I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: Zach on August 18, 2006, 09:44:42 AM
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I was just wondering who here has traveled and had hemodialysis at other centers.
What kind of experiences did you have?
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I've dialyzed in
Germany
USA
Spain
Ibiza
Fuerteventura
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Cool!
In the past I would travel with my own set of fistula needles. I wonder if I could do it today with all the security.
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Ah Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Germany. It is all pretty standard stuff. For Germany I had to carry my own EPO and take care of the injections...good training for a later insulin junkie.
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You can even take a cruise on dialysis (www.dialysisatsea.com) .
Medicare doesn't pay for it, so it will cost some $
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I can't speak from experience, but the NxStage site (nxstage.com) has patients stories about them traveling with their machines.
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In the old days, there was a group from the University of Utah which ran "Dialysis in Wonderland" where patients would raft down the Colorado River and dialyze on shore.
I think NxStage will have a positive affect on patients traveling in the future ... maybe even down the Colorado River. :o
PS: You can read more about "Dialysis in Wonderland" and the "Father of Dialysis" in a post I started in General Discussions: The Father of Dialysis
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Never Traveled on Haemo, been on haemo for six years now had a lot of trouble with it can only use lines. But on CAPD which I was on for over 12 years, travelled all over the world. From Belgium to a boat down the Rhine valley, to Italy to the then Yugoslavia. To Florida USA, to Wagga Wagga New South Wales in Oz. To meet my Auntie where I stopped for 3 months. Until I stopped draining out properly. Then ended up with ESP. Which put a stop to CAPD. Then had no option but to go on Haemo >:(
When I was a child on haemo in the 70's we used to go on holiday each year, but it was only in the UK. Plus only for one week.
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When traveling within the United States, here's a way of finding a Unit.
http://www.dialysisunits.com/
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You can take a cruise on hemo without dialysis but it has to be very short. 3 days are doable and 4 is pushing it.
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Joe has made 2 work trips of a week or longer to Ohio and dialyzed there. From what I've heard, those units are even nicer than his regular ones, and man, they load you up with the goodies when you get there - he got about a lifetime supply of squeezie balls, travel mugs, brochures and so on.
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I have been told that if I would like a holiday I would have to book at least 1 year in advance , and that would only be in the capital cities here in Australia. The unit that i will be going to ( i want to learn home hemo but thats another story) is about 40 km away and it already has a waiting list and the closest other one is 3 and half hours away.They have a holiday chair but tell me that is always taken up with a local patient, just not enough money to run more.
So it looks like i will be staying close to home for awhile...
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Here's another web site that has international listings of dialysis units.
It lacks specific information on many of the the units, but it's a start. ;)
http://www.globaldialysis.com/countries.asp
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You can take a cruise on hemo without dialysis but it has to be very short. 3 days are doable and 4 is pushing it.
I wouldnt even bother risking that :o
Charee, where are you wanting to go on holiday?
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Do any Canadian Hemo patients travel outside of Canada? That is what I want to know about since I am Canadian on Hemo and want to travel to PA, USA but have no coverage :( (except for O.H.I.P., Provincial Health Coverage).
I used to travel all the time while on CCPD, but even since I have started Hemo I have not gone anywhere outside of my city and feel sooooo restricted!! :(
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Hi Angie.. I am pretty sure that if you travel outside Canada you will have to pay for your treatments out of pocket but Health and Welfare Canada will re-imburse you some.. if not all.
I travel to the Dominican Republic and I pay 300 usd for each treatment and when I get home I submit the original receipt and I get 210 cdn back in about 6 weeks.. not too bad. 8)
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Hi Angie.. I am pretty sure that if you travel outside Canada you will have to pay for your treatments out of pocket but Health and Welfare Canada will re-imburse you some.. if not all.
I travel to the Dominican Republic and I pay 300 usd for each treatment and when I get home I submit the original receipt and I get 210 cdn back in about 6 weeks.. not too bad. 8)
Thank you :) Yes I have heard that I might get a little from the Provincial Health Coverage but it is reimbursement which means I have to come up with money I don't have. :( .. So it looks like I won't be travelling anymore .. :'(
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Angie, if you want to travel here to the USA, you could just go to the hospitals emergency room and get dialysis there, so far as I know, they cannot refuse you treatment.Of course, you would still be billed, but maybe you can submit the bill to your current insurance there in Canada?
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Angie, if you want to travel here to the USA, you could just go to the hospitals emergency room and get dialysis there, so far as I know, they cannot refuse you treatment.Of course, you would still be billed, but maybe you can submit the bill to your current insurance there in Canada?
Maybe. I still have a lot to check out and right now am checking out this Ontario site (http://www.tormed.com/En/Info/ohip.html).
I have found this info so far:
If you have a valid Ontario health card you are entitled to certain benefits when outside Canada; however, since coverage for out-of-country health care services is limited, you should purchase supplementary insurance.
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I found it hard to answer the poll, since I have two answers. I do a lot of weekend travelling - to Puerto Rico, to Antigua, to St. Maarten, to the United States Virgin Islands, to Barbados.
But I have only spent one week away from this territory since I started dialysis. I spent a week in Barbados in December and dialysed three times at a private clinic (although Barbados is my native country, I am considered a visitor and so had to pay). It cost US$300 per session, so the week cost me $900. I was pleasantly surprised when my insurance refunded the entire amount!
For the first time in 9 years, I did not travel for my summer holidays :( - the hassle and the necessary advance planning just turned me off. :'( :'( :'( I will just enjoy my weekends in other islands.
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I have found it quite easy to travel outside of my area. Sometimes you will have to travel some distance to get dialysis. When I went to Lake Tahoe it was an hour to Reno to the dialysis unit, down the mountain and through a couple of towns. We would stop at the chocolate Factory on the way back to Lake Tahoe. Yummy. Pismo Beach was great, I had to go to Santa Maria for dialysis, a half hour drive. Hawaii is almost impossible to book into. I went there on a family crisis reason when my Dad died. There is year back up waiting list to go there. Been to Palm Springs. The dialysis unit I used was two blocks from the condo we were in.
I ususally check out the dialysis units through a website (just google dialysis centers) and bring the info the the social worker to make the arrangments for me.
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Charee, where are you wanting to go on holiday?
We wanted to go to Birdsville, Alice springs making our way in land to Mackay (QLD) but its all pretty isolated out that way great country but it looks like i will have to wait til i get my transplant !!!
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Angie, if you want to travel here to the USA, you could just go to the hospitals emergency room and get dialysis there, so far as I know, they cannot refuse you treatment.
That's absolutely correct Angie. You can visit a US hospital emergency room and get dialysis because emergency health care can not be refused in the states. But as Joe Paul also said, they will be very happy to hand you the bill afterward. ::)
Only problem with that is, emergency room treatments could cost more then standard out patient routines.
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Only problem with that is, emergency room treatments could cost more then standard out patient routines.
The other problem is that you don't know what kind of needles they use, what kind of machine they use or what kind of filter they use. The ER is the last place you want to dialyize.
Not all hospitals have the same knowledge or experience about dialysis. :o
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Only problem with that is, emergency room treatments could cost more then standard out patient routines.
The other problem is that you don't know what kind of needles they use, what kind of machine they use or what kind of filter they use. The ER is the last place you want to dialyize.
Not all hospitals have the same knowledge or experience about dialysis. :o
Good point Zach. Not all the hospitals in my area even have a dialysis unit so how could they even handle a dialysis patient? There is a hospital right near me, literally a 5 minute walk from my house, which does have 2 big Fresenius units on site. ;D
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Ya, in my own city only the ONE hospital does dialysis. The other 3 or 4 do NOT.
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Ya, in my own city only the ONE hospital does dialysis. The other 3 or 4 do NOT.
I would guess that all hospital ERs have at least one dialysis machine of sorts, but maybe not the most advanced model.
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Are you serious Zach? LOL The staff at the ER here hardly even know anything about renal failure let alone dialysis! They usually have to get one of the renal doctors down to sort things out when I go in, unless its something like high K that they can sort out themselves.
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There are no dialysis machines at any of the other hospitals .. and Amber is right .. they no nothing about kidney disease. They don't need to so why would they? Only the one hospital gets any patients that need dialysis. My city is small so the ambulance drivers know where to take all dialysis patients.
But I worry about travelling to bigger cities .. if they would know where to take me in an emergency.
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There are no dialysis machines at any of the other hospitals .. and Amber is right .. they no nothing about kidney disease. They don't need to so why would they? Only the one hospital gets any patients that need dialysis. My city is small so the ambulance drivers know where to take all dialysis patients.
But I worry about travelling to bigger cities .. if they would know where to take me in an emergency.
My original point, exactly.
As for ERs and dialysis ... they would most likely always need to notify the nephrologist on call.
Also, I was referring to the ERs in the US. :o
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As for ERs and dialysis ... they would most likely always need to notify the nephrologist on call.
Also, I was referring to the ERs in the US. :o
So was I ... I am planning on visiting PA :P
Sorry I didn't specify .. I mean all over North Amercia. I don't know how things are in the States, true, but I want to know. I have a lot of worries. My main worry IS about travelling to the States and needing to do dialysis there.
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So was I ... I am planning on visiting PA :P
Sorry I didn't specify .. I mean all over North Amercia. I don't know how things are in the States, true, but I want to know. I have a lot of worries. My main worry IS about travelling to the States and needing to do dialysis there.
Do what I do ... have credit card, will travel! >:D
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As for ERs and dialysis ... they would most likely always need to notify the nephrologist on call.
Also, I was referring to the ERs in the US. :o
So was I ... I am planning on visiting PA :P
Sorry I didn't specify .. I mean all over North America. I don't know how things are in the States, true, but I want to know. I have a lot of worries. My main worry IS about travelling to the States and needing to do dialysis there.
Do what I do ... have credit cared, will travel! >:D
A credit card?? Tell that to the Bankruptcy people who made me cut them up when I had to give up my 9 year job because I couldn't do 12-hr shifts on dialysis :-[
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Before traveling out of Canada you would need to arrange for dialysis in the U.S. Perhaps the dialysis unit you use or your Canadian health authorities could advise you on how to arrange this. While you might show up at an ER and be dialyzed if you were near death I wouldn't count on it. I posted elsewhere about an early trip to Hawaii I made a few months after starting treatment. After being there a few days I really needed treatment so I went to a facility run by a branch of my HMO there. They basically told me no dice, pack up and go home for treatment which is what I had to do.
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As for ERs and dialysis ... they would most likely always need to notify the nephrologist on call.
Also, I was referring to the ERs in the US. :o
So was I ... I am planning on visiting PA :P
Sorry I didn't specify .. I mean all over North America. I don't know how things are in the States, true, but I want to know. I have a lot of worries. My main worry IS about travelling to the States and needing to do dialysis there.
Do what I do ... have credit cared, will travel! >:D
A credit card?? Tell that to the Bankruptcy people who made me cut them up when I had to give up my 9 year job because I couldn't do 12-hr shifts on dialysis :-[
I have a credit card. And a very good one I might add. I'm not suggesting to bring on the full brunt of your medical expenses but I can handle an assisted transaction for a little while.
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*sniff sniff* is that a credit card a smell?? a good one at that?? ooooh, havent seen one of them in years, HEYYYYYY SANDMAAAAAN ;) ::) ::) lol, just kidding Angie ;)
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*sniff sniff* is that a credit card a smell?? a good one at that?? ooooh, havent seen one of them in years, HEYYYYYY SANDMAAAAAN ;) ::) ::) lol, just kidding Angie ;)
;D Hey Jeff! Can you bring Goofynina with me when I come to PA? She is fun and I like her ;D .. of course this will have to be on your credit card ;) ;) ;)
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*sniff sniff* is that a credit card a smell?? a good one at that?? ooooh, havent seen one of them in years, HEYYYYYY SANDMAAAAAN ;) ::) ::) lol, just kidding Angie ;)
;D Hey Jeff! Can you bring Goofynina with me when I come to PA? She is fun and I like her ;D .. of course this will have to be on your credit card ;) ;) ;)
Oh boy, I had to open my big mouth. ::) ;D What does goofynina's husband feel about this?
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Hang on there a second! If Goofynina gets to go on Sandmansa's card I want to go too. I can party!
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Hang on there a second! If Goofynina gets to go on Sandmansa's card I want to go too. I can party!
Ya!! Kitkatz too!! Wheeee!!! ;D
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Hang on there a second! If Goofynina gets to go on Sandmansa's card I want to go too. I can party!
Ya!! Kitkatz too!! Wheeee!!! ;D
:o Now wait a second here, what am I gonna get for all this? :-\
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Now promise me Sandmansa is going to pay for it all on his great credit cards. I can fly out and we will party. I have never been to Canada or Pennsylvania! Ohhh hoo! Get the partie on!
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We will give you a hard time! (Now do NOT take that dirty) (Wash your mind out with soap some of you!)
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Now promise me Sandmansa is going to pay for it all on his great credit cards.
No promises.
We will give you a hard time! (Now do NOT take that dirty) (Wash your mind out with soap some of you!)
I get a hard time from everyone already. How is that your going to give me more grief going to convince me? :-\
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:o Now wait a second here, what am I gonna get for all this? :-\
You're gonna have a house full of rowdy women. Hope you can handle it. ;)
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:o Now wait a second here, what am I gonna get for all this? :-\
You're gonna have a house full of rowdy women. Hope you can handle it. ;)
GREAT! Just what every young, healthy man who lives alone dreams about. :P ::)
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Kitkatz...you can go no problem. Kaiser will reimburse you for the cost of treatments even out of the country. When I went to Germany I had to pony up some serious dollars to pay the unit there but eventually the check from Kaiser was in the mail. Bon Voyage.
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*tsk* awwww maaaaan *scuffs foot* hubby says NO!!! Can you believe that? Sooooo, i'll just take the money thank you ;) But thanks for the invitation, would've, could've, should've been a blast.....................(shutty EpoMAN) ::)
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When traveling within the United States, here's a way of finding a Unit.
http://www.dialysisunits.com/
my favorite website for finding units is www.dialysisfinder.com (http://www.dialysisfinder.com). i like the search features better, because you can search not just by city & state, but for any dialysis unit within a (for instance) 10-20 mile radius of any given city. it seems to have the most comprehensive list. plus it gives you a map to see where each of the units are!
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Oh, I think Angie and I came across this site a few months ago. It's quite handy for quickly finding dialysis centers but for some reason, it didn't and still doesn't find them all in my city. I think a found almost 20 more units in my area with just random searching through web sites like davita and fresenius.
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My hubby looked at me like I was cazy. I guess it is a no, here too. AWWW!
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Anyone travel to exotic interesting places? Or just different places.
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Check out the Bill Peckham dude. He's been all over the place on hemo. You should be able to google him up pretty easily.
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My son has traveled to No Va and had his hemo treatments there. No bad experiences. To the contrary--he found a couple of the clinics to be very friendly and nice. He had to plan a few weeks in advance through his social worker. He was really nervous about it, afraid they'd infiltrate him or something...
By the way Angie I'd be afraid of showing up at just any ER expecting to be dialyzed. You might be treated as a potassium crisis and give kaolate or whatever that awful stuff is!!! (Maybe if it was really your day--as an enema!)
Mom 3 (mother of hemo pt and a pkd pt myself)
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Check out the Bill Peckham dude. He's been all over the place on hemo. You should be able to google him up pretty easily.
Bill Peckham even has his OWN website (http://www.billpeckham.com/)! ;)
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Isn't Bill Peckham a members of these boards? Maybe he would have some info to share here with everyone concerning how to arrange for travel outside of your country?
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I did travel, but only rarely, while on hemodialysis. As a Canadian, I was covered for foreign dialysis expenses by the Canadian government, but only at the set rate of CDN $360 per treatment, which was always lower than what I had to pay abroad.
However, I found all the bureaucracy involved in faxing medical records and getting special testing done to comply with various dialysis centers, as well as all the trouble involved in finding foreign units prepared to take me when I wanted, and then in complying with the special practices and rules of each new unit where I was treated, to be just too onerous. I eventually preferred to stay home rather than put up with all the hassles involved in dialysis travel.
To cite just one example, I was invited to participate in an academic conference in Cambridge, England, and after two months of trying to arrange for dialysis treatments near enough to the conference center and at the right time period, I had to settle for dialysis at a unit 60 miles away from the conference in London. The unit only offered diallysis from 10 AM to 5 PM, so that treatment schedule meant I had to miss every second day of the week-long conference, to which I had to travel, repeatedly, at night after dialysis. The entire result was exhausting and only half what I needed, and the treatment cost me double the actual cost.
Whenever I have tried to arrange dialysis in the United States, I have always encountered centers which said, "We'll put you down on our waiting list and we'll call you when a spot opens up." No one seemed to understand that I could not arrange for travel and a hotel on a day's notice, and that the conferences I was planning to attend were not likely to be postponed until a free spot opened up for me at the dialysis center!
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Isn't Bill Peckham a members of these boards? Maybe he would have some info to share here with everyone concerning how to arrange for travel outside of your country?
No but he is a member of D&T City (http://groups.msn.com/DialysisTransplantCity/). I think you may have seen his name there.
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Patients can even take a cruise with dialysis onboard.
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...and it costs a bloody fortune. A short 3 day cruise is within limits without dialysis and a 4 day is possible if you are really careful again without dialysis. I tried the 4 day once and wouldin't really recommend it. My limits were pushed to about the the max and by the 4th day it wasn't very enjoyable. Then again if money is no object...
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Yes, it can get expensive. You would have to pay for the dialysis treatments onboard--Medicare does not cover them. So beyond the cost of the cruise, you would pay about $525.00 per treatment=$1,575 for a seven-day cruise. Although some secondary insurance plans may cover 80% of the treatment cost.
Here's an interesting travel article:
http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-healthy2jul02,1,7361911.column?coll=la-travel-headlines
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I've only travelled for 2 1/2 day weekends at a time - London, Dublin, Vienna and Paris*2.
All of these were great, really got my mind off dialysis. I even felt normal for a while, although obviously not very long. I might try a week-long trip this year if I'm still on dialysis in the spring/summer.
My country is so small that if you take a couple of steps in any direction you're abroad!
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I've just booked our third trip to Punta Cana Dominican Republic ... heading out Feb.3 :clap;
Very nice private hospital there offers hemo. They have 6 machines but both years so far I was the only pt. Neph stays in the unit the entire time.. great people. :2thumbsup;
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Sounds really nice!