just back from 3 weeks in the UK

[yliebert]

 My Hubby is on nocturnal hemo with a NXStage cycler.  We just returned from a 3 week trip to the UK, 2 Nights in Southampton, 12 nights on board the Crown Princess and 5 nights in London.  The customer service people at Kimal, the UK affiliate of NXStage were fantastic. They made certain that all of our fluids, cartridges and sharps containers were delivered in advance to each location.  We ha a mini suite aboard ship so there was plenty of room to maneuver.  They kept our boxes in the hold and brought them up as we needed them.  My only suggestion  would be to make certain you inventory all the boxes prior to departure.  We think they accidentally tossed a box of cartridges, so we had to call London to get replacements.  Kimal was great about it and had a new box at our next port of call.  As long the hotel has an elevator you can certainly travel with a cycler. 

[MooseMom]

Oh, thanks so much for posting this!  My son lives in London, and my biggest nightmare has always been that he might need me and I couldn't come because I was stuck here in the US on dialysis.  Once I start D, I plan to use NxStage, and I was aware that it was just recently available in the UK, but I didn't know any more than that, so your post gives me a lot of info.

What did you do about plugging in the cycler?  Did you have to use a converter and an adaptor?  How does that work?

[yliebert]

Before we left the US we bought a power strip with an English plug on the end the fits into the wall and universal sockets on the bar where you plug everything in.  I think Hubby bought it on line.  It was great because we could plug in everything, the cycler, the computer, our phone chargers and my curling iron.

[Bill Peckham]

What did Kimmel charge?

[yliebert]

Kimal charged nothing

[Bill Peckham]

Kimal charged nothing

I'm confused - Kimmel gave away the dialysate?

[yliebert]

We have been home for 2 weeks and I haven't received a bill.  I suppose it's possible that we were a test case for them, but they arranged everything, including pickups for our sharps containers.

[Bill Peckham]

We have been home for 2 weeks and I haven't received a bill.  I suppose it's possible that we were a test case for them, but they arranged everything, including pickups for our sharps containers.

Was your unit billed? Did you remain on your home unit's patient rolls while you were traveling?

[yliebert]

I don't know if my unit was billed.  I ceretainly never gave them that info.  The customer service manager said he would arrange everything with NXStage and he did!

[Bill Peckham]

I don't know if my unit was billed.  I ceretainly never gave them that info.  The customer service manager said he would arrange everything with NXStage and he did!

The only way this makes sense to me is if your home unit continues to keep you on their patient roles and NxStage is willing to organize dialysate delivery in the UK just as they would if you were traveling to a destination in the US.


That would be fantastic news - it would be the normalization of holiday travel to Europe, with the rest of the world hopefully soon to follow.

[texasstyle]

goes to show that yes, you can still live life!

[yliebert]

Absolutely!!  As you know if you read my old posts, I was originally planning on shipping all the liq

[yliebert]

Sorry about that, I think I accidentally hit post.  I originally planned on shipping the liquids, but the cost was astronomical. I continued to dig on the Kimal site for an actual person to email, rather than just customer service.  When I found a name with email address I explained what I was trying to do.  The rep I spoke with said it should be no problem and that he would contact nexstage for payment.  I told him that wouldn't work because they take payment only from Medicare (that's why we can't pay them to ship dialysate out of the US).  He said not to worry, that he would speak with them and at most there would be a nominal fee.  I realized that we stayed on the rolls at our home center, because after we got home we had to send them our logs (that's how they get payed)  Also, they supplied everything except the saline and the dialysate.  We took a suitcase of supplies with us.  I Made labels that said Life Sustaining Medical Equipment so the airlines wouldn't charge us for the extra bag.

[jbeany]

Going off-topic for minute...
yliebert, if you accidentally post something or see something in a post you typoed - just hit the little blue modify button in the upper right of that post - it lets you edit it.

jbeany, Moderator

Okay, tips and hints detour over - back on topic.

[yliebert]

Thank you

[yliebert]

I just typed "thank you, but didn't see a "blue modify button"

[Bill Peckham]

upper right corner of your message? next to the quote button?

[yliebert]

got it, thanks

[jbeany]

It only shows after the message is posted.

[amanda100wilson]

I'm  living in the US but am from the UK.  I have recently started HHD using NxStage.  Not having been back home for a couple of years we are anticipating a visit next year.  Just wondered who you contacted at Kimal to get the fluid set up so that it was billed to the unit?  I really don't understand why it can't be covered whether you are or aren't in the country.  After all, you would be using the supplies if you were at home during that period.

If you have a secondary insurance, if Medicare don't pick up the tab for the fluids, would the secondary insurance do so?

[yliebert]

I sapoke with Jonathan Thornycroft at Kimal UK.  Yes, we also have other insurance....Kaiser Permanente.

[amanda100wilson]

Thanks for theinfo.

[amanda100wilson]

One more question.  What transformer (manufacturer, model no. Etc.) did you use to step down the voltage for your machine?  We have one for when we used to travel to the UK with my PD machine, but the machine would never work properly and we would have to get a temporary replacement from Baxter in the UK which wasn't a problem, but I think that this would not be possible with Kimal/Nxstage.   (From  my talking to a fellow NxStage user I understand that if your machine goes belly-up when you are overseas you can't get a temporary replacement and would then need to get emergency in-unit dialysis for the remainder  of your vacation).

[yliebert]

The nxstage doesn't need a transformer, just a plug adaptor.  We used a Wonpro model WE - 4A X series that we bought on-line. It's a power strip with 6 universal outlets.  It worked very well and was well worth the money.  Also, be certain to let your unit know well in advance of travel as they will reserve the cycler airline travel case for you.

[amanda100wilson]

Oh, I thought that either you or your unit needed to purchase one?