Why does it have to be so bleedin' COLD?!

[LifeOnHold]

Every dialysis unit I've been to has been so cold it's uncomfortable... is there a reason for the cryonic suspension?

[Epoman]

Every dialysis unit I've been to has been so cold it's uncomfortable... is there a reason for the cryonic suspension?

Hell yeah it's cold, sometimes it almost freezing. I think it's because the techs and nurses are moving and working so they get hot. So to them it's not hot. There really is no clinical reason to keep it cold.

[oldborris]

It ain't.  Not in my unit it ain't.  It's warm.  It's cosy.  It's comfortable.  I've got a bed, a real, genuine, iron-framed, mattress-covered, proper, three-pillowed, blanket-covered b. e. d.   No wonder I look forward to dialysis!

[Rerun]

I get waves of chills.  No amount of blankets can save me.  I ask them to turn up the thermostat on the machine and they say thay can't.  Twenty years ago dialysis was a lot better.  Not the machines, but the staff and the care.  I agree with the one person who complained about the "work release" foreigners who are our techs.  Where do they get these people?  This site needs spell check.

[Epoman]

I get waves of chills.  No amount of blankets can save me.  I ask them to turn up the thermostat on the machine and they say thay can't.  Twenty years ago dialysis was a lot better.  Not the machines, but the staff and the care.  I agree with the one person who complained about the "work release" foreigners who are our techs.  Where do they get these people?  This site needs spell check.

"This site needs spell check"

Yeah your right but with the forum software I use it's not an option yet. However I have found a solution you can use (like I do). I downloaded "Google's Toolbar" and it has a spell check in it that is flawless, it works great.

Below is a link to the download.

http://toolbar.google.com/?promo=mor-tb-en

Also Thank you for your suggestion. I welcome any and all comments or suggestions.

[Bajanne]

I don't find it too cold.  I love a fairly cold atmosphere.  What I am finding, however, is that a few minutes after dialysis starts, I find my body experiencing chills.  Normally, I don't cover up in air conditioning, but I do have to have a light sheet on me from the time that starts.

[O in]

Rerun
see my post "in NZ"
find the temp setting on your machine and change from 36c to 36.5c - ahould help

[Rerun]

Actually since my post complaining about the cold, I've switched dialysis centers.  They provide warm blankets... as many as you want.  But another odd thing has happened.  I'm not cold anymore.  In fact, I'm sweating most of the time.  Either I'm going through the change or my HCT is up.

[O in]

rerun

is the new unit machine running at a higher temp than at your last ubit?

[Epoman]

Rerun
see my post "in NZ"
find the temp setting on your machine and change from 36c to 36.5c - ahould help

That is the best solution. However check first to see what the temp is then ask the tech/nurse to raise it.

[Rerun]

I was in a different chair tonight.  The AC was blowing directly on me.  I was trying to read and my arms and hands were freezing.  I asked nicely at first and then got pissed off.  Their response "sorry, can't do anything about it."  The old lady that usually sits there has a winter hat on and now I know why!  I told them I would not dialyze in that chair again.  Three fricken hours I had to sit in the wind tunnel.  They kept bringing me blankets.  I didn't need blankets I needed the air to quit blowing on me like fricken Katerina!  So, being the control freak that I am..... I left without weighing myself.  They came after me saying "oh, we need a weight on you".  My comment as I turned with a flip of my hair... "sorry can't do anything about it."  With an F.Y. under my breath.  My insurance company is paying $1,500 a time for me to be there, the least they could do is make me comfortable.

[Epoman]

I was in a different chair tonight.  The AC was blowing directly on me.  I was trying to read and my arms and hands were freezing.  I asked nicely at first and then got pissed off.  Their response "sorry, can't do anything about it."  The old lady that usually sits there has a winter hat on and now I know why!  I told them I would not dialyze in that chair again.  Three fricken hours I had to sit in the wind tunnel.  They kept bringing me blankets.  I didn't need blankets I needed the air to quit blowing on me like fricken Katerina!  So, being the control freak that I am..... I left without weighing myself.  They came after me saying "oh, we need a weight on you".  My comment as I turned with a flip of my hair... "sorry can't do anything about it."  With an F.Y. under my breath.  My insurance company is paying $1,500 a time for me to be there, the least they could do is make me comfortable.

I love that Awesome. Stand up for yourself and remember you have rights as a patient.

[O in]

I was in a different chair tonight. The AC was blowing directly on me. I was trying to read and my arms and hands were freezing. I asked nicely at first and then got pissed off. Their response "sorry, can't do anything about it." The old lady that usually sits there has a winter hat on and now I know why! I told them I would not dialyze in that chair again. Three fricken hours I had to sit in the wind tunnel. They kept bringing me blankets. I didn't need blankets I needed the air to quit blowing on me like fricken Katerina! So, being the control freak that I am..... I left without weighing myself. They came after me saying "oh, we need a weight on you". My comment as I turned with a flip of my hair... "sorry can't do anything about it." With an F.Y. under my breath. My insurance company is paying $1,500 a time for me to be there, the least they could do is make me comfortable.

i had the same problem so i went in eraly one day and taped the goddammed vent shut and that fixed that
and it still shut!!!!

[Bajanne]

  My insurance company is paying $1,500 a time for me to be there, the least they could do is make me comfortable.

You shocked me there!  A session costs $1,500!!   Is that for real? Am I the only person shocked?  I was saying that I dare not spend a holiday in my country, since the private dialysis clinic charges $350 per session.

[Rerun]

Get this... my fistula was $25,000 and my Hickman Catheter was $13,000.  This is in Northern California.  Medical Costs are nuts.   But, this should be under a different topic.  Right?  Epoman??

[Bajanne]

I have started a new topic concerning costs.

[Epoman]

Get this... my fistula was $25,000 and my Hickman Catheter was $13,000.  This is in Northern California.  Medical Costs are nuts.   But, this should be under a different topic.  Right?  Epoman??

Yes a new topic would be best.

You must have a PPO for insurance huh? I have a HMO and have never had to pay a penny in 11 years. Do you even have insurance? I'm in Southern California.

[cabarle]

Today was my 5th session. It was so cold.....The nurses did everything they could. They gave me extra blankets and increased the temp of my machine. After a while, I stopped shivering but it was still cold.

[susie q]

Cold here in Canada too!!  Brrrrr..  A lot of the older people wear hats and gloves at dialysis... I bring a blanket but am still cold... One nurse said it was supposed to keep your blood pressure up, I think she was full of shit..

[Rerun]

I take my rice bag to dialysis.  You take a dish cloth and sew it up the sides and fill it half full of white rice.  I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes before I leave and it is still hot by the time I get there.  I put it  on my lap and it stays warm and I scrunch my hands into it and it warms them up too.  You can also take a mens white tube sock and fill it half full of white rice and tie a knot at the top.

Rice absorbs moisture from the air, so you can microwave this rice bag again and again and again.  It works great for me.

Of course they won't reheat it for you, even though it would help with cramping in hands and feet.  Why use common sense?

[susie q]

That is a great idea Rerun!!   In my unit, if you are almost frozen to death they mic bags of saline for hot water bottles!!  what a waste, but it sure felt good! Lol 

[kitkatz]

I have been so cold I wrote the unit up for freezing my ass off.

Katherine

[GuyIncognito]

OK - I need some advice on this one... I have always prided myself in not complaining and retaining a positive attitude towards dialysis however I feel that this attitude has allowed others to take advantage of the situation. our unit has 6 stations, the last being near the emergency exit, now in the summer this is a choice spot as it is the closest chair to the window but in the winter the draft from this door is so cold you might as well just dialyzes me in the snow, besides this certain nurses keep the heat low because and this is there own words "They are not going to let the patients sweat the nurses out." the rudeness of that comment still angers me when I think about it, not to mention the fact that I dread my 4 hours now more than ever not that I can guarantee I will be in that last chair.

What is the best way to resolve this situation, I do not want to burn any bridges... Seeing as I have to spend 12 hours a week with these people.

[Rerun]

Tell me what you take now.  Blanket?  Hat? Gloves? 

I don't think a person needs to dress in a snowmobile suit to dilayze!  You should not have a draft on you for 4 hours. 

Anyway tell me more before I say "BURN THE BRIDGE" and get some heat going.

[GuyIncognito]

There is another problem - How much clothing are you willing to wear considering each shirt ... adds to your weight.
Personally now I wear thick wool socks, Jeans, long sleeve teeshirt and a hooded sweatshirt. but I have considered wearing long Jon's and a toque.