Sitting in a chair for 4 hours

[jambo101]

 Havent started dialysis yet but am wondering about sitting in a chair for 4+ hours,just sitting in a chair at home gets uncomfortable after an hour and i find i need to get up and stretch,after 2 hours of sitting i start getting pains in my lower back and upper legs, to sit in one place for 4 or more hours is going to be akin to torture.
How do you cope?

[Mr Ken]

I started out in a Hemo dialysis center and what I found annoying was the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. It is one big room and though the lights directly over the patient chair could be turned off you still have the blaring lights from the rest of the room. Also depending how modern the facility you will be going to is you might find the televisions not to be the greatest. Plus the cold feeling you sometimes get because they keep it cool in the room.  I was very unforgettable many times. It will not be a picnic.

Ken
 

[Simon Dog]

A decent laptop allows you to bring your own TV.    You have to pay for some services but you have your choices of Amazon Prime, Hulu Youtube, Youtube TV and a few others.  My doc was kind enough was kind enough to order a hospital style table for my use in starting the needles, but it was a great support for the laptop during treatment.

If the net censorship of the clinic gets in the way, subscribe to Nord VPN for $3 a month and get an uncensored connection.

If you don't get decent cell reception, walk around the treatment area and see if there are any "good spots", and ask for a chair in that area.  In the clinic I used, Tmobile only worked if one was near a window.

You may also wish to consider a wheelchair seat pad (Drive makes them, and you can get them from Walmart.com of ebay.com)

[Rerun]

I went to JoAnn's and bought a foam pad and pinned some fleece material around it (so I could wash the material).  It is hard at first.  Most chairs recline.  The Techs have to recline our chairs with a bar in the back.  I take a dog leash and tie it to the bar in the back and flip it up over the top so I have control.  I just pull and I can go up or down.  More than two ways to skin a cat.  Oh... is that PC??   Anyway, no offence intended.  Our chairs are also heated with massage.

Take a couple of blankets and a ski hat.  Those hand warmers work too.

I'm sorry you have to go through this.  Try praying.... You now have all the time in the world to talk to God.

[rcjordan]

I thought I'd freeze to death in the clinic.  Fixed it some with a super-thick beach towel and a hoodie with the sleeve cut off for the bp cuff. That was OK, but I was still chilled. Sooo...

GOOLOO SuperSafe Car Jump Starter, 800A Peak 18000mAh
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HPCB2FW/

Heated Neck & Shoulder Warming Wrap USB 5V 10W
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NAH7YE7/

Most everyone else had a stocking cap and a lap blanket.

[PrimeTimer]

A good butt pillow and small fleece blanket should help. The Fresenius clinic gave my husband a nice fleece blanket, neck pillow and tote bag to put it all in. His clinic also has heated chairs that come with their own small individual TV's. They gave him a set of ear plugs to use for the TV. 

[Mr Ken]

While I was at the Fresenious center They did hand out neck pillows for Christmas. I believe it is up to the individual dialysis centers what they want to do.  The TV's needed a lot to be desired for... They were attached to an arm that swung out for placement in front of you. The TVs should have been mounted on the ceiling away from everyone..... The facility was dated a bit but the machines were modern.

Ken

[Mr Ken]

It is interesting on this message board how many people are saying almost the same things....... One would think that may be there is an issue that should be addressed........... Patient people are not the cows coming in for a milking here......... If people have to do the Eskimo routine may be the dialysis facility is a little to cold for a four hour immobile sitting...... Just a thought...

Ken

 

[Michael Murphy]

The staff is outfitted in paper robes that do not breath.  It is extremely hot in those robes.  CMS used to have a required temperature recently they have lowered the required temperature because of staff complaints.  Now they require the centers to make reasonable accomidations to patient solutions to the temperature.

[jambo101]

 The gist of the topic was addressing the comfort or lack thereof of sitting in a chair for 4 hours, are you allowed to stand up once in a while? what provisions are there if a bathroom break is needed?

[Simon Dog]

The gist of the topic was addressing the comfort or lack thereof of sitting in a chair for 4 hours, are you allowed to stand up once in a while? what provisions are there if a bathroom break is needed?

Not allowed to stand up, since you could rip the needles out if you pass out.

The staff will do a temporary disconnect on request if you need to use the porcelain.

[Mr Ken]

The staff is outfitted in paper robes that do not breath.  It is extremely hot in those robes.  CMS used to have a required temperature recently they have lowered the required temperature because of staff complaints.  Now they require the centers to make reasonable accomidations to patient solutions to the temperature.

Too bad......... The patients are the one who are in discomfort.

Ken

[iolaire]

Generally they will want you to keep sitting.  If you are highly mobile (and your access + dialysis lines allow it) they might let it slip if you stand up, but if you have any mobility concerns they will be strict about trying to keep you sitting.

In order to go to the bathroom they need to flush back your lines to get your blood back in you, then disconnect you and reconnect you when you are back.  It probably will add about 20 minutes to your treatment time. 

In 3.5 years I was on dialysis I probably went to the bathroom twice, which surprises me but since I have to pee before and after each treatment and I still pee a lot (most dialysis patients stop urinating).  There were some patients that needed to go to the bathroom often and they spent a bit of time yelling that they needed to go before the staff had time to remove them.

I think some of these types of questions are why people find home hemo great as you then control your treatment.

[kickingandscreaming]

Sitting in a chair for 4.5 hours is one reason I do PD.  I much prefer to spend time in bed than in an ultrabright, noisy, depressing Hemo clinic.

[Mr Ken]

Sitting in a chair for 4.5 hours is one reason I do PD.  I much prefer to spend time in bed than in an ultrabright, noisy, depressing Hemo clinic.

I just got done filling up on the extra manual exchange... 30 minutes....... So I let it dwell for 2.5 to 3 hours and around 10:30PM I will drain then connect up to the machine for the bed time exchanges...........

This is a very dedicated and demanding process..... I wonder how many PDers say the heck with tonight's treatment and skip.... Of course that all gets recorded in the machine then you get the non compliant mark on your report card................

ken
 

[GA_DAWG]

First of all, it ain't easy. Second, the rest are correct in saying be sure to remember a blanket, a heavy blanket. One of these days, a dialysis company is going to advertise that they keep there centers warmer, and have more business than they can handle. Another thing you will encounter is other patients and their complete lack of courtesy. Our unit has TVs that some have figured how to make play without the headphones. They turn the volume up enough to be able to hear it over your own headphones turned to max volume. Then there are the ones who feel they need to chew gum and pop it continuously for four hours. The techs either don't care or get tired of telling them to stop either one and it goes on and on.

[iolaire]

Another thing you will encounter is other patients and their complete lack of courtesy. Our unit has TVs that some have figured how to make play without the headphones. They turn the volume up enough to be able to hear it over your own headphones turned to max volume. Then there are the ones who feel they need to chew gum and pop it continuously for four hours.

Don't forget the people that constantly talk loudly with their phone on speakerphones.  And the people who shout all the time for various reasons.

[Charlie B53]

May I add the gel type seat cushions are far superior to the foam cushions, at least for my butt.

And I bring my own pillow to place behind my mid to lower back to keep me from slouching forwards which absolutely kills my back.

Two of the soft fleece blankets, one on my lap and the other I sometimes need over my shoulders.

Laptop, headphones, I'm good for the duration.

[Michael Murphy]

CMS lowered the temperature to insure staff was using proper blood handling protocols.   When it gets hot staff start not wearing the paper robes, and occasionally forget the face shield.  Since the facility is required to make reasonable accomidations talk to the facility admin and find out if they will let you use a electric blanket of a heating pad with a warm blanket. 

[kitkatz]

I use a foam mattress topper on my chair to stay comfortable.  It is a fairly thin one, however is makes a difference to my back.  I also have a pillow and a neck pillow.  I also use a soft blanket the when doubled is fairly warm.  The skier hand warmers are the best thing I have found to help keep my core warm at dialysis. They stay warm the entire time plus.

[Riki]

My unit has chairs that go up and down, lay back, and can put the head or feet up and down with the push of a button.  They do not, however, have heat or massage.  I have a bag that I take with me to dialysis that has a hoodie with the arms cut off for my fistula and the bp cuff.  I also have fingerless gloves that go right up to my elbow, and a cheap fleece throw blanket.  I also wear boot slippers.  My unit also has heated blankets, but I don't like them because I find them too heavy.  I would love to take in an electric blanket, but for reasons unknown to me, they are not allowed.  I still freeze, and I blame turning the temperature down on the machine.

The unit has wifi, so I take my phone, though I rarely use it, and my tablet.  I watch Netflix or Amazon Prime.  Sometimes I'll rent a movie from Cineplex or Google, or I'll play one of the games that's on the tablet.  Maybe this is something unique to my unit, but the nurses tend to turn off the big hallway lights once everyone is on and leave the light on over the desk if they need it.  It makes it very easy to nod off

[coldhoist]

I have a bad lower back and bad knees and I have a serious problem sitting in one place for a long time. Four hours in the chair at dialysis is pure torture for me. I hate it, hate it, hate it. When I first started dialysis, sitting did not bother me. But, I had surgery on my spine and after that. dialysis became unbearable. I am so uncomfortable in that chair, I want to scream. Now, I dread going to dialysis because I know what is in store for me. For me one thing that helped a bit was now they have lowered my flow rate. The flow rate was too high and I think it had my heart straining. But now that they have lowered the flow rate, I am much more comfortable than before, but I am still in agony. To sum up. Sitting in that chair for four hours is just not fun.

[GA_DAWG]

The wi-fi coverage at our center does not handle the computers on the dialysis machines very well, much less being reliable enough to also carry patient traffic. The tech's are forever berating the machine computers for not working properly. I understand the techs complaining of being hot during shift change, but with the impermeability of the gowns they wear, no amount of turning the AC down is going to help, not to mention, if the AC is blowing, it is doing all it can. Turning it down does no good at that time. After shift change however, it continues to go down to the new setting. When they take off the gowns, the first thing they do is go put on a jacket.

[Michael Murphy]

In my center there is a guest network for patients the machines use different networks.  But the problem is in the machines.  I have been on dialysis for 6 years the center still uses the same systems.  Plus I believe the same servers.  At over 6 years old that makes the tech geriatric.   New systems are being installed next month.

[GA_DAWG]

The guest network at our center is REALLY unreliable. thankfully with memory cards being what they are, the networks are not a necessity. Our systems are new within the last year or so, and while an improvement over the old ones that were separate from the dialysis machine, they still leave much to be desired. If I had a computer at home that crashed as often as these, I'd junk it.