My mother. who was switching from PD to Hemo, had her first catheter placed July 4th. on the 12th the dialysis machine started giving catheter alarms. the next week the catheter started to have "spasms' that seemed to sync with her breathing. They spoke with her Nephrologist who said it was caused by some low protein syndrome, So I got her Healthy n' Fit 100% egg white protein powder supplement(very low in phos and potas) which she takes every day now. 2 weeks ago on a Tuesday they couldn't get one side to work. They put some stuff in it and told us to come back at our normal time in 2 days. We came back Thursday and neither side worked. They informed the nephrologist again, put more stuff in it and told us to comeback at 6am on Monday for 1 last try. Over the weekend she lost her balance and fell 3 times in the bathroom and once getting out of bed. Other than that, I don't see any indications that the missed sessions are affecting her. We go in Monday morning and no luck so we go home and wait for the call. By 3pm she has her new temp catheter. the old one's tip apparently pulled out of it's position. They run the electrolytes lab (Chloride, Sodium, Potassium, CO2 and Anion Gap Plas/Ser) to see if she needs to stay at the hospital and do dialysis. I guess they were ok since they released her. So we go in the next day Tuesday(going on 7 days no dialysis) and every thing is fine but she is just wiped out. I heard hemodialysis was tough on some people but she sailed through the first week and seemed to gradually get weaker each week. But at least the catheter is working. We go in on Thursday and the catheter starts to spasm again. the tech informs the nephrologist. She then swaps the lines and gets them running again. Friday I notice mom's having trouble finishing sentences, she can't think of the word she trying to use, or it takes her a couple of seconds, or she just doesn't finish it at all. We come back on Saturday (yesterday) and it's all blocked up. the tech tries to draw some out and apparantly saw a huge clot coming and had to reverse it back otherwise (she told me) it would have clotted and spiilt all the blood back into the kidney. I don't know what that means but she seemed pretty relieved like she'd narrowly missed a catastrophe. She told the oncall nephrologist who mentioned the low protein syndrome again, but i don't buy that. Mom's been taking her suplemments and eating meat every day. So we sit and wait till monday for the 3rd catheter. Monday she will also get her fistula placed. If anyone knows of anything else that could be going on I'd be grateful to hear it.
Thanks,
ChuckT
fhad her temp catheter placed
ChuckT,
Try to find out what blood flow they are running your mother at. It sounds like they are running her too high in my opinion. Especially with a new cath. I have been told that you should wait 24 hours unless an emergency to use a new cath. If your mom is running at a high blood flow ( I would say anything over 350 with a new cath in my opinion) This can cause it to spasm as the veins are not used to the high blood flow. High blood flows are also putting stress on your heart.
Regarding confusion... Lack of proper dialysis will cause this. You can become confuzed and dazed and not think clearly if you are not receiving enouph dialysis and the toxins are not being removed properly.
Sounds like this is occuring with your mother.
My suggestion would be to speak with the nephrologist asap and have them run your mother at a lower blood flow for a longer treatment. This is just my opiinion as you should always talk to your docs.
ChuckT, Education is key... Learn as much as you can about dialysis and how it works....Never be afraid to ask for more information as well as question your medical team including nurses and nephrologist. You are your moms best advocate and need to be a part of her treatment as much as you can. Dont leave everything up to the center to work out. No one will care and look after your mother as you will. The center has many patients to follow. Many things will be overlooked. Dialysis should not be the same treatment for everyone. It should be individualized according to the person and this is often not done in-center. Always be on the watch....
///M3R
I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Author
