What's your HD shift time?

[BigSteve]

Since I am finally going on dialysis in about 3-4 weeks I am now wondering
how all of you feel about your shift time for dialysis. I will be going on
the 5:00 pm starting time on MWF. At first I didn't like to have three
evenings a week unavailable for going out, seeing friends, etc., but
now I am wondering if this is not a good shift since I can do my dialysis,
have a snack at home and go to bed. Also my days are free. I am
retired so I could go anytime, but I hate to get up early. How do
yours shifts fit into your lives?

[Stacy Without An E]

It depends how you feel about noise and chaos.  During the day at it's busiest, a Dialysis center is a nightmare.  I've been on the morning shift before and I hated it.  I now go in at 6pm right after I get off the air Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I like it much better.  It's quieter, less chaotic and it's easier to get someone to help you because there's less patients.  And I can still work full time and not have it interfere with my job.

I'd say 5pm is a pretty good shift.  Be careful of changing.  You may find you like the previous shift and changing back is usually a pain in the butt.

[Joe Paul]

I do the 5:30 am shift, go in get it over with. In the spring & summer its good more of the day to "enjoy". Winter is sort of a pain- but I am a morning person so I deal with it. (Edit - forgot M-W-F)

[2_DallasCowboys]

My husband Les does the 6AM shift on Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays.  We are both very early
morning people, so this does work better for us.
When he gets home, and if he is up to it, we can
still do things the rest of the day

Anne

[livecam]

I did M-W-F with the official start time at 4PM but they would have my chair ready if I got there sooner.  I would finish work at 3 and try to get to the unit asap so I could finish up as early as possible.  It worked out well.

[goofynina]

I was on the first shift,  usually got on between 4:30 am and 5:00 am and depending on how overloaded i was (which was each and every time) i wouldnt leave until 10 am        I have had all the shifts but i think i preferred early morning most of all cuz i got it over with (eventually)

[donnia]

My shift is 2pm to 5:30pm.  I like it fine.  I still have time to pop in to the grocery store and get something for dinner.

[Ang]

i  guess  its  really  what  takes  your  fancy,and  if  the  desired  shift  is  available.
  i   started  mwf   7pm-11.30 pm,  i  now  do  1.30pm - 6.30 mwf,

[thegrammalady]

my on time is 5:30 am. i like having my day free. i'm not really a morning person, but after 2 years i guess i'm used to it. anyway i usually sleep a bit while there.

[bolta72]

I do 11-3, I get up early in the morning but like to take my time.

[KR Cincy]

When I was in center I was on the 11-3 shift on TTS...I knew it was temporary so I made it work, but it didn't allow for much else that day and it certainly would have made going back to work impossible. Now I just kinda do it whenever.

[AlasdairUK]

Hi,

I go M/W/F and I normally get on the machine about 7pm or 7:30pm. I run for four hours. I work during the day so this suits me just fine.

With regards to losing your evenings, if you run MWF you at least have weekends free. It is always going to be a trade off.

[jonn r]

hey i go on m/w/f at 6 am.....its not to bad and i have the rest of the day free...

[boxman55]

M-W-F 1:00 till 4:30pm...It sucks! Dialysis that is.        Boxman

[RichardMEL]

t/t/s 1pm-6pmish, though sometimes I go in ~1230 and they may have the chair ready for me. Always good to get out before 6.

[meadowlandsnj]

Since I am finally going on dialysis in about 3-4 weeks I am now wondering
how all of you feel about your shift time for dialysis. I will be going on
the 5:00 pm starting time on MWF. At first I didn't like to have three
evenings a week unavailable for going out, seeing friends, etc., but
now I am wondering if this is not a good shift since I can do my dialysis,
have a snack at home and go to bed. Also my days are free. I am
retired so I could go anytime, but I hate to get up early. How do
yours shifts fit into your lives?

I just switched from T Th Sat to M W F.  I like having weekends off finally!!  I like my shift from 10am to 2pm, I'm on for 4 hours.  There was talk of shortening my time but no thanks!  With me going on for 4 hours I am the first to get on and I  usually don't have to wait.  I see all the 3:30 and 3:45 people waiting a long time to get hooked up.  This way I get out a little early, do some stuff before dinner.  I've been on all the shifts and I like this one the best. 

Donna

[MattyBoy100]

I go for 430pm to 9pm ( I do 4.5hrs ) Mon, Weds and Fri.  I go for dialysis after working from 630am to 345pm.  I like the later shift as the staff have more time to spend with me and I can watch my fave tv shows which are on in the evening.  I also don't have to speak to a lot of the other patients who go earlier in the day than me.  I don't mind having a chat but some of them don't have anyone else at home or any outside interests and want to talk for the whole session they are on!  When I get there, I am tired from work and I look forward to relaxing in that chair watching tv without anyone bugging me!  I have been during day sessions and I see how harrassed the staff get by constant demands from patients who have nothing better to do!

Also, the other patients I share my shift with have spent the day at work like me so we chat if we feel like it, if not, we respect one another.  IE, if one of the other guys is asleep, I don't try and wake him up to talk to him which is what happens on the earlier shifts.

I was asleep once on the early shift and one of the older patients came up to me and though I was sleeping, he pushed a sweet into my nose.  It woke me up and I was not happy - I couldn't get back to sleep after that.  I was MAD!

[kitkatz]

I have done evening dialysis from 3p.m. to 7p.m. most of the nine years I have been on dialysis. I find the morning sessions leave me drained and worthless.

[keefer51]

I am now on the early shift M-W-F. It is from 6:30am to 10:30am. I get up around 3:30am to get ready. I put the Emula cream on around 4:30am. When i get there it is nice because i don't have to wait for my chair. The only problem i can have is if i crash i have to be moved to another chair because the second shift is coming in. I like the shift because i feel a little better afterwards.

[fluffy]

im on MWF at 5pm its a pain because it effectively kills three days of my week and since my paratransit service tends to be late i get home at 11.

[George Jung]

Interesting to read others perspectives on their times.  I run the 11am to 3pm and it kills my day.  I have a relaxed morning but after dialysis I rarely feel like doing very much so there goes the rest of the afternoon/evening for me.  I don't usually feel up to moving around until 8 or 9 'o-clock. 

I have recently been considering nocturnal but that seems to start too early 8 or 9 PM and runs until 5am or so.  That just seems like too much time hooked up FOR ME.

My other consideration is the 3rd shift M/W/F starting @ 5:30.  With this schedule I would have all of my days and weekends to live my life.  By the time my treatment was over I could just go home to sleep it off and get a fresh early start to the next day.

My "dream" shift would be 1 or 2am until 5 or 6am.

[Aldente]

When I first went on in center dialysis I started at 6:15 am and finished up at about 10:30.  The big problem with this shift is getting to the center if you can not drive.  I do drive but after being released from the hospital I could not drive for a week and this caused a problem.  Friends are willing to help but not at 5:00 am.  I also tried a late morning shift that started a 11:30 am.  This solved the transportation problem but for the most part the whole day was devoted to dialysis.  What I really wanted was an evening shift that started at 6:00pm.  That way I could have continued working.  Most of all however, If you don't feel that good after dialysis, with an evening shift you can simply go to bed and not lose the rest of the day.

I'm on NxStage now and love the freedom to select any time during the day or night that I want.  I can also change my schedule from day to day.  I can't say enough good things about the flexibility of home hemo.

[Bajanne]

Well, our tiny centre only has 4 options (and we only just got the fourth)  -  M/W/F  first shift (from 7a.m to 8.30 to arrive) or second (from 10.30 to 1p.m to arrive)  T/T/S - the same time.  Since we have no early morning options or late evening options,  my appointment at my school was not renewed.   I don't particulary ever want to change to T/T/S since weekends are the only times I have for travelling.

I was so upset with one of my nurses this week.  I was having a problem with my graft (some swelling and pain) and I was given a form to go and get a doppler.  They gave me the form on Mon, but when I got off dialysis after 5pm, the place was closed so I couldn't get an appointment.  I didn't go on Tuesday.  Wed. on my way to dialysis, I have to pass the place that does it.  A friend of mine was working.  I gave him the form, expecting to get an appointment.  He told me he would do it right away. I went over to the unit and explained where I was. He did it, and then I spent a few minutes waiting for the results to pass to the doctor.  I got to dialysis just after 12.  A nurse met me and chewed me out.  "You mustn't make appointments for your dialysis time!"  You should be here for 12.  Irony....  On Monday I was there at 11 and did not go on until nearly 1 p.m.  And the same day she was chewing me out, I did not go on until 12:45 although she made it seem that I was keeping them waiting!!! 
It seems a patient can't win!!!

[Krisna]

Well right now my shift is M-W-F 12:15-3:15pm.  I don't work but hubby does so this works out to where I have time for a short nap before he gets home!  I feel fine after my treatments and I drive to and from dialysis except when I'm really sick.

But I have done home hemo and my fiancé was my home helper.  So I would set up and we would eat a light dinner then he would put me on around 6pm and get done around 9pm.  This was after he worked all day from 7:45am-4:15pm.  We hadn't been together very long and it was too hard on our relationship so I went in center.  Now I like it better because I'm a people person.  I like talking to other patients but we have been talking abt doing home dialysis again if I can get up the courage/nerve to put my own needles in.

After I went back in center I got bounced around for a while and actually dialyzed for a while in the middle of the night.  I hated that!  I finally got a permanent spot on T-Th-Sa 5:30-8:30am.  Then after my 3rd transplant I got a M-W-F 6-9am spot.  I didn't like the Saturday spots.  I like having my weekends free! 

[kitkatz]

Having dialysis on the weekends sure messes up plans the family may have on the weekend.  MWF works for me except for not having time after school those three days.