I Hate Dialysis Message Board

Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: BattleScars on September 12, 2013, 08:56:43 AM

Title: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: BattleScars on September 12, 2013, 08:56:43 AM
When I first started PD I was trained to add Heparin to every bag. Not only is this time consuming but doesn't the risk of infection go up? I mean if you are not seeing any fibrin or only seeing it every now and then why take the chance of exposing yourself to infection 4 times a day? When I do see fibrin I will go ahead and add Heparin to my next bag but no way am I going to add it to every bag if there isn't a problem. It seems like overkill. My nurse at Davita discourages adding Heparin for this very reason. Am I the only one that doesn't hardly add it at all? 
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: okarol on September 12, 2013, 10:43:25 AM
Jenna started PD a week ago. No heparin has been added. The training nurse mentioned it's use only if it looks like Jenna has difficulty filling or draining.
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: Deanne on September 12, 2013, 11:18:35 AM
I just started a week ago, too. My nurse gave me a couple bottles of heparin and said I'd be told to use if if I started seeing fibrin in the drain bags, but it was something I'd call them about first.
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: Weggy on September 12, 2013, 12:14:49 PM
I've never had to use heparin. I don't have any in my house. I was told if I have lots of fibrin that I could call and ask for it. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I saw fibrin in my fluid.
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: MaryD on September 12, 2013, 05:44:38 PM
I've never used heparin in two years of CAPD.  Never seen much in the way of fibrin either.
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: Joe on September 12, 2013, 07:08:45 PM
I was trained to only use it when I saw fibrin in my drain bag. Haven't had to use any of it since I started CCPD.
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: amanda100wilson on September 13, 2013, 07:40:02 AM
Only ever used it if I saw fibrin
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: Riki on September 13, 2013, 09:46:57 PM
I only used it if there was fibrin too.  I only had to do it once every 6-8 months, and that was over almost 5 years.  I never used a whole bottle of heparin.  It would always expire before I needed to use it again.
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: billybags on September 14, 2013, 05:45:52 AM
I only use heprin in my husbands bags if there is a lot of fibrin, he is on the cycler so you can see it floating around in the large drain bags..The manual bags are more difficult to see fibrin I think. He can go for months with no fibrin, then all of a sudden we get a couple of weeks when it is there. I would use heprin for a couple of days, it would clear then it would sometimes come back. Apparrently it is not some thing to worry about, thats whar the nurse says. Using it every day, I would say it is over kill.
Title: Re: Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?
Post by: adairpete on October 09, 2013, 09:21:21 PM
When I first started pd it was recommended cuz I make a ton of fibrin. Even though I still see it regularly I only put it in once a day and alot of the time I'll just ignore it unless it gets worse. In my opinion if you don't see fibrin you don't heparin.