Has your Christmas dialysis been messed UP!

[Hawkeye]

I have no idea what the center is doing for Christmas, but my birthday is December 31 and I am not dialyzing on my birthday!  So there!

LOL.

[angela515]

I have no idea what the center is doing for Christmas, but my birthday is December 31 and I am not dialyzing on my birthday!  So there!

Right on kitkat!!  I remember on my 21st birthday I told them I would not be coming to dialysis on my bday, AND to expect my potassium to be very high on Saturday when I return. So on my 21st birthday, my parents took me out and we gambled (we lived in Vegas), and I ate strawberries, and had a blast!

Enjoy your birthday... 

[tubes]

my unit is opening up much earlier on sunday so the nurses can get out early and get home.
my usual schedule is mon, wed, fri. and for christmas it's sun, tues, fri.....hmmm, crap i'm not sure.
all i know is, i have to be to dialysis by 4:30 am on sunday the 24th.  Then I can be home by 9:30am and to work at 10 am.
OMG, thats going to be a long day.  maybe i will take that day off.  no need overexurting myself before christmas. 

[Panda_9]

For those who are having extra time off over xmas just be aware of how you are feeling, and be very aware of what you are eating. If you notice any signs of high potassium dont muck around.

[Bajanne]

For those who are having extra time off over xmas just be aware of how you are feeling, and be very aware of what you are eating. If you notice any signs of high potassium dont muck around.

Very good advice, Panda 9.  Let us all comply!

[Joe Paul]

For those who are having extra time off over xmas just be aware of how you are feeling, and be very aware of what you are eating. If you notice any signs of high potassium dont muck around.

I'm new to dialysis...what exactly would I feel if I over-did potatoes?

[stauffenberg]

Of course the opening and closing hours vary all over Europe.  Germany and Austria are really antique in their delight in closing things down so as to make flexibile shopping impossible, and although England is better, it is still primitive by North American standards, where we have a truly 24-hour commercial culture.  I lived for one year in Austria, 6 years in Germany, and 13 years in England.  In Germany I was present at a dialysis unit for about a year while I was a student, and in England I was a dialysis patient for one year.  The figures for dialysis running from only 10 AM to 5 PM come from the center at the London Bridge Hospital, where I imagine the hours are still the same as they were when I was last dialyzed there in 1998, if anyone wants to check.

[jbeany]

For those who are having extra time off over xmas just be aware of how you are feeling, and be very aware of what you are eating. If you notice any signs of high potassium dont muck around.

I'm new to dialysis...what exactly would I feel if I over-did potatoes?

High potassium symptoms:

    * Nausea
    * Irregular heartbeat
    * Slow, weak, or absent pulse

I got this off a medical website - and after "absent pulse" they note "(emergency symptom)".  Ya think?

[goofynina]

When i had high potassium i lose the use of my limbs,  i guess it shuts down your muscles, it's an ugly feeling...

[kitkatz]

I am going to screw with the dilaysis center's schedule.  It will be so fun!  I am going to Sunnyvale on the 22nd to 24 to see my girls and sister's family, so I will need early dialysis, then maybe Christmas Day dialysis or early Tuesday dialysis.  Then I will NOT dialyze on my birthday this year, so I am messing with their minds.  Hehehehehe!  I should say Paybacks are a bitch!

[Panda_9]

For those who are having extra time off over xmas just be aware of how you are feeling, and be very aware of what you are eating. If you notice any signs of high potassium dont muck around.

I'm new to dialysis...what exactly would I feel if I over-did potatoes?

First of all, dont over do on anything or you may regret it! Eat a little more carefully than you normally do. Obviously not everyone has trouble with potassium, but having the 3 days off may be hard on most people.
The first symptoms I notice is weakness in my arms and legs. I particularly feel it in my calves and forearms. It can get to a point where you cannot walk, which usually means your potassium may be at very dangerous levels. You can also get nausea, irregular pulse, diahorrea, and I think you can also get stomach pains. If you notice ANY of these symptoms go straight to emergency and tell them you are a dialysis patients and you think your potassium may be high as you have such and such symptoms.
It has actually taken me a few trips to ER to really be able to notice the signs very early. I usually start to notice symptoms when I go above 6.

[AlasdairUK]

Of course the opening and closing hours vary all over Europe. Germany and Austria are really antique in their delight in closing things down so as to make flexibile shopping impossible, and although England is better, it is still primitive by North American standards, where we have a truly 24-hour commercial culture. I lived for one year in Austria, 6 years in Germany, and 13 years in England. In Germany I was present at a dialysis unit for about a year while I was a student, and in England I was a dialysis patient for one year. The figures for dialysis running from only 10 AM to 5 PM come from the center at the London Bridge Hospital, where I imagine the hours are still the same as they were when I was last dialyzed there in 1998, if anyone wants to check.

I can not speak for Germany or Austria as I have never had medical care in either country, however when I have visited Germany they are in most parts fairly rigid to opening and closing times. Keep in mind that it is supply and demand that determines these times and I'm of the understanding that it is the German culture. In other European countries e.g. Spain, the stores are open late as people go out in the evening.

I have never been to the London Bridge Hospital, but in the UK you have the right to chose between five trusts for your medical care and there are plenty of trusts that operate twilight services in London. You have the choice in the UK to dialyze when you want. I have always found that centers give priority in booking slots to people who are working to accommodate patients as best as possible.

With internet shopping it is now 24 hours a day, how much more flexibility do you want for your shopping needs?

[Zach]

Of course the opening and closing hours vary all over Europe. Germany and Austria are really antique in their delight in closing things down so as to make flexibile shopping impossible, and although England is better, it is still primitive by North American standards, where we have a truly 24-hour commercial culture. I lived for one year in Austria, 6 years in Germany, and 13 years in England. In Germany I was present at a dialysis unit for about a year while I was a student, and in England I was a dialysis patient for one year. The figures for dialysis running from only 10 AM to 5 PM come from the center at the London Bridge Hospital, where I imagine the hours are still the same as they were when I was last dialyzed there in 1998, if anyone wants to check.

I can not speak for Germany or Austria as I have never had medical care in either country, however when I have visited Germany they are in most parts fairly rigid to opening and closing times. Keep in mind that it is supply and demand that determines these times and I'm of the understanding that it is the German culture. In other European countries e.g. Spain, the stores are open late as people go out in the evening.

I have never been to the London Bridge Hospital, but in the UK you have the right to chose between five trusts for your medical care and there are plenty of trusts that operate twilight services in London. You have the choice in the UK to dialyze when you want. I have always found that centers give priority in booking slots to people who are working to accommodate patients as best as possible.

With internet shopping it is now 24 hours a day, how much more flexibility do you want for your shopping needs?

Once again, stauffenberg sounds as if he knows what he's talking about, but doesn't get it correct.

[stauffenberg]

When I was dialyzed in London in 1997-1998, I was given NO choice of center, but was assigned first to the out-patient clinic of the hospital where I had initially been admitted at onset of renal failure, the Hammersmith Hospital.  They had about 30 stations, one loud, blaring television set bolted to the ceiling, no way to change the channel or turn down the volume, and operated on a rigid 9-6 schedule, although they did not mind keeping the patients waiting 45 minutes on average before calling them in from the waiting room for treatment.  Later, when I was dialyzed at London Bridge hospital, I found they operated only from 10 AM to 5 PM.  Even worse there was the fact that they gave priority to patients who wanted to sleep and had only a single light for each group of two patients, so that if your partner wanted to sleep, you could not have enough light to read.  When I was a medical student in Duesseldorf I did a research project which involved me interveiwing patients and collecting statistics at the dialysis unit there, and again, the hours were 9-5 -- though the conditions of treatment were much more comfortable than I experienced myself a decade later in England.

In Germany the opening and closing hours have nothing whatsoever to do with supply and demand, but rather, with a stifling tradition of government interference with every detail of life.  The government likes to maintain what it thinks of as 'tradition' and 'order' by keeping Sunday a day of rest and curtailing the hours workers have to put in per week by strictly enforcing closing times.  As a special mercy to the public for good behavior they let a few stores stay open all the way to 5 PM on Saturdays during the three or four Saturdays before Christmas.  Otherwise, the law states that the only stores that can be open late are "travelers' facilities," which are tiny shops within 20 meters of an air terminal, train statioin, bus station, or subway stop, and even these close early by North American standards.  Austria is even worse, and Vienna is constantly full of bewildered tourists wandering around, wondering why nothing is ever open.

[kitkatz]

I thoroughly messed with the dialysis schedule for the holidays!   Muhhahahahaha!  It was great.  I am going to Sunnyvale with the hubby to see my children and my sister, for three days the 22-24 of December, so I will dialyze early Friday morning, then come in early Tuesday monring after Christmas. A looong weekend but I will be okay.  The I will not dilalyze on my birthday, the 31st, so I will come in Wed, Sat, Tues, for that week.  What fun!  I hope I can remember all of this!

[Panda_9]

I am glad I am not in centre, as there is no way I would put up with having time off. I would like to not feel like shit on xmas day!

[angieskidney]

Well I just found out from my mom that Christmas dinner will be Sunday because she has to work on Christmas Day (the casino never closes).

So the fact that dialysis has moved my dialysis to Sunday (Christmas Eve) means I do NOT get a Christmas Dinner with family this year.

.... I can't help but be depressed about that.

[kitkatz]

So make them change your times.  I went in and TOLD the center what my holiday times would be.  I am sure you can work it out!

[Wizard]

The part that seems hard is carrying around Christmas Eve dinner around (we open pkgs with some family on eve), and Christmas Day lunch around until Wednesday morning. Oh well I guess I will go buy some ExLax from the store since the staff must have day off!

[angieskidney]

Great suggestion!  They moved it from 4pm to 2:30pm and even though they were behind and I didn't get hooked up til 3:15pm it was still a lot earlier and I made it for dinner late but better than never! Thx guys! 

[jonn r]

they had me come in on sunday at 9am to make up for the monday being closed....i think i could make it a few days if i needed to

[Joe Paul]

they had me come in on sunday at 9am to make up for the monday being closed....i think i could make it a few days if i needed to

Its good to hear from you John...Hope you had a Merry Christmas.

[kitkatz]

I made it from Friday monring to Tuesday monring.  It was rough this morning with some extra weight on.  I could feel it.  I feel better tonight and am watching the fluid intake so I can get the rest off tomorrow.

[imacrash]

Yeah, my schedule was way off for Christmas Eve and Christmas and the 26th.  I do PD at home.  My problem was trying to fit the PD into a rather unforeseen hectic holiday.  I live with my parents, and on the 24th, my mom had a stroke around 6pm and then again at 1:45am Christmas day.  I spent the entire night in the hospital, so I did most of my time on PD during the day, going back to the hospital every night, and so on.  I think tonight will be my first full run since the 23rd....ugh!  Wish me luck!!!

[Sluff]

Yeah, my schedule was way off for Christmas Eve and Christmas and the 26th.  I do PD at home.  My problem was trying to fit the PD into a rather unforeseen hectic holiday.  I live with my parents, and on the 24th, my mom had a stroke around 6pm and then again at 1:45am Christmas day.  I spent the entire night in the hospital, so I did most of my time on PD during the day, going back to the hospital every night, and so on.  I think tonight will be my first full run since the 23rd....ugh!  Wish me luck!!!

I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom. I hope she is doing better. Please keep us up to date. I hope your holding up too. Just remember we are here for you! Take care of yourself so you are able to help your Mom.