APD and shift work

Ask Our Experts Dr. John Agar, Nephrologist
1

Is it safe to do shift work ( 4 days, 4 off , 4 nights) when you are on APD dialysis 9 hours every night?
Does changing dialysis timing every 4th day ( days to night vice versa ) reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.

2

Your home training nurse would be the best person to ask this question. I"m not a nurse, but I would think that you could gradually adjust the time you start/stop your 9 hours of APD during your 4 off days. If you had to do your 9 hours closer together than normal, your nurse could tell you how to change the machine settings so you don’t take off more fluid than needed.

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3

Thanks for your reply , unfortunately my renal team don’t give straight answer about anything. I find it too difficult to get a answer from them . Mostly their replies are delusional specially doc. Worst doc since I have the kidney disease.

4

If you don’t have confidence in your doctor and you don’t get answers from your home training nurse at your dialysis clinic, there may be other options for PD in your area. You can check on Home Dialysis Central under Find a clinic at https://homedialysis.org/clinics/search or check on Dialysis Facility Compare at https://www.medicare.gov/dialysisfacilitycompare/. On either site you enter where you are and that you want a clinic that offers peritoneal dialysis.

You might want to join a members-only Home Dialysis Central Facebook group and ask your question there. You can find that at https://www.facebook.com/groups/HomeDialysisCentral/. Someone else may do PD and work different shifts who can tell you how they do it.

5

One of the biggest benefits of PD is that it gives you the opportunity to adjust your dialysis schedule to allow you to live a full life - including maintaining a full-time job. As long as you receive your daily dose of dialysis as prescribed, shifting the start time around your changing work schedule should not reduce the overall effectiveness of your dialysis. Our PD nurses work with the patients to develop creative treatment plans when necessary, and discuss them with the Nephrologist. PD is a team effort. We need to all work together to help you thrive.

Alan Falcioni MSN, RN, CNN
Renal Clinical Consultant
Anacapa Technologies
Alta Loma, CA

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6

Thanks for the advice, Its really helpful to make the right decision regarding my work.