Red Bag PD

[MaryD]

I just checked mine.  I only have 1.5 and 2.5's and they only have glucose.  My extraneal has dextrose.

Maybe that's why extraneal is not used much in the US.

I understood that it is the glucose (strong solutions) is what wears out the peritoneaum.

Colour me confused!

[highway61]

Way back when, well it seems that way now, When I was on PD i did need to use a red bag once in a are while to fix a temporary problem. The reds really kicked my butt and dried me out. Be careful with those.

[Joe]

Hey there highway, good to see you! I too only use the red bags on rare occasions, typically to pull fluid off when I'm starting to show signs of edema. Thankfully that doesn't happen very bloody often. My PD team cautions me that I should be very careful using them.

[highway61]

Joe you have always been one of the best sources advice, help, and support throughout all of my ESRD trials and tribulations. You have totally made this journey so much easier and much more understandable. I could not of gotten through all of this as calmly as I did without out all of your very calming, friendly support.

Thank you Joe.

So all of you who are entering into this scary world of ESRD and dealing with questions of what type of  dialysis to choose, relax, it is all something you can deal with. Plus! You are not alone. we are all here to help you.

[MaryD]

I'm even more confused.  Glucose is glucose, but in the US it is called dextrose because that sounds less sugary than glucose.  Icodextrin (derived from maltodextrin) which is what is in extraneal, it what we call dextrose.  I'm still checking of whether it's really called dextrose here, or whether that's just a casual term.

Still confused!

[amanda100wilson]

Extraneal is not used much in the US because it is more expensive and those money-hungry dialysis units do not want to give up a cent. New had to virtually threaten the CEO of DaVita with a law suit before they would prescribe it, even though I was already on it when we moved home.  Not sure if they still do it, but at he time they tried to restrict usage to diabetic patients only, even though the information sheet that came with it says that it a indicated for all dialysis patients doing PD.  I wouldn't worry about still composition but it has a bigger molecule that doesn't move across the membrane, pulls fluid slowly, and is ideal for the long daytime dwell.  I used it, because my memtrane changed and I was re absorbing very quickly.  It definitely helped.

[MaryD]

My clinic reckoned the extraneal cost twice as much as the dianeal.   Looking at it that way, the cost could be calculated as having an extra regular bag each day.  That doesn't seem so huge when the advantages for the patient are so big.

The 'for profit' scheme has whiskers on it!

[Joe]

Joe you have always been one of the best sources advice, help, and support throughout all of my ESRD trials and tribulations. You have totally made this journey so much easier and much more understandable. I could not of gotten through all of this as calmly as I did without out all of your very calming, friendly support.

Thank you Joe.

So all of you who are entering into this scary world of ESRD and dealing with questions of what type of  dialysis to choose, relax, it is all something you can deal with. Plus! You are not alone. we are all here to help you.

Thanks for the kind words highway, just sharing my experiences as we walk this wonderful path of dialysis.