Road Trip ?s while on Road Trip

[JLM]

I am about to take a 2-3 day road trip with hubby, sister & dog in a super cap Ford F150.  I am on CAPD 4x a day.  Boy, do I need some helpful hints.  We'll be on the road on the Memorial Day weekend. and I am a relative newbie (Training was the week of 4-25to 29).  Can I exchange in the vehicle?  Do we have to stop the hour it takes?  Can I
We have to make 1400 miles.  We have previously (before PD) in 2 days.  No, I don't have a mask for the dog!   HELP!!!!

[jeannea]

I would at least stop while you connect and disconnect. Less chance of contamination if the vehicle shakes and you touch something you shouldn't. Then as long as you're not driving you can probably be moving during the exchange. When you stop for those few minutes for connect/disconnect your sister can take the dog out of the car. If you can't stop right away to disconnect you won't hurt it by staying connected a while longer. Just leave it a closed system til you can stop and get the dog out of the car. Enjoy your trip!

P.S. Take lots of hand sanitizer.

[JLM]

Thanks for the come back.  I figure I can bend a metal clothes hang to hank the solution on for the fill.  We are staying in the midwest for 3 months, so I have other logistics to work out also, the clinic here are helping me out on that.  Getting into a clinic at the away place, getting supplies, etc.  Any kayakers on PD out there?  I'm talking recreational kind.  I know that I'll have to time the trips on the river.

[peleroja]

Man, did you bring back memories.  When I traveled on manual PD the first thing I always did when in a new room was look for a place to hang my bag of dialysate.  If traveling with a pet I would recommend stopping when you connect and disconnect.  Sweep out the car first to get rid of any pet hairs, leave the dog outside, then connect.  Continue on the trip, then do the same thing when you are ready to disconnect.  Those are the two times you are most at risk for something getting inside the catheter.  Good luck in your travels!

[*kana*]

I was told to NEVER ride/drive in a moving vehicle when you were draining/filling.  The told me to imagine what would happened to the bag of fluid if you hit something or had to stop in an emergency.  That bag would fly through the car and your tube would be ripped out of your body.  I think it is much better to just stop and rest while you drain/fill and be safe. 

Kick everyone out of the car, roll up the windows and don't use the airconditioner or fan.  Make sure the car is as dust free as possible.   

[Lillupie]

I was told to NEVER ride/drive in a moving vehicle when you were draining/filling.  The told me to imagine what would happened to the bag of fluid if you hit something or had to stop in an emergency.  That bag would fly through the car and your tube would be ripped out of your body. 

Oh my God, Oh My God, that just grossed me out lol Your tube would be ripped out of your body! Wow scary. Freaky

Let me tell you guys some of my adventures. A few years back, I dated a guy and went on a road trip from hell. I was acutally gone for 3 weeks, was only suspose to be gone maybe 11 days. We drove my car from Michigan down to New Mexico. To make a long story short the transmission on my car died, I didnt want to go home, so I rented a car to finish our road trip. We went to the Grand Canyon, Vegas, up the coast of California to Oregon, through the Rocky Mountains,a nd back to New Mexico where my car was at. So the guy I was with at the time, was a flight attendent. He was out of passenger passes and so him alone flew back home, to get his car, and my title so I could atleaast try to junk my car at a junk yard. I waited nearly a week for him to come back.
 Ok, Pd. At one point on the road, I believe I was doing an exchage in the passenger seat, needed the blue clamps, and I believe in the state of Idaho, I took the clamps off of a used bag that should of been drained out, and then threw the whole thing out of the window as  we drove down this highway. THats gross, but I do find that funny, I know sick sense of humor.
So, I took several boxes with me, as much as would fit into my car at the time. At point I ran out of supplies. I actually had to stop at a Fersinus(sp?) in Alberquere, NM to get Baxter supplies. Luckily they had Baxter as well. So those lasted a few days. I did NOT get one infection the whole time I was gone!! Becuase it was summer, the windows were already rolled up, so just shut the air off. My guy at the time, i had him always put on a mask. Towards the middle of the trip, I decided to (just saying, but would not suggest this) to hang the bag from the visor. You know how you can move the visor to the side window, I did that and the part that it normally hangs onto in front of you, is where i had the bag. To keep it from falling down on me, I just clipped the visor back on. That is just what I did. Or better yet, sit in the back underneat a clothes hook, either hang it from a hanger or directly on the clothes hook depending on how narrow it is.
 ITs doable. It is not the funnest, but do able. SO, anyone in your vechile has to have a mask.

Have fun on your trip.

Lisa

[cath-hater]

Personally, I think infection would be my biggest concern while doing exchanges in a car. But with care, I think it's do-able.  Just park the car somewhere. Have everybody get out of the car while you do your exchanges, and then back on the road again. Drive for 1 or 2 hours and do it again until you get your 4 exchanges in. I thinks it's better if the other passengers just got out instead of having them wear masks. Since you're going to be at a stop anyways, getting out of the car should be no big deal. Gives them a chance to stretch their legs.

Have a good and safe trip.

[billybags]

JLM, Just a thought. I live in the UK and if we were going on a long flight say to Australia or a  long car journey we could ask our nurse for an extraneal bag which would last hours. So no exchanges while moving. Obviously you revert to manuals when you get there. Can you have this facility it would save messing about.

[JLM]

Thanks for all the come backs.  Will the solution in the truck bed be warm enough to use right out of the box?  Or should I put a bag on he dash to let the sun warm it?  My sister & I are quite resourceful and can think out side the "box".  I had thought of reversing my drain/fill time to the middle of the night, but then I would be waking everybody up at 12 and 4 am.  And we would need our sleep for the driving.  (Hubby has AD and we don't let him drive)

[monrein]

Personally I would not do it while the car was moving.  I'd build the necessary breaks into the trip and be more relaxed. 

[HouseOfDialysis]

I have been draining while driving lately, just to fit it in my schedule. I usually drain out my last cycler fill at 8am, but I haven been getting sent to other sites at this time, so, I hook up and drive and disconnect when I arrive.

Plus, I have dialyzed while riding. Hang the bag from the ceiling hooks in my truck's back cab and let gravity work. Doable, and I make everyone mask up, air units off, all areas I work on are wiped down with Lysol/Clorox wipes, etc. I'm careful, but dialyzing while road tripping is very doable.

[JLM]

I have figured I can hang the solution with a short bungee cord to the handle one uses to get into the truck.  We can carry a gallon jug of water for hand washing and can refill it as need be.  Paper towels, of course.  My sister is a volunteer EMT  The dog is a ShihTzu, so no shedding.  I can practice the day we pick my sister from the airport because I need to do an exchange between hubby's doctor's appointment and the arrival of her flight.

[Hanify]

I did manual bags in the car all the time - but yes, did stop when I disconnected.  Even did exchanges while I was driving.  Lots of hand sanitiser. 

[HouseOfDialysis]

I know what you mean. My steering wheel and gearshift has a perpetual shine to it, now.

[JLM]

I did great on our trip from Texas to Wisconsin.  The biggest mistake I made was to have the front seat riders to leave the truck when I disconnected.  It only takes a few seconds to do so and then I was trapped in there until one of them came back.  It gets a tad hot in the back seat without any windows open.  I connected before anybody else got into the truck and when I was done, we stopped anywhere and I asked Hubby to take the dog out his side and my sister to exit the truck and to walk around to the passenger door to let me out.  It didn't matter where we stopped, if it was by the side of the road, we waited until to get someplace with a garbage can to get rid of the waste.