2 and HEMO whipped me

[oleboy]

You called it jbeany, clinic was running a little behind, got on my machine same drill as before, easy stick good blood flow. Kicked back first 60 min where fine. and then it started as a diabetic I knew something was going wrong fast, the feeling was similar to going Hypo, but slightly different, next I hear alarms, tech comes over says B/P way to low 98/56, she calls nurse over take another qiuck B/P 88/46. Nurse ask me how I feel, I told here weak and ask them to do a finger stick to be sure sugar was fine, it was. I was give saline drip for the next 45 mins. B/P back to 134/80. I return tomorrow for #3 and then start rotation on Thursday, with a 3 hour soft draw.But the best news is teh way I am feeling, I think I might make it through this. Thanks one and all for your support, my wife ask me each time how I am doing and I reply I am fine but you all are doin it , or done it or like me before just reading and learning. Thanks again    

[Sluff]

I hope it gets easier on you ole boy. Hang in there friend. 

[rose1999]

Good to hear you say you think you might make it through this, I'm sure that with all our good wishes/prayers/vibes (call it what you will) you WILL make it through this. Take care 

[CW]

That is the right idea Oleboy - you will make it! A good thing to do is to get to know those strange feelings so you can predict problems before they get out of control. If you start to feel strange you can alert staff before it turns into a problem. You have my heartfelt well wishes for all of your future treatments, welcome to the club. 

[Joe Paul]

Glad you will make it Oleboy, just keep the positive attitude and you will be fine 

[boxman55]

One of the reasons (as most of us know) your BP drops like that is because of to much fluid removal. So make sure you stay on top of that because the next thing that happens is cramping. Ask your wife how much pain there is giving birth (if she has) that is what it will feel like. Not being able to get up and move makes it even worse. Don't want to make you nervous but be prepared it will happen...Boxman

[jbeany]

Hell of a feeling, isn't it?  I spent a lot of time at the beginning checking my blood sugar, too.  It's hard to tell the difference between blood sugar drops and blood pressure drops for me as well.  You will learn to spot the symptoms early, and call for help sooner - that helps.  Hang in there!

[Psim]

Whoa, sounds like a hard day. So glad that the next days improved for you. And that you're feeling like you can make it through. Yes! 

[Slywalker]

Hang in there Oleboy - hemo should get better as you go.    Pretty soon you will be whipping hemo!!!!

Take care - 

Sandyb

[devon]

Thanks for sharing that moment! I'm sure that foreknowledge will come in handy for me sometime. I'd rather be learning from someone else's experience than my own on things like this!
-Devon

[Bajanne]

this is something you get used to.  The feeling is a bit inexplicable, but you get to know it.  Whenever I feel that way, I call the nurse and ask her to check my BP, and invariably, it has plunged.   The strange feeling, or cramps, or excessive yawning, are some of the indicators that something needs checking.  They usually put your head lower, put some saline in the line, or even stop the UF.

[petey]

oleboy --  My Marvin said to tell you this:
...bajanne hit it exactly ... she's a smart cookie!
...also, is there a way for you to ask for more saline quickly -- rather than the 45-minute drip?  Marvin's experience at in-center was to give 100 ml of saline instantly as soon as the patient realized BP was dropping -- takes just about 30 seconds to run in.  Within 2-5 minutes, you'll notice a difference -- sometimes you need another 100 ml or so (cutting back UF will definitely help).

Marvin said be very careful and watch your fluid in-take between treatments.  Once your clinic (doc, nurse) has established your actual dry weight, some of these problems with BP should be eliminated.  Marvin's gotten really good at determining his own dry weight.  He knows when he's eaten a lot between treatments (more weight instead of fluid when he gets on the scales) or when he's not eaten much at all.  You'll get better at determining (by the way you feel inside) when you've got a lot of fluid or just a little on.

Marvin said when you get more comfortable with your "feelings" while on the machine, with determining your dry weight, etc., the treatments will get easier (they're never easy -- but they do get easier to bear -- or at least they did for Marvin).

We'll be thinking about you tomorrow (Thurs.).  Let us know how it goes.

[oleboy]

Once again THANKS everyone ! Went to see surgeon who has done both of my surgeries Fistula/PD, both are fine he was surprized that my Hemo had started using the Fistula, but was amazed because the site show no obvious sign of being used (stick marks), he said who ever the tech is, they are good Thank you Joann!The othe good news is food is starting to taste good no GREAT again. Yes I know watch that intake.