no more free coffee

[twirl]

as of this coming Monday we will get no more free coffee at dialysis
we can not pay for it either
we get nothing
maybe ice, if the tech is in the mood - no guarantees on that
we can not bring in any snacks or foods to eat during dialysis
nothing
if caught --- we will be disconnected and sent home
we are only allowed to bring in water to drink and ice
I guess next they will tell us no blankets
one older lady brings in a health bar and a mineral drink for her breakfast------- no more
and she is concerned b/c she is a diabetic
darn it, I am going to miss my fruit cup
in bold letters
NO MORE COFFEE
and one of the patients just gave the unit a free new coffee maker
I guess the joke is on her

[Chris]

WTH!!
I would, I don't know besides being mad,  complain, and defy them.
As a diabetic, we have somewhat of a set time to eat and take meds, so not eating could send us to the ER or worse which could make them liable for not allowing her to have anything.
She shouldn't have to reschedule her medication and eating time around them. The usual diet for a diabetic is breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. If she even ate and took her meds at 5 am, she would still need to have a snack there.

Doctors need to get involved and chew this place out.

If you can't have food, neither can they and that means in their breakroom, in their coaty, desk, and not to mention COFFEE when they come in!

[paul.karen]

pathectic truly.

Do they know without patients they would have no job??

[okarol]

Who runs your unit twirl (what company?)
I'd like to send them a letter.

[Wenchie58]

I'm right there with Karol...I too would write a letter!
I'm not on D, but as someone who recently was blessed
a new kidney AND diabetes, this whole eating on schedule
thing is damned important!

[nursewratchet]

what company?  I'm also ready to send a letter.  Are you sure they are not telling you not to eat if you feel sick?  That is OK, but not "gestapo" dialysis.  That's rediculous.

[monrein]

Perhaps we could put together a petition/letter and any of us here who'd like to could print it off, sign it and send it to the company also.  I'd be happy to add my voice to a protest about this ridiculous rule. 

[2_DallasCowboys]

To me, it is amazing that you have been getting
coffee right along till now.

At my hubby's unit, they get NOTHING   Never did,
and that includes ice.

The patient is also responsible for providing their own
Sureseals

Anne

[twirl]

I get up at 4:15am to be at dialysis on time
that means I will be eating very early and by 10:30 I will be starving ( this would be my leave the unit time after holding and all)
dialysis makes me so hungry
I usually eat a sandwhich and a piece of fruit about 8:30
we are welcome to go eat in the lobby so I guess at 8:30 I will request to be unhooked so I can go eat a snack in the lobby
my company is Davita
I have no problems with bringing my own things and some days I have to be on liquids and jello is considered a liquid
I think I will bring jello and tell them I am eating it so kick me out if you need too
when I get that hungry I get so sick at my stomach
and I do not eat late the night before dialysis
it is not good to eat too late in the evening
I am really dreading this
being so hungry - that last hour crawls by
first they stopped letting us sit by friends and now they are taking away our snacks
I am concerned about the teachers and people who work all day and then come for the third shift and can not eat until
after 8 or 9
I saw the techs carrying their food from the hospital cafeteria to eat in their lounge today
this sucks
thanks for your help
as soon as you get friendly with someone in a chair by you and you start talking---- they separate you
I was told dialysis is not a place to socialize and meet friends

DAVITA SUCKS

[twirl]

when I first started dialysis my doc told me all the things I could do on dialysis and eating was one of them
- he was talking me into starting without being so fearful
- he does not work on Fridays but I am calling his office Monday to remind him what I was told
- the office manager told us it is to stop bugs and someone chocked---- someone  --- who I asked and was told --- someone you do not know--- could be someone in New York for I know

[David13]

Twirl, I am sorry about this.   

It really does seem to be ridiculous and unfair, especially for the diabetic patients.  I think everyone should get together with the manager and the medical director so that the situation can be discussed and they can explain the situation. 

Including travel time to the center, waiting time before and after treatment, actual treatment time, and then travel time back home, that is a very long period to go without food.  I don't understand it.

[okarol]

Yeah, choking is a remote possibility! 

Teach them the Heimlich Maneuver!

 

[KT0930]

I've heard of food being discouraged due to the choking hazard, but never banned. Who do they think they're treating? 5 year olds? As for the drinks being brought by techs, the only time I was ever brought anything to drink was water when my BP was too low.

[nursewratchet]

Twirl,  this is NOT a Davita policy.  This sounds like the FA just has a control issue. If you can PM me the name of your clinic, I can look into it for you.   The only time we don't let people eat is if the BP is really low.   Eating will cause the BP to drop while on Dialysis, so if it is already  a problem, then we discourage food until it comes up.  Otherwise, who cares!!!







EDITED: Fixed bold error-kitkatz,Moderator

[del]

I can't believe that a dialysis unit would tell you you can't bring your own food to eat. As for choking that can happen anywhere!!  Hubby always had a snack when he was on dialysis. It helped to pass the time. First when he started the unit used to provide muffins and pop but after a year or so they stopped that.  It was no big deal for hubby he always took his own drink and snack anyway. Kick up hell!!  Eat anyway and if they unhook you charge them with attempted murder LOL!!!

[BigSky]

Our unit has been no food or drink policy for over seven years and the diabetics here never have had a problem.

I would say  get used to it.  More and more units and going this direction and it is even being pushed by Medicare now last I heard.

[okarol]

Our unit has been no food or drink policy for over seven years and the diabetics here never have had a problem.

I would say  get used to it.  More and more units and going this direction and it is even being pushed by Medicare now last I heard.

I don't think most units are going this direction. It would be interesting to find out.

[Rerun]

Our unit has been no food or drink policy for over seven years and the diabetics here never have had a problem.

I would say  get used to it.  More and more units and going this direction and it is even being pushed by Medicare now last I heard.

This is true.  But, 20 years ago they "served" us lunch on trays during dialysis.  The reason people choke now is because they are sneaking it.  They don't want to deal with the mess if someone pukes or spills their drink.  I think it is medical abuse.  I wish someone would take them to court over it.  There is NO medical reason you can't have a snack on dialysis.

It gives me something to do that I enjoy.  It takes up time.  I hate being on dialysis and hungry.  If you eat a big meal and then go on dialysis it messes with your dry weight.  

This is just total control because we are nothing but mice in their workshop making them money.  Now they are not letting the mice eat.

I think if enough people kept eating they could NOT enforce it.  What are they going to do arrest you?  Unhook you and make you go home?  Then their numbers would look bad and Medicare would not pay them.  Hmmmm  DaVita better think about this a little more.

[okarol]

What should I ask about a dialysis center before choosing one?

Each dialysis clinic is a little different. Policies and practices can even vary at different dialysis center locations in the same company. Some dialysis facilities will schedule treatments around your job or family obligations, while others will not. Some allow patients to eat during dialysis, while others do not. Some centers have internet access, patient education and exercise programs, and some don’t. You may want to write up a list of questions to take with you when you visit centers near you before making a choice.

From Davita's website http://www.davita.com/dialysis/the-basics/a/46

[monrein]

One of the hardest aspects of dialysis is the significant loss control over our own lives.  Loss of the spontaneity to travel, loss of the freedom to eat the foods we choose, loss (for many) of the ability to do work of our choice and so on.  To remove the control over when we eat our limited diet choices feels cruel and quite unnecessary to me.  There are cases in which eating during dialysis is contraindicated for medical reasons but that is not the case for all patients and to have a one-rule-fits-all approach, is to totally ignore the necessity for individualized care.  I find that completely unacceptable and as a person who insists on maintaining control over every aspect of my care that I possibly can, I would refuse to participate in this infantilizing, levelling approach.  I completely agree with Rerun that this idiotic "rule" has less to do with good medicine than it does with convenience for staff.  People in hospitals are fed even though they sometimes make an awful mess because they are ill.  We continue to feed babies even though the little creatures insist on spitting up and creating a ton of laundry. 
When I mention to the nurses at my clinic, some of the things that I hear about on this forum, they are appalled and find it cruel and inhumane.   It is rubbish and we ought not to get used to it.  We have enough things that we must adjust to with this illness without having to accept the unnecessary or the dogmatic.  If there are medical reasons that make it not a good idea for me to eat on D that is when I will get used to it and not a moment before.  I will also say that I think it is each patient's responsibility NOT to choose foods to eat on the machine that would be disturbing or offensive (strong odors for example) to fellow-patients but that is an entirely different matter.  I would also say that if I couldn't eat in my unit I'd be really upset if the staff was eating in there and I'd write letters about it until my fingers fell off.  Get used to it indeed!!!!

[Chris]

Our unit has been no food or drink policy for over seven years and the diabetics here never have had a problem.

This maybe due to the time slot you are in. Other factors are type of diabetes and methods of controlling it. With my diabetes I always had to carry food because I could not feel a low blood sugar attack (hypoglycemia) come on, which lead to other problems. And if I have to go to a unit that would kick me out because I had to eat something, then medical malpractice comes to mind. Not going to let someone dictate how they want my life run when they feel it's convenient for them. Hypo and Hyperglycemia are never planned for a certain time to occur.

[nursewratchet]

Again, this is not a Davita policy.  This is a control issue. 

[Chris]

Nursewratchet, you should have told me I had a mis spelled word.

[kitkatz]

Twirl does not want to get used to it.
She wants a snack
It is her right to have snack.
My God, she is a grown woman!
Who has the ability to think and eat for herself whenever and however she wants to.
God God Davita clinic, Grow up!

I would write a letter to the director stating how you feel deprived and abused with this new policy.

[nursewratchet]

Nursewratchet, you should have told me I had a mis spelled word.

  I'm too tired to have noticed!!!