Hi from Germany

[lioness]

Hi everybody,

I'm a 50 year old female from Germany and I discovered this forum via a similar German forum. Since May 2009 I'm on PD and so far everything works fine. I can still do my fulltime job as an IT administrator and my company lets me do two of my four daily changes in a separate room within our first aid station. They don't even subtract the time I need from my working hours. Of course I'm on "the list", but statistically the waiting time is about 7 years here in Germany.

If you all can live with my English, I would like to visit this forum once in a while to see what the differences are between dialysis patients in Germany and in the US.

Take care of yourselves :-)

lioness

[Rerun]

Hello Lioness, and welcome to IHD.  I'm so glad you found us.  I'm also 50 or will be in July.  I'm glad PD is working out for you.  Our PD people do exchanges at night with a machine hooked up that does 4 exchanges while they sleep.  Then they are free during the day.  Do you have that option... for a cycler??

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Rerun, Moderator    

[boswife]

  and your English is beautiful    Will love to hear how YOU differ from US as well    join right in.. lots to read too

[lioness]

Thanks for welcoming me.

To answer the question: yes, we do have cyclers in Germany and a lot of people use them. I just can't imagine being connected to a machine all night and I get along with the manual ecchanges just fine. At the beginning I did it only at home or at work. That was pretty constricting. Everything had to be timed so I was home again on time. But meanwhile I do the exchanges almost everywhere, I have a bag ready with everything I need and I take it with me whereever I go. I change in the car, in parking garages, in churches, out in the open ...

Greetings to all

lioness

[greg10]

Welcome to the forum, Lioness. 

I read somewhere that in Germany, health insurance companies are not allowed to make a profit, so that they are basically non-profit organizations.  Is that true?

Of course in the US, healthcare is driven by profit for the big corporations and that even though the majority have insurance, most dialysis patients eventually become covered by the US government in the form of Medicare and Medicaid:

"Medicaid actually covers more people than Medicare. In 2010, according to the most recent estimates from the Department of Health and Human Services, Medicaid covered 53.9 million people, compared with Medicare's 47.3 million."
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/05/135996814/plan-would-trade-medicaid-funds-for-flexibility

[fc2821]

  Lioness and your English is very good. I hope you will return here. I would like to know more about dialysis in your country and we wuld like to know you better.

    30 years ago I lived in Germany, it was a very nice place.

   Löwin, Ihr Englisch ist sehr gut.   Vor als ich in Deutschland (dann die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) 30 Jahren es wohnte, war in der Efile Senkeregion nahe dem westlichen Kostgänger mit Belgien.  Ich war genug glücklich, in der Lage gewesen zu sein, überschuß dann von der Bundesrepublik Deutschland vom Swis Rand zum Rand mit Dänemark viel zu reisen.  Ich studierte Deutsches in der Universität.
       
     

[Zach]

Good to have you here!
 

[willowtreewren]

Welcome, Lioness! 

 

Aleta

[galvo]

G'day, lioness, and   

[kristina]

Hello, lioness,

I am still-pre-Dialysis (kidney function 10-12%)
and I am very interested how you describe doing your Dialysis.

You say you did it at the beginning at home or at work
and now you do the exchanges almost everywhere,
i.e. in the car, parking garages, churches, out in the open...

How do you manage your hygiene whilst dialysing in the open etc ?

Where were you trained for PD?

I was reading that most PD-patients make sure
they dialyze in a close, hygienically clean room with shut windows etc.,
just to make sure there is no chance for an infection.

I am only asking you because I am still pre-Dialysis
and I try to know as much as possible,
if and when I am going to start with Dialysis.

Thanks from Kristina.

[peleroja]

Welcome to the group, lioness.  Lots of good information and friends here.  Glad you found us!

[Poppylicious]

  lioness.  It's lovely to 'meet' you.

[billybags]

Welcome to our family. 

[carla13]

 

carla
x

[Bajanne]

Welcome to our community, Lioness!  I am particularly glad to hear that you have maintained your job.  You are obviously a valued member of your institution.  You have come to a lovely place for information, support and encouragement.
I taught high school English for over 30 years and your English gets my A+!
Looking forward to hearing more from you (you have lots of questions to answer!)




Bajanne, Moderator