Why is there no topic area for PD?

[kickingandscreaming]

I'm new here and maybe I'm missing something, but I've looked over the topic list multiple times and can't find anything specific to PD users.  I know only 10% of kidney failure people choose PD, but hey! we do exist. There are several topic areas for variations on HD, but what about the rest of us?

When I start D, it will be PD.  And I was hoping there was a ddedicated area of this forum especially for people like me where I can ask fine-tuned questions about this mode of D.  Am I missing something obvious? 

[noahvale]

^

[Charlie B53]

It will be two years this May since I started PD.  I regularly, well, maybe not regularly, but I post ing the home Dialysis section whenever I have a question, or what I think may be a pertenent observation.

Of course there or many threads elsewhere, like the Off-Topic area where we bring up most anything other than dialysis.

Glad to have you aboard.  We always welcome a fresh mind.  Hope PD works as well for you as it is working for me.

Almost 2 years and NO infections. (Knock on wood).  Just keep your site, fittings, and hands clean.  No coughing or sneezing while making connections.

Take Care,

Charlie B

[PaulBC]

Almost 2 years and NO infections. (Knock on wood).  Just keep your site, fittings, and hands clean.  No coughing or sneezing while making connections.

And wear a mask (but I guess if it's a really big sneeze you might want to throw everything out and start over again).

One factor the nurse didn't mention was bugs. As the weather has gotten warmer, I have seen a couple of gnats flying around and have been nervous about (though it's unlikely) one of them landing on the open connection. Maybe I need to keep the room cleaner. But the reason I don't worry too much is that I look directly at the connection as I'm doing it. That was originally just to make sure I didn't touch by accident, but I should be able to spot any other contamination. In the worst case, just throw out the setup and start over.

[Alex C.]

Keep in mind, the title of this forum is "I Hate Dialysis". I've always considered PD to be considerably less 'hateworthy' than regular hemodialysis is. I just wish I was a good candidate for PD, despite all it's limitations and drawbacks. I know, you end up doing numerous fluid changes, and have a hose sticking out of your abdomen, but somehow that seems a bit easier to deal with than having 15ga needles shoved into your arm 3x/week....

[PaulBC]

Keep in mind, the title of this forum is "I Hate Dialysis". I've always considered PD to be considerably less 'hateworthy' than regular hemodialysis is.

I get the impression that most of the hate is directed at uncaring elements of the dialysis industry, whether it's rude staff or aluminum poisoning. The process itself is an invasive medical treatment with all kinds of terrible side effects, but there may be no better alternative.

When I look at pictures of my daughter's first couple of days after hospital admission and dialysis through a neck catheter, she is positively beaming. I don't think she (or we) had any idea how bad she had been feeling for months, despite doing all her normal activities. I have been happy with her care, whether it is the doctors, the hemodialysis staff, or the peritoneal dialysis staff. PD has also made life seem almost normal for now. I also give her a lot of credit for all this, but I understand that not everyone's experience is the same.