Dialysis Routines

[kitkatz]

I am bouncing this idea off of another post I read.  We all have routines that we get into. I know some of us have certain things we do before we get into that dialysis chair before treatment.


What are some personal routines you have to do before settling into that dialysis chair?

[cassandra]

My in centre routines were: driving with very loud music to the centre, as part of my 'smile, and be happy therapy'. I weigh, take BP, clean chair and table, put my stuff out, so I have the right needles etc, put book, tv-remote, blankets and pillows ready. I only had 2  Staff not allowed to come anywhere near my chair. I brought in 1 salami sandwich, 1 lemon mousse, 1 thermos coffee. 9 years no change with hemo. Peculiarly I have no routine with home hemo nor did I have a routine with APD.

[Relentless]

Dialysis at 5:45am. Sit down after getting weight. Standing then sitting BP. Take out my blanket..pillow...earphone...2 breakfast burrito from Macdonald. .water..2 renevala. Eat breakfast around 7am then fall asleep around 8am. ALWAYS wake up after an hour..don't know why I can't sleep for longer and I been doing morning for about 2 years (been on dialysis for 5)..wakeup at 9 and watch t.v until usually 10am to unhook to go home then starts all over on Wednesday then Friday.

[cattlekid]

In center, I would take off my outerwear and shoes and then weigh myself before finding out which chair I would be in for the day. 

Once I got to my chair, I would get out my laptop, cell phone, Nook, headphones, neck pillow, blanket, water bottle and Clif bar.  I wasn't allowed any food or water of my own until I complained to the medical director that going from noon to 7 PM without food and water was making my treatments worse.  If there was an electrical outlet near my chair, I would plug in as many devices as I could. 

After getting hooked up, I would settle in with my laptop and work from 3-5 (I was on third shift).  By 5:00, I would be unable to concentrate on work so I would read books on my Nook because the wi-fi in the center was so bad that I couldn't access any of the other apps.  If I got to the point that I couldn't even read, I would watch Nancy Grace or whomever else was on CNN until it was time to get unhooked and leave. 

That was Tuesday and Thursday.  Saturdays, I would do the same but zone out watching whatever movies I could find on TV.  Our center's TV stations were notoriously lacking in choices.  Nothing but basic cable, so no ESPN or the like.