To PD or not to PD. That is the question.

[Lexxtech18]

  Thanks, all! I can feel the positivity and good luck entering me as we speak!! 

 

[Willis]

 

 

[Lexxtech18]

I talked to the PD nurse today, not great news.  It's like a damn plague on me lately!! WTF?! Anyway, they are run by Fresenius, meaning they do NOT carry the Extraneal and will not order for me if needed.  And being that I have a pretty fast membrane transfer (like every 2-3 hours) I'm wondering if it's worth it to go ahead and try to do the PD anyway. I'm still super worried that Hemo is just too much for my already weak heart and my blood pressure is allowing me to take off less and less fluid. I feel like I'm drowning. But if the Extraneal is unavailable to me, I will have to do exchanges so often. And with working 8 hours a day, I'm not sure how possible that is. I think it would get better when I can go on the cycler at night, but that could take months. Grrrrr!!! Why can't something just be easy for a change?!! What do I do?? 

[Joe]

I started out doing 4 manuals a day and working through it. That lasted for about a month and a half when I transitioned to my cycler. I was working through the first six months of dialysis, doing my morning drain and afternoon fill while at work. (You have to be provided a place that you can have privacy and cleanliness to perform your dialysis.) When I switched over to the cycler, I came into work with fluid on and drained it there. From that point on, I was dry through the day. I still perform to that cycle, but am no longer working. For a couple of reasons, it was best that I stop working and go out on disability, but that's not germain to this discussion. The bottom line is that you can work and do your dialysis, it only ties you up for about 30 minutes a cycle. Good Luck!

[Riki]

I don't understand why you have to wait so long for the cycler.  I know that you have to know how to do the bag exchanges first, but once you know, why can't you just go straight to the cycler?  I actually had to demand to be trained on the cycler when I started, because I didn't want to do bag exchanges.  I wasn't getting proper dialysis with them, not to mention sleep, having to do them every 6 hours and work nights.  I did 10 times better once i was on the cycler

[justme15]

I spent the first few days learning manual exchanges during training, and then the last couple days on the cycler.  I went straight to the cycler after training.

[Riki]

I only had my kidney for 3 years, so I knew I didn't want to do bag exchange again. They let me train with the cycler because they knew that I knew bag exchange.  I think that the same nurse trained me both times

[Lexxtech18]

The PD nurse told me that they do not train you on the cycler until you've been doing manuel exchanges for at least three months. I thought that was kind of strange as when I was on PD first, they trained me on the cycler fairly quickly. I was on it within a few weeks. 

[Joe]

I got trained and was using the cycler within a month of starting PD. And I thought that was a long time, I wanted to get off manuals as soon as I could.

[Lexxtech18]

This PD place that I'm thinking of going to is so weird. Very disorganized. Like they want me to come up for training 4 days in a row early in the morning, I have to travel 45 minutes to get there. Then when I'm done with training for the day I have to go straight to work, get off at 0130, sleep a few hours then go for training again. On the 5th day they will  come out to my house to train. Then every month for so many months I go for check ups but then monthly I go to a totally different unit for bloodwork and meds. Like huh?!   

[jeannea]

I trained directly on the cycler. They didn't make me do manuals first. I don't know why they would do that. Yes I learned how to do manuals but my first night after training I used my cycler.

[wbdoug]

I did training for two weeks. The first week was learning to do manuals and the second week was on the cycler. When I was done I started with the cycler at home. I guess every center is different.

[Willis]

I did training for two weeks. The first week was learning to do manuals and the second week was on the cycler. When I was done I started with the cycler at home. I guess every center is different.

My training was the same as this. I went on my first weekend trip away from home about 4 months later and that was the first time I did manual PD. By that time I had almost forgotten how to do it! I've done manuals when away from home about 3 or 4 times--no more if I can help it. Last time I went out of town I decided to bring along my cycler and even dealing with the supplies and stuff it was worth it not to have to stop and do a fill cycle during the day.