NxStage Training

Anonymous · July 20, 2006, 04:00 PM

We would like to know anything NxStage users can tell us about the training. How difficult is it to learn to set up the machine, to familiarize yourselves with the alarms, how to handle air in the lines etc. ?

**Lorelle** · July 20, 2006, 08:31 PM

Originally Posted by Heather

We would like to know anything NxStage users can tell us about the training. How difficult is it to learn to set up the machine, to familiarize yourselves with the alarms, how to handle air in the lines etc. ?

Check out ihatedialysis.com -- the moderator is currently training on the NxStage and logging in every day to describe his training.

Lorelle

Anonymous · July 20, 2006, 10:37 PM

Thanks Lorelle, read it already. Epoman was helpful to journal his training sessions. Wondering what others thought of the training, too. We will journal our training when the time comes.

Anonymous · July 21, 2006, 12:37 AM

Epoman wrote:

But back to the "goal" I explained to the "chief" that every Monday when I came in, I would always remove 4.0kilos as a minimum at in-center, and we only had removed 1.5kilos on Monday. I explained to him that I felt fluid overload, in fact my BP was high yet again today and it has been great for months. So later when my doctor came, she agreed with me that I need a higher limit of fluid removal per hour. which is now 1.5kilos per hour, which means I can only remove a maximum or 3.0kilos per treatment, since with NxStage they calculate in whole hours so the last half hour doesn't count. Basically that means they will remove all the fluid in the first 2 hours then after that, the machine is just cleaning my blood. I know it's strange. But oh well, that's just the way it is.

Why do they stop removing fluid the last half hour? We heard they can also remove fluid until the end if they set it to. But don't know the reason they would want to finish pulling the fluid 1/2 hour from the end.

Anonymous · July 21, 2006, 01:13 AM

Epoman wrote:

She (dietitian) asked me the usual about my diet and my meds and was shocked that I was not on a vitamin. I had told her that when I did take a vitamin I did not notice a difference in my lab results. But she really wanted me to start taking a vitamin again so I agreed to try taking a vitamin again. So I'll see if it makes a difference, she explained that since I will be dialyzing twice as much, I will lose more of the "good" stuff through the NxStage.

If there is vitamin/mineral loss from dialyzing twice as much how is it made up?

**Gus** · July 21, 2006, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by Heather

Epoman wrote:

She (dietitian) asked me the usual about my diet and my meds and was shocked that I was not on a vitamin. I had told her that when I did take a vitamin I did not notice a difference in my lab results. But she really wanted me to start taking a vitamin again so I agreed to try taking a vitamin again. So I'll see if it makes a difference, she explained that since I will be dialyzing twice as much, I will lose more of the "good" stuff through the NxStage.

If there is vitamin/mineral loss from dialyzing twice as much how is it made up?

This is true, daily-short and nocturnal you will lose more of the good stuff.....you will need to keep up by eating well and taking supplements such as protein drinks, and folic acid..........read more about it here...
http://www.davita.com/articles/ckd/index.shtml?id=374

Anonymous · July 21, 2006, 10:04 PM

Would anyone care to comment on what you thought was the most difficult part of the NxStage training? Everyone seems to say the training was easy, but what were the hardest parts to master? Could a patient who knows nothing at all about dialysis terminology and how machines operate, become confident enough to run his own tx?

**Gus** · July 22, 2006, 12:39 AM

Originally Posted by Heather

Would anyone care to comment on what you thought was the most difficult part of the NxStage training? Everyone seems to say the training was easy, but what were the hardest parts to master? Could a patient who knows nothing at all about dialysis terminology and how machines operate, become confident enough to run his own tx?

Definately when it comes to dealing with your access, needles...... :P

**Cathy S** · July 22, 2006, 01:50 AM

Cannulating is probably the hardest. Of course people who know nothing to start out with can learn home dialysis. I learned when I was all of 18 and knew nothing as dialysis was very new when my father started in 1972. The machines were much more complicated in those days.

Cathy
home hemo 9/04

Anonymous · July 22, 2006, 10:35 AM

How about getting air out of the lines, knowing which line to connect to what- did you find this easy? Did you have any concerns that when you did it by yourself the first time at home that you could forget something and panic?