My husband is going on Home PD, had port surgery on Feb 2nd and we started at the clinic on March 8th. So far he has been filled with 500 mls and isn’t able to drain. He has be on laxatives to include myrlax and another prescribed. He cleared bowels all weekend and we are back at clinic trying to get it flushed but it will not drain. X-ray shows position of catheter is good. What could be the issue and possible solution. Anyone ever experience this?
It sounds like you haven’t actually begun home dialysis, and are still working with a nurse at the clinic. My dad had the same problem. The catheter looked okay, but they ended up having to move it once because of scar tissue. Finally, they went in a third time and actually sewed the end down because it was moving. That seemed to do the trick. I hope this helps.
Assuming the catheter is in the correct place, you might ask his home training nurse and/or nephrologist if the holes in the catheter may have become blocked with fibrin (a protein substance). They might suggest heparin to address this. You could ask if the catheter could have become blocked with omentum (fatty tissue that covers and supports the intestines and other abdominal organs). I gather this is not easy to diagnose aand may require laparoscopic surgery. You could also ask if there could be a leak in the lining of his peritoneum that could be allowing dialysate to leak into his lungs, abdomen, or genitals. I would think that he would have symptoms if this was the problem.
Hi everybody!
I am a new PD patient about a month in.
During the first week of home, PD, I started to have drain issues in my 1of4 exchange.
I have been sleeping on an adjustable bed, lying on my back as directed by my doctor.
Evidently, this sleeping position created the low drain volume errors every 15 minutes. It never happened in the other three exchanges during the night.
One evening, during TV time, I had temporarily raised the bed about 30 degrees. I was already plugged in so to speak for the night’s first exchange.
Lo and behold suddenly the low drainage, volume alert never happened again. It’s been about a month as I said, but it’s been a OK. Somehow, I think I created just enough gravity for it to work. simple huh?
L O L at myself 
best wishes
.Lauren
1 Like
Thank you for posting what you did to solve the low drain problem. I’m sure you’re thankful you’re not getting waked up during the night by the alarm. Hope you’re sleeping better.
Fibrin bloking maybe