Questions moved from the "intro" section, sorry about that.......

[TynyOne]

I am overwhelmed and deeply touched by such a warm welcome I have received from everyone here!  Thank You!   Thank You!   Thank You!  So, I'd like to begin asking my first two questions.    LOL   My first question is, is anyone on the medication sodium bicarb and if you are, could you please explain exactly what it is for?  Yes, I did ask the doctor that prescribed it to me but he is not my doctor, he was just the doctor on call as well as the "head honcho" over the group of doctors that my doctor is in with and he is also a smart a**; therefore, because he was such a smart a**, I kind of tuned him out when he "tried" to tell me what it is for and also he did not tell me in "booger town" terms,   he told me in his "medical field" terms!    DOH!!!      Also, my second question for today is, does anyone know why they weigh us in kilos instead of pounds?   OK, those are my 2 questions for today.    There will definitely be more to come, I am sure.   Again, thanks for the warm welcome.   Have a happy little day!

Tammy

[Bill Peckham]

I can tell you why metric: It is much, much easier.

One liter of water weighs one kilo. If you come in 2.4 kilos over your dry weight you'd need 2.4 liters of fluid removed (net, in the event you'd add in prime and rinse back).

If you looked at the same situation as being 4.8 pounds over your dry weight ... how many ounces is that, that you'd need removed?

[Hawkeye]

I can tell you why metric: It is much, much easier.
One liter of water weighs one kilo. If you come in 2.4 kilos over your dry weight you'd need 2.4 liters of fluid removed (net, in the event you'd add in prime and rinse back).
If you looked at the same situation as being 4.8 pounds over your dry weight ... how many ounces is that, that you'd need removed?

It's also a more accurate method of measuring.  For example 1 lb = .45359237 kg

[Ginger]

As for the sodium bicarb--your blood was probably too acidic due to changes in your electrolye balance so the MD ordered the bicarb to make it more alkaline.  Many dialysis patients take it.  I took it to keep my blood more alkaline because my body likes to make uric acid kidney stones and by taking it I have had no more stones formed.

[TynyOne]

As for the sodium bicarb--your blood was probably too acidic due to changes in your electrolye balance so the MD ordered the bicarb to make it more alkaline. Many dialysis patients take it. I took it to keep my blood more alkaline because my body likes to make uric acid kidney stones and by taking it I have had no more stones formed.

What does alkaline mean?   Yes, i have looked up terms of dialysis but they seem to be hard to understand too.  I am sorry if I am sounding so dumb but I want to learn all I can and like I said before, I have only known about my kidney failure, since November 30th.  Please, ask for each one's patience and I thank you all in advance for your help.

Tammy

[Ginger]

Alkaline is basic as opposed to acid.  Just acid-base balance from chemistry. I hated chemistry so not sure how to explain otherwise.  Anyone else try?

[jbeany]

yikes, it's been forever since chemistry. . .

Every liquid has a ph level.  There's alkaline on one end of the scale, neutral in the middle, and acidic at the other end of the scale.  Pure water, with no minerals in it for example, would have a neutral ph.  Blood in the human body should be slightly alkaline to be healthy, although everyone's bodily ph fluctuates during the day both naturally and depending on what you eat.  Illness of any kind can throw the balance out of whack, and make the blood either too acidic or too alkaline.   I'm not sure of the long term health issues that an unbalanced ph would have - but it certainly can't be healthy when you think of it as having acid running in your veins!