Re: A neat link on home hemo - Needles In!

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone

Just to continue with the same thread of messages, my home hemo

training/dialysis went well today. I only made a couple of minor mistakes,

but other than the machine stuff, I feel like I've passed a HUGE hurdle...

I........wait for it....... needled myself - both needles!. You know what?

There was not much to it at all, and, I felt no pain whatsoever (remember I

don't use any freezing).

I started my set-up at 8am, was on dialysis at 10:30 (that includes a 20

minute break), and I was home before 2pm.

So far so good with the button hole, ie. we use the exact same needle hole

every time, but I'm still using the sharp needles (not the blunt ones, as

the buttonhole is not fully formed yet).

Even if I eventually went back to in-centre dialysis sometime, it would be

great to know exactly how everything works (not that I plan to), and it

would be terrific to just needle myself (it's better for the fistula if you

do it yourself, in the long run, because the dialysis nurses, as good as

they are, can't possibly know your fistula as well as you do, nor do they

have time to take as much care as the patient would himself).

By the way, I'm at the home dialysis unit, so, I also see new PD patients

being trained. Some of them look pretty down the first day, but they seem to

adjust to the idea pretty quickly after that. The nurses are all pretty good

trainers and they keep everyone as upbeat as possible.

Another bonus this month is that my parking at the hospital is free, and I

get vouchers for breakfast (which I have after the machine is ready to go)

and lunch if needed.

Pierre

Re: A neat link on home hemo

>

>

> >

> > Hi Stacey

> >

> > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

> >

> > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use the

> buttonhole

> > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible for me because

> (a)

> > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty fistula and

not

> > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half years of

> > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large (you can't

> miss

> > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in particular is very

> > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are going to

have

> > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't buttonhole,

I'll

> > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've had 4

> treatments

> > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the policy is 5

> needlings

> > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I needle myself.

> > That should be fun :-)

> >

> > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test the water

> > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell you on the

> > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill you! I wasn't

> > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test strip had a

> > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time. However, it

all

> > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the R/O, with a

> > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

> >

> > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the dialysate with

a

> 20

> > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with the separate

> > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke and left a

> piece

> > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The tech had to

> come.

> > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price check when

> > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women in line

> behind

> > you :-)

> >

> > Pierre

> >

[Guest guest]

I hope you have your feet up and are taking a much deserved break. I'm glad

that needling yourself went so easily! It sounds like it will be all downhill

from here on.

Congrats on the benefits. Petty as it may sound, little things like that can

sure make my day. I've YET to figure out the parking scheme at Stanford

Hospital. You can get the equivalent of parking vouchers if you are seen in a

clinic, but not if you are there for a bone scan. Go figure...

So -- when is that pizza?

Cy

Pierre Lachaine wrote:

Hi everyone

Just to continue with the same thread of messages, my home hemo

training/dialysis went well today. I only made a couple of minor mistakes,

but other than the machine stuff, I feel like I've passed a HUGE hurdle...

I........wait for it....... needled myself - both needles!. You know what?

There was not much to it at all, and, I felt no pain whatsoever (remember I

don't use any freezing).

I started my set-up at 8am, was on dialysis at 10:30 (that includes a 20

minute break), and I was home before 2pm.

So far so good with the button hole, ie. we use the exact same needle hole

every time, but I'm still using the sharp needles (not the blunt ones, as

the buttonhole is not fully formed yet).

Even if I eventually went back to in-centre dialysis sometime, it would be

great to know exactly how everything works (not that I plan to), and it

would be terrific to just needle myself (it's better for the fistula if you

do it yourself, in the long run, because the dialysis nurses, as good as

they are, can't possibly know your fistula as well as you do, nor do they

have time to take as much care as the patient would himself).

By the way, I'm at the home dialysis unit, so, I also see new PD patients

being trained. Some of them look pretty down the first day, but they seem to

adjust to the idea pretty quickly after that. The nurses are all pretty good

trainers and they keep everyone as upbeat as possible.

Another bonus this month is that my parking at the hospital is free, and I

get vouchers for breakfast (which I have after the machine is ready to go)

and lunch if needed.

Pierre

Re: A neat link on home hemo

>

>

> >

> > Hi Stacey

> >

> > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

> >

> > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use the

> buttonhole

> > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible for me because

> (a)

> > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty fistula and

not

> > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half years of

> > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large (you can't

> miss

> > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in particular is very

> > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are going to

have

> > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't buttonhole,

I'll

> > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've had 4

> treatments

> > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the policy is 5

> needlings

> > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I needle myself.

> > That should be fun :-)

> >

> > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test the water

> > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell you on the

> > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill you! I wasn't

> > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test strip had a

> > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time. However, it

all

> > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the R/O, with a

> > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

> >

> > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the dialysate with

a

> 20

> > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with the separate

> > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke and left a

> piece

> > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The tech had to

> come.

> > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price check when

> > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women in line

> behind

> > you :-)

> >

> > Pierre

> >

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Thank you

[Guest guest]

Congrats on the great advancement!! Hey never turn down free food...or free

parking for that matter. I do hope things just continue to get easier for you

and you'll be on daily in no time. (I was thinking about you when I was eating

my pizza for lunch today) Congrats again!

Amy G.

Re: A neat link on home hemo

>

>

> >

> > Hi Stacey

> >

> > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

> >

> > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use the

> buttonhole

> > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible for me because

> (a)

> > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty fistula and

not

> > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half years of

> > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large (you can't

> miss

> > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in particular is very

> > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are going to

have

> > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't buttonhole,

I'll

> > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've had 4

> treatments

> > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the policy is 5

> needlings

> > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I needle myself.

> > That should be fun :-)

> >

> > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test the water

> > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell you on the

> > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill you! I wasn't

> > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test strip had a

> > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time. However, it

all

> > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the R/O, with a

> > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

> >

> > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the dialysate with

a

> 20

> > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with the separate

> > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke and left a

> piece

> > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The tech had to

> come.

> > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price check when

> > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women in line

> behind

> > you :-)

> >

> > Pierre

> >

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

[Guest guest]

I think I'll save the pizza for the weekend, maybe Sunday, but maybe before

:-)

I did have a tomato sandwich when I came home today, without cutting the

slices paper thin.

The diet is a little more free because dialysis is every day. I can still

really only drink the same amount of fluid per day (otherwise, it would be a

lot of fluid to remove in only 2 hours 20 minutes), but, I can pretty much

eat what was two days' worth of potassium in just one day, and I can be a

little more liberal with the cheese. Weekends I still have to be more

careful of course, since, I don't dialysis on weekends while training - so

that part is the same as before, really.

Pierre

Re: A neat link on home hemo

> >

> >

> > >

> > > Hi Stacey

> > >

> > > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

> > >

> > > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use the

> > buttonhole

> > > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible for me

because

> > (a)

> > > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty fistula and

> not

> > > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half years of

> > > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large (you can't

> > miss

> > > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in particular is very

> > > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are going to

> have

> > > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't buttonhole,

> I'll

> > > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've had 4

> > treatments

> > > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the policy is 5

> > needlings

> > > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I needle

myself.

> > > That should be fun :-)

> > >

> > > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test the water

> > > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell you on

the

> > > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill you! I

wasn't

> > > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test strip had

a

> > > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time. However, it

> all

> > > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the R/O, with a

> > > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

> > >

> > > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the dialysate

with

> a

> > 20

> > > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with the

separate

> > > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke and left a

> > piece

> > > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The tech had to

> > come.

> > > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price check when

> > > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women in line

> > behind

> > > you :-)

> > >

> > > Pierre

> > >

>

>

>

>

>

> 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

>

[Guest guest]

Enjoy your tomatoes and pizza Pierre! Congrats are the needling as well -

You'll be an expert in no time at all! Hugs, Rita

Pierre Lachaine wrote:I think I'll save the pizza for

the weekend, maybe Sunday, but maybe before

:-)

I did have a tomato sandwich when I came home today, without cutting the

slices paper thin.

The diet is a little more free because dialysis is every day. I can still

really only drink the same amount of fluid per day (otherwise, it would be a

lot of fluid to remove in only 2 hours 20 minutes), but, I can pretty much

eat what was two days' worth of potassium in just one day, and I can be a

little more liberal with the cheese. Weekends I still have to be more

careful of course, since, I don't dialysis on weekends while training - so

that part is the same as before, really.

Pierre

Re: A neat link on home hemo

> >

> >

> > >

> > > Hi Stacey

> > >

> > > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

> > >

> > > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use the

> > buttonhole

> > > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible for me

because

> > (a)

> > > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty fistula and

> not

> > > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half years of

> > > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large (you can't

> > miss

> > > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in particular is very

> > > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are going to

> have

> > > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't buttonhole,

> I'll

> > > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've had 4

> > treatments

> > > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the policy is 5

> > needlings

> > > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I needle

myself.

> > > That should be fun :-)

> > >

> > > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test the water

> > > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell you on

the

> > > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill you! I

wasn't

> > > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test strip had

a

> > > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time. However, it

> all

> > > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the R/O, with a

> > > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

> > >

> > > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the dialysate

with

> a

> > 20

> > > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with the

separate

> > > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke and left a

> > piece

> > > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The tech had to

> > come.

> > > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price check when

> > > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women in line

> > behind

> > > you :-)

> > >

> > > Pierre

> > >

>

>

>

>

>

> 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

>

[Guest guest]

Enjoy your tomatoes and pizza Pierre! Congrats are the needling as well -

You'll be an expert in no time at all! Hugs, Rita

Pierre Lachaine wrote:I think I'll save the pizza for

the weekend, maybe Sunday, but maybe before

:-)

I did have a tomato sandwich when I came home today, without cutting the

slices paper thin.

The diet is a little more free because dialysis is every day. I can still

really only drink the same amount of fluid per day (otherwise, it would be a

lot of fluid to remove in only 2 hours 20 minutes), but, I can pretty much

eat what was two days' worth of potassium in just one day, and I can be a

little more liberal with the cheese. Weekends I still have to be more

careful of course, since, I don't dialysis on weekends while training - so

that part is the same as before, really.

Pierre

Re: A neat link on home hemo

> >

> >

> > >

> > > Hi Stacey

> > >

> > > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

> > >

> > > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use the

> > buttonhole

> > > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible for me

because

> > (a)

> > > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty fistula and

> not

> > > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half years of

> > > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large (you can't

> > miss

> > > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in particular is very

> > > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are going to

> have

> > > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't buttonhole,

> I'll

> > > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've had 4

> > treatments

> > > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the policy is 5

> > needlings

> > > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I needle

myself.

> > > That should be fun :-)

> > >

> > > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test the water

> > > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell you on

the

> > > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill you! I

wasn't

> > > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test strip had

a

> > > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time. However, it

> all

> > > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the R/O, with a

> > > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

> > >

> > > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the dialysate

with

> a

> > 20

> > > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with the

separate

> > > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke and left a

> > piece

> > > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The tech had to

> > come.

> > > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price check when

> > > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women in line

> > behind

> > > you :-)

> > >

> > > Pierre

> > >

>

>

>

>

>

> 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

>

[Guest guest]

Enjoy your tomatoes and pizza Pierre! Congrats are the needling as well -

You'll be an expert in no time at all! Hugs, Rita

Pierre Lachaine wrote:I think I'll save the pizza for

the weekend, maybe Sunday, but maybe before

:-)

I did have a tomato sandwich when I came home today, without cutting the

slices paper thin.

The diet is a little more free because dialysis is every day. I can still

really only drink the same amount of fluid per day (otherwise, it would be a

lot of fluid to remove in only 2 hours 20 minutes), but, I can pretty much

eat what was two days' worth of potassium in just one day, and I can be a

little more liberal with the cheese. Weekends I still have to be more

careful of course, since, I don't dialysis on weekends while training - so

that part is the same as before, really.

Pierre

Re: A neat link on home hemo

> >

> >

> > >

> > > Hi Stacey

> > >

> > > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

> > >

> > > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use the

> > buttonhole

> > > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible for me

because

> > (a)

> > > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty fistula and

> not

> > > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half years of

> > > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large (you can't

> > miss

> > > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in particular is very

> > > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are going to

> have

> > > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't buttonhole,

> I'll

> > > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've had 4

> > treatments

> > > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the policy is 5

> > needlings

> > > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I needle

myself.

> > > That should be fun :-)

> > >

> > > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test the water

> > > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell you on

the

> > > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill you! I

wasn't

> > > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test strip had

a

> > > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time. However, it

> all

> > > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the R/O, with a

> > > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

> > >

> > > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the dialysate

with

> a

> > 20

> > > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with the

separate

> > > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke and left a

> > piece

> > > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The tech had to

> > come.

> > > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price check when

> > > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women in line

> > behind

> > > you :-)

> > >

> > > Pierre

> > >

>

>

>

>

>

> 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

>

[Guest guest]

I am so proud of you Pierre! I remember the first time I gave myself my own

Procrit injection, and your needles are much bigger. I hope the first time was

the worst.

I'm glad the buttonhole seems to be working out for you.

In a message dated 3/8/2005 2:16:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, " Pierre Lachaine "

writes:

>

>Hi everyone

>

>Just to continue with the same thread of messages, my home hemo

>training/dialysis went well today. I only made a couple of minor mistakes,

>but other than the machine stuff, I feel like I've passed a HUGE hurdle...

>

>I........wait for it....... needled myself - both needles!. You know what?

>There was not much to it at all, and, I felt no pain whatsoever (remember I

>don't use any freezing).

>

>I started my set-up at 8am, was on dialysis at 10:30 (that includes a 20

>minute break), and I was home before 2pm.

>

>So far so good with the button hole, ie. we use the exact same needle hole

>every time, but I'm still using the sharp needles (not the blunt ones, as

>the buttonhole is not fully formed yet).

>

>Even if I eventually went back to in-centre dialysis sometime, it would be

>great to know exactly how everything works (not that I plan to), and it

>would be terrific to just needle myself (it's better for the fistula if you

>do it yourself, in the long run, because the dialysis nurses, as good as

>they are, can't possibly know your fistula as well as you do, nor do they

>have time to take as much care as the patient would himself).

>

>By the way, I'm at the home dialysis unit, so, I also see new PD patients

>being trained. Some of them look pretty down the first day, but they seem to

>adjust to the idea pretty quickly after that. The nurses are all pretty good

>trainers and they keep everyone as upbeat as possible.

>

>Another bonus this month is that my parking at the hospital is free, and I

>get vouchers for breakfast (which I have after the machine is ready to go)

>and lunch if needed.

>

>Pierre

>

> Re: A neat link on home hemo

>>

>>

>> >

>> > Hi Stacey

>> >

>> > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

>> >

>> > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use the

>> buttonhole

>> > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible for me because

>> (a)

>> > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty fistula and

>not

>> > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half years of

>> > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large (you can't

>> miss

>> > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in particular is very

>> > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are going to

>have

>> > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't buttonhole,

>I'll

>> > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've had 4

>> treatments

>> > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the policy is 5

>> needlings

>> > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I needle myself.

>> > That should be fun :-)

>> >

>> > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test the water

>> > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell you on the

>> > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill you! I wasn't

>> > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test strip had a

>> > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time. However, it

>all

>> > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the R/O, with a

>> > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

>> >

>> > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the dialysate with

>a

>> 20

>> > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with the separate

>> > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke and left a

>> piece

>> > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The tech had to

>> come.

>> > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price check when

>> > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women in line

>> behind

>> > you :-)

>> >

>> > Pierre

>> >

>

>

>

>

>

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>

[Guest guest]

Hi Pierre,

I've only been mostly reading about your home hemo training and

etc. I am soooooooo excited for you! Sounds like you will have a

lot more flexibility in your schedule doing dialysis at home

overnight, and all this good stuff that you can now eat!!!

: D

Sophia

> >

> > Hi everyone

> >

> > Just to continue with the same thread of messages, my home hemo

> > training/dialysis went well today. I only made a couple of minor

mistakes,

> > but other than the machine stuff, I feel like I've passed a HUGE

hurdle...

> >

> > I........wait for it....... needled myself - both needles!. You

know what?

> > There was not much to it at all, and, I felt no pain whatsoever

(remember

> I

> > don't use any freezing).

> >

> > I started my set-up at 8am, was on dialysis at 10:30 (that

includes a 20

> > minute break), and I was home before 2pm.

> >

> > So far so good with the button hole, ie. we use the exact same

needle hole

> > every time, but I'm still using the sharp needles (not the blunt

ones, as

> > the buttonhole is not fully formed yet).

> >

> > Even if I eventually went back to in-centre dialysis sometime,

it would be

> > great to know exactly how everything works (not that I plan to),

and it

> > would be terrific to just needle myself (it's better for the

fistula if

> you

> > do it yourself, in the long run, because the dialysis nurses, as

good as

> > they are, can't possibly know your fistula as well as you do,

nor do they

> > have time to take as much care as the patient would himself).

> >

> > By the way, I'm at the home dialysis unit, so, I also see new PD

patients

> > being trained. Some of them look pretty down the first day, but

they seem

> to

> > adjust to the idea pretty quickly after that. The nurses are all

pretty

> good

> > trainers and they keep everyone as upbeat as possible.

> >

> > Another bonus this month is that my parking at the hospital is

free, and I

> > get vouchers for breakfast (which I have after the machine is

ready to go)

> > and lunch if needed.

> >

> > Pierre

> >

> > Re: A neat link on home hemo

> > >

> > >

> > > >

> > > > Hi Stacey

> > > >

> > > > Thanks for writing, and thanks for your encouragement.

> > > >

> > > > It's still up in the air as to whether I will be able to use

the

> > > buttonhole

> > > > technique. My nurse is concerned it might not be possible

for me

> because

> > > (a)

> > > > I apparently have thin walls and ( I have a very twisty

fistula and

> > not

> > > > much room in between the two aneurysms caused by 2 and half

years of

> > > > in-centre dialysis. Other than that, no problem. It's large

(you can't

> > > miss

> > > > it), it has excellent flow and the arterial area in

particular is very

> > > > powerful. I still might be able to buttonhole, but they are

going to

> > have

> > > > the vascular surgeon have a look. If it turns out I can't

buttonhole,

> > I'll

> > > > just have to do it the regular stepladder way. So far, I've

had 4

> > > treatments

> > > > with the needles inserted in the same place. Here, the

policy is 5

> > > needlings

> > > > before you can start using the blunt needles. Tomorrow, I

needle

> myself.

> > > > That should be fun :-)

> > > >

> > > > Despite some mistakes along the way this morning, I did test

the water

> > > > carefully. It tends to make you extra careful when they tell

you on

> the

> > > > first day that inadequately de-chloramined water can kill

you! I

> wasn't

> > > > absolutely sure of the first test because I thought the test

strip had

> a

> > > > very slight blue tinge on it, so I retested a second time.

However, it

> > all

> > > > became a little unnerving when the techs had to change the

R/O, with a

> > > > different machine they just rolled out from somewhere.

> > > >

> > > > My biggest blunder today was when taking a sample of the

dialysate

> with

> > a

> > > 20

> > > > ml syringe in the dialysate port to test conductivity with

the

> separate

> > > > meter. I must have screwed it in too hard, because it broke

and left a

> > > piece

> > > > of plastic inside the port which we could not get out. The

tech had to

> > > come.

> > > > It was sort of like having the cashier call out for a price

check when

> > > > you're buying condoms at the pharmacy and there are 20 women

in line

> > > behind

> > > > you :-)

> > > >

> > > > Pierre

> > > >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > 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

> >