The sauna thing comes to mind here.. So it might just work then. heheheheh

[Sluff]

Here in the UK we are having one of the longest hottest summers for years !!! and of course we are not used to this! Bad enough , but hot summer + dialysis patient  near impossible ! We all know about fluid intake dont we !  So today , go into the unit all the windows shut , like a greenhouse in there , sweat running down our faces , ready to have even more fluid pulled off ..and guess what ?  At the nurses station which is in the middle of the unit sits a large jug full of orange and ice cubes and 3 nurses swigging back as much as they could before we got to our beds ! Ok so they have to drink i know, but apart from their breaks they have a kitchen which is about 3 strides away , where they could have drunk as much as they wanted without us seeing ..talk about torture !

It is amazing the things us non-dialysis people don't think of. My biggest crutch is my diet coke, boy I will be in trouble if I end up on dialysis. Sorry for rubbing it in some more KS.

[KICKSTART]

I repeat again: YOU HAVE BEDS?!?!!!!!!!!

WHOA RM !!!! they are nothing to get excited about ! they are the most un-comfy beds known to man ! Sort of half chair/half bed . They neither go upright like a chair or flat like a bed (whoever designed them obviously didnt try sitting on one for 4 hours! They are so bad for your posture that several of us have developed neck troubles (and upper back)  So appreciate your chair? In fact..... how i wish for a chair !

[Aubrey]

I repeat again: YOU HAVE BEDS?!?!!!!!!!!

What do you have?

Wherever I've been there has been a mixture of beds and chairs. Usually you get a chair, sometimes a bed.


Never minded nurses drinking. I'm usually not thirsty during dialysis.

[CharmedMist]

It's been an unusually "cool" summer here.

I think dialysis in and of itself tends to make you cold. When the house is crazy warm, all of us sitting around in shorts and tee shirts my husband is asking for a blanket and if I can turn up the heat on the machine.

[Bajanne]

I live in a land of perpetual summer.  However, some seasons are hotter than some, and some years are also hotter.  Like this year, it is not quite summer and it has been rather hot.  I have been perspiring copiously (since about March).  At dilaysis, thank goodness, we have AC.  But some patients complain and get it turned down.  I hate that!  I like it cold, cold, cold!
Can someone send me a few days of winter?
Our nurses never eat or drink in our presence, so that is never an issue.

[KICKSTART]

No our nurses are not supposed too , but its a case of ..while the cats away ! Both senior nurses who are in charge are on holiday !

[texasstyle]

Hhmm.... maybe to get back at them (lol) if anyone of those nurses are on a diet, go on and  eat a big 'ol piece of fattening chocolate cake with lots and lots of sweet, sweet, sugary icning on top!  Eat it slowly and watch them watch you savor every flavor!!!

[RichardMEL]

Hhmm.... maybe to get back at them (lol) if anyone of those nurses are on a diet, go on and  eat a big 'ol piece of fattening chocolate cake with lots and lots of sweet, sweet, sugary icning on top!  Eat it slowly and watch them watch you savor every flavor!!!

that's an idea, except with all that potassium you'd want to eat it at the very START of a treatment....

re summers - I actually find it a *little* easier these days - because when I go walking in the summer I sweat out more. and thus can drink a little bit more. Indeed often the D staff tell us to drink a bit more when it's hot because you DO sweat out more, and being dehydrated is bad for your fistula(surprise there - NOT!).

In winter, which it is here, all I want to do is have warm hearty soups and endless cups of hot tea... you see the problem!!

[natnnnat]

all I want to do is have warm hearty soups and endless cups of hot tea... you see the problem!!

Well, at least with all that liquidious goodness, you'd not be inbibing any dreaded Advanced Glycation End products!   
[how you balance all the things you're meant to eat and not eat, do and not do, is quite honestly beyond me]    [I am not even capable of not eating all the  s at once, AGEs and all...]

[RichardMEL]

The way I look at it is more one of everything in moderation.  I think if I tried to follow every varied restriction or worry about do have this or don't have that or something I'd turn my brain inside out and twisted upside down! I guess I'm more of a feeling that if the fecal matter is going to hit the rotating cooling device then it probably will no matter what precautions I take. Sure, I do the best I can with fluids, and I am thoughtful when it comes to K, and PO4 and all the rest, but at some point you have to realise that going insane over all these things is probably just as bad for you as actually having them. Anyway next year some paper will probably come out saying that stuff is actually good for you.....

[KICKSTART]

So true RM !  Ive been a very bad girl this week !    Im ok with fluids but i think ive eaten just about everything that is bad for you ! Not in an unhealthy way , but i just love salads and raw veg and lots of fruit. So i guess i will be in the naughty corner next week as its monthly bloods tomorrow !!!