Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Ray, I really hope things go better for you the next time. I can't believe you started setting up at 8:30 AM and got done with dialysis at 9:30 PM. What a long day! Thanks for the update; I'll be anxious to hear how Monday goes! ~Dana Home hemo Hi All, Well we made it after several problems. I started setting up the equipment at 8:30 AM. After several problems I called the clinic. They made some suggestions but to no avail. They sent out one of thier people and she couldn't correct the problem either. They then sent thier maint man out and after several trys he relized they had sent me the wrong acid to use. I had to go to Knoxville and get some of the correct acid for my machine. We Had to clean the machine and used the correct acid. When wqe started dialysis the machine clotted and we had to start over. After all this we were able to dialysis ok. I Got off the machine at 9:30 PM. I hope thing go smoother next go around. I start Monday on the daily schedule. (In Christ Love) -Ray --------------------------------- Discover Yahoo! Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news & more. Check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Hi All, Well we made it after several problems. I started setting up the equipment at 8:30 AM. After several problems I called the clinic. They made some suggestions but to no avail. They sent out one of thier people and she couldn't correct the problem either. They then sent thier maint man out and after several trys he relized they had sent me the wrong acid to use. I had to go to Knoxville and get some of the correct acid for my machine. We Had to clean the machine and used the correct acid. When wqe started dialysis the machine clotted and we had to start over. After all this we were able to dialysis ok. I Got off the machine at 9:30 PM. I hope thing go smoother next go around. I start Monday on the daily schedule. (In Christ Love) -Ray --------------------------------- Discover Yahoo! Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news & more. Check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Ray it seems life's challenges piled up on you all at once! I hope you were able to laugh thru this trial. I'm glad you were able to get things up and running so you could get your dialysis done. Let us know how things go as you get the bugs...and clots...worked out of your equipment. It can only get better, right? Amy G. Home hemo Hi All, Well we made it after several problems. I started setting up the equipment at 8:30 AM. After several problems I called the clinic. They made some suggestions but to no avail. They sent out one of thier people and she couldn't correct the problem either. They then sent thier maint man out and after several trys he relized they had sent me the wrong acid to use. I had to go to Knoxville and get some of the correct acid for my machine. We Had to clean the machine and used the correct acid. When wqe started dialysis the machine clotted and we had to start over. After all this we were able to dialysis ok. I Got off the machine at 9:30 PM. I hope thing go smoother next go around. I start Monday on the daily schedule. (In Christ Love) -Ray --------------------------------- Discover Yahoo! Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news & more. Check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 Hi Ray, You got off to a rough start......hopefully the next session will be smoother - and so on and so on! I'm praying for you. Many hugs, Rita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 11, 2005 Report Share Posted June 11, 2005 Hi Ray Well, at least you ended up getting your dialysis done, even if it took all day ...so, that's not a bad start :-) Congratulations on your first treatment at home! Don't get discouraged by a few false starts. When I first started at home, after my training, more than a few times I screwed up the setup myself and had to start over. I've never had the wrong acid though. Mine comes directly from Baxter (delivered by a huge semi truck once a month), 4 jugs to a box (4.5 litres each). Even so, every time I take one out, I check it to be sure it's the right one. I check the bicarbonate jug too. I also check that the saline bags are in fact saline (sodium chloride) and that the expiry date is Ok. You never know. An IV bag of potassium would look more or less the same. There are a few clamping or unclamping oversights that can make it impossible to recover. I made them, and I had to tear everything down and start over. One time, after I started the final 200ml saline flush of the venous bloodline (takes exactly one minute, and I go by a timer), I got distracted by someone asking me something, and by the time I got back to what I was doing, the whole bag of saline had emptied and the entire blood circuit had emptied of saline and filled with air. This was the final step before putting my needles in and connecting, so it had taken me an hour and quarter until that point, but, it was all wasted. I had to tear everything down and start over from scratch. Talk about a major loss of gumption at that point! On Thursday night, I had everything setup, and I got to the point of the machine doing its alarm tests, when suddenly, there was no water to the machine. My R/O (the reverse osmosis water purifier) had gone kaput, totally dead, with the smell of electricals burning. So, no treatment that day. The techs brought a replacement R/O the next morning and I was back in business. Things seem to happen in clusters, and on that day's treatment (yesterday, that is), the machine wouldn't take a blood pressure reading. So this morning, a tech will be coming to fix that. Luckily, it didn't affect my treatment yesterday. I just used my little OMRON digital BP monitor. For those who don't know about hemodialysis, you can't do a treatment without checking your BP at least every 30 minutes (in case of low blood pressure). It gets easier and easier though. I no longer make any clamping mistakes (Touch wood!), and at this point, I don't even need to follow my checklist. Good luck today. Saturday is usually my day off, but I'm dialyzing myself today to make up for the missed treatment on Thursday. Strictly speaking, I wouldn't absolutely have to, but I don't want to have to watch my diet and fluids too closely all weekend. I ate a lot of chocolate cake and ice cream this week, with two birthdays in the family :-) Good luck today, or whenever your next treatment is. Pierre Home hemo > Hi All, > Well we made it after several problems. I started setting up the equipment > at 8:30 AM. After several problems I called the clinic. They made some > suggestions but to no avail. They sent out one of thier people and she > couldn't correct the problem either. They then sent thier maint man out > and after several trys he relized they had sent me the wrong acid to use. > I had to go to Knoxville and get some of the correct acid for my machine. > We Had to clean the machine and used the correct acid. When wqe started > dialysis the machine clotted and we had to start over. After all this we > were able to dialysis ok. I Got off the machine at 9:30 PM. I hope thing > go smoother next go around. I start Monday on the daily schedule. > > > (In Christ Love) -Ray > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 Both my acid and bicarbonate concentrates come pre-mixed (the exact same ones they use at the dialysis centre). It's a disadvantage in terms of storage, since it takes more room, but it's a time saver. People who are on peritoneal dialysis need as much or even more storage room though, so, it's not that bad. For me, just one spare large closet or a small den would make the difference. As it is, I just stack the boxes along one wall of the hallway. The delivery guy does it for me. I've been told I might qualify for a larger apartment because of it, but I really don't feel like moving again anytime soon. Except for one day a week when I have done a special chemical disinfect of the dialysis machine and the RO the day before, on a daily basis, I only have to check the water from the carbon tank with a test strip (for chloramine), before I turn on the RO and then the dialysis machine. Pierre Re: Home hemo > Pierre, > We mix our own bicarbonate from RO water using a powder mix. We have to > clean and rinse the jug and check for chlorine before we mix it. The last > three weeks my machine was set up in a seperate room. We would go in and > start from scratch, checking everything all chemical test turming the RO > on and check all the readings etc. them we turned on the dialysis machine, > do a rinse and test it. We loadewd our own machine. I know what you mean > about waching your saline and not let it run empty. The air is hard to get > out. > I am not going to let the little mishap darken my spirits. I will come out > in victory. > Ray > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 Boy, this sound anxiety producing. I'm sorry things got off to a rocky start. That sounds like you went through an thirteen hour marathon. You really persevered through this one. Please let us know how things go tomorrow. Cy Home hemo > Hi All, > Well we made it after several problems. I started setting up the equipment > at 8:30 AM. After several problems I called the clinic. They made some > suggestions but to no avail. They sent out one of thier people and she > couldn't correct the problem either. They then sent thier maint man out > and after several trys he relized they had sent me the wrong acid to use. > I had to go to Knoxville and get some of the correct acid for my machine. > We Had to clean the machine and used the correct acid. When wqe started > dialysis the machine clotted and we had to start over. After all this we > were able to dialysis ok. I Got off the machine at 9:30 PM. I hope thing > go smoother next go around. I start Monday on the daily schedule. > > > (In Christ Love) -Ray > > --------------------------------- > Discover Yahoo! > Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news & more. Check it out! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2005 Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 Oh my goodness Ray! I do hope things went better today (Monday). What an ordeal. I am so sorry that home hemo got off to such a difficult start for you. God bless you, Home hemo Hi All, Well we made it after several problems. I started setting up the equipment at 8:30 AM. After several problems I called the clinic. They made some suggestions but to no avail. They sent out one of thier people and she couldn't correct the problem either. They then sent thier maint man out and after several trys he relized they had sent me the wrong acid to use. I had to go to Knoxville and get some of the correct acid for my machine. We Had to clean the machine and used the correct acid. When wqe started dialysis the machine clotted and we had to start over. After all this we were able to dialysis ok. I Got off the machine at 9:30 PM. I hope thing go smoother next go around. I start Monday on the daily schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 These kinds of things are common when you first start at home. This happened to me too. Trust me, after a few more weeks of doing it, you will get it down to a pretty good routine, and what seemed overwhelmingly complex at first will start to seem pretty simple. Pierre Re: Home hemo > , > Today went a lot better it only took 6 hours to run the whole process. We > let the saline run dry and got to much air in system and had to change the > tubing. Tomorrow we will keep an eye on the saline for sure. > Ray > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 Hi Ray Glad it went better, but 6 hours is still a long time. I am sure before long you will be running it without needing to consult your check list like Pierre. There seems to be so much to remember but after time I am sure it all becomes second nature. Re: Home hemo , Today went a lot better it only took 6 hours to run the whole process. We let the saline run dry and got to much air in system and had to change the tubing. Tomorrow we will keep an eye on the saline for sure. Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 Keep on plugging at it Ray. Like I told Pierre, the two of you are giving hope to many that we too may be able to meet dialysis from the comforts of our homes. :-) Thank you for posting your difficulties right along with the triumphs. You can do this. Amy G. Re: Home hemo , Today went a lot better it only took 6 hours to run the whole process. We let the saline run dry and got to much air in system and had to change the tubing. Tomorrow we will keep an eye on the saline for sure. Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 Thanks for the encouragement. Ray Pierre Lachaine pgl-groups@...> wrote:These kinds of things are common when you first start at home. This happened to me too. Trust me, after a few more weeks of doing it, you will get it down to a pretty good routine, and what seemed overwhelmingly complex at first will start to seem pretty simple. Pierre Re: Home hemo > , > Today went a lot better it only took 6 hours to run the whole process. We > let the saline run dry and got to much air in system and had to change the > tubing. Tomorrow we will keep an eye on the saline for sure. > Ray > To edit your settings for the group, go to our Yahoo Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iga-nephropathy/ To unsubcribe via email, iga-nephropathy-unsubscribe Visit our companion website at www.igan.ca. The site is entirely supported by donations. If you would like to help, go to: http://www.igan.ca/id62.htm Thank you --------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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