My PD had been going great so far, but yesterday I noticed A LOT of swelling in my, uh, “dude area”, and I knew instantly that PD fluid was leaking there. I called my on-call nurse at one in the morning, and she told me to not do any exchanges for 24hr, and then tomorrow morning (Sat) I should start my normal exchanges, but to only put in one litre instead of two. We’ll see how it goes, then gradually increase me back to my normal volume. If I continue leaking, then there is the possibility of a hernia, and I would have to have it surgically fixed. Has anyone else experienced this?
Oh, sorry to hear that Ilovenxstage. If you do a search in these Boards for “hernia,” tons of posts come up: http://forums.homedialysis.org/search.php?searchid=63148. Some of them should help you–or at least get you started thinking about it.
The leaking has continued even with low volume exchanges, and a bulge has developed. We’re pretty sure now that it is a hernia. The problem is I can’t even have a bloody consultation until Aug 20! Then I have to go through the surgery and probably a month of recovery before I can restart PD. So, my NxStage is now back. To make things worse, we found out that I have a mild case of peritonitis. We don’t know where it came from, but I’m on IV antibiotics for two weeks. I already miss PD!
Hi Ilovenxstage. You should not have to stop PD to get a hernia fixed–it is most often possible to do low-volume, recumbant-only (LVRO) PD, where you use smaller amounts of fluid and always lie down when you have PD fluid on board. This reduces the strain on your abdomen (intraabdominal pressure). We have an article about it at: http://www.homedialysis.org/resources/tom/200505/. It’s too bad that you have to wait so long for a consult about your hernia. Have you asked about their cancellation policy? Often a doctor’s office will put you on a list in case someone cancels, so you might be able to be seen sooner.
Ilovenxstage hang in there. Believing that things are going to get much better for you. My hubby has been on PD since January this year.