I must be slow. I’ve was going over some the past post and I find myself confused.
You enter dialysis center and at first you do 3x a wk 4 hrs. aday. But you want out of center for whatever reason. Now while doing in center you feel great but you just to be home. So you try to look at the machines that your center has to offer as for home. The center only has two. in my case it nxstage and babyk. So you look at the needs of both machines and in my case nxstage seem to be the way to go at this time. So I pick nxstage and I’m doing txs 6 days a week.
So am I fixed on 6 days a wk with nxstage or can the dr and I talk to see if I can do 5 or 4 or 3 .
Say if I want to try 3 days a wk for 4 hrs a tx, will the dr be able to go with this or am I by law fixed on 6 days a wk.?
I still go to the bathroom and it seems like the more I take in the more I go to bathroom. The problem is that I not dispelling the toxins. Make any sense?
bobeleanor :oops:
There are physiological reasons why it’s better to do HD as many days a week as possible–and 3 days a week is not a good idea. You can read our article about Hemodialysis: Why More is Better, which explains it, at http://www.homedialysis.org/v1/rotating/0106topicofthemonth.shtml.
In answer to your question, your doctor can prescribe fewer days–though with short treatments, we would notrecommend doing fewer than 5. Pierre has been very articulate about how much better he feels doing more rather than fewer days. Sometimes you may not be able to feel it, but you’re still likely to have fewer heart problems if you get more treatments.
The number of days that dialysis can be performed are not fixed by law. Medicare payment for the number of days of dialysis treatment is fixed by Medicare reimbursement rules at 3 treatments a week unless medically justified for more.
Your doctor can change your dialysis prescription. However, if you want to reduce the number of days you get treatment, you will probably need to lengthen each treatment and you’ll lose some of the benefits of more frequent dialysis. It could affect how you feel. You could have “dialysis hangover” or what is also called the “roller coaster effect” where because you go days in between dialysis, the fluid and toxin shifts leave people feeling washed out. You would probably also need to limit foods and fluids more.
Everyone on dialysis does not stop urinating. Others notice that the amount they urinate slowly stops. If you’re thinking that your kidneys may be improving, your lab tests will show how your function is.
As you say, damaged kidneys don’t filter like they should. When people drink more, even if they feel like they’re urinating it all out, they may be storing fluid in places they don’t see. Some people get fluid around their lungs making it hard to breathe and others store fluid around their heart making their heart beat harder making the heart muscle “flabby.” Over time the heart muscle won’t beat very efficiently and this will make you feel really weak and tired. I’d encourage you to talk with your doctor or dietitian about how much fluid you can drink each day and ask for tips on how to stick to it.