Taking dialysis to the NxStage

[okarol]

Taking dialysis to the NxStage

Published 03/14/2008 - 1:00 a.m. PDT
   
When Oakley resident Carl Maguire went to the hospital in June of 1996 for a case of pneumonia, he wasn’t expecting his doctor to tell him he had contracted kidney disease. To this day, it’s still unclear what really caused his kidneys to fail, but Maguire and his doctors suspect that a leg wound he suffered years ago, which led to blood poisoning, was the main culprit.

Maguire was able to manage his kidney disease for four years with a controlled diet. But eventually his condition worsened to total kidney failure, and he began in-center hemodialysis – treatments lasting four to five hours, three times a week.

In addition to being time-consuming, the dialysis took a toll on Maguire’s body. “I used to feel so beat up after dialysis that I would have to wait 20 to 30 minutes after my treatments before driving home,” he said. “I just felt so weak.”

Then Maguire’s luck turned. Nurses at the center informed him about a new, portable hemodialysis system that allows patients to do treatment at home or when traveling. He was leery of doing his treatments on his own, but the health and quality-of-life benefits of the NxStage System One sounded too good to pass up.

With his wife by his side as his dialysis partner, Maguire began the training program. After eight weeks of training, he was able to take his treatments home. “My wife and I have known each other since grammar school, so we’ve been through a lot together,” he said. “I knew we’d be able to make it through this as well.”

Maguire noticed a major difference right away. His energy levels increased and he no longer felt exhausted after dialysis. He was even able to help his wife with house and yard work. His appetite improved and he began sleeping better. Since he no longer needed to conform to the center’s schedule, he had more time to do things like going out to restaurants with his wife or fishing with his friends.

Four years later, Maguire is still feeling well and enjoying the benefits of daily home hemodialysis with the NxStage system. “After starting on NxStage, I felt like a new person compared to when I was doing in-center hemo,” he said. “Now, four years later, I’m still feeling better all the time.”

Maguire was recently told by another patient at his dialysis center that he doesn’t even look like a person on dialysis. Maguire was thrilled to hear this and credits NxStage to his sustained good health.

To learn more about NxStage, log on to www.nxstage.com.

http://bethelislandpress.com/article.cfm?articleID=19039