I posted two threads earlier this week about the nighttime cycler and have not received any responses yet; had hoped to have something to report to my dad when I phone him tonight.
Does anyone out there have any input on how well it works, logistical issues (sleeping positions prohibited by the machine and/or ability to get up to use the restroom or move around while connected), anything about the new cycler to be released by Fresenius in a few weeks? Anything?
Thanks in advance!!
Eileen
Eileen,
I can’t help you with the Fresenius cycler, as I used the Baxter Homechoice cycler for 2 1/2 yrs. It sat on a nightstand next to my bed and my bathroom was just around the corner from it so had no problems getting up in the night. When I traveled I used a patient extension line which gave me 22 feet to move away from the machine and that was usually enough to reach a bathroom. There was always the option to disconnect from the cycler during the dwell cycle if necessary as long as I was rehooked in time for the drain and fill. Sleeping positions were not a problem. I slept on my left side or on my back and occassionally rolled almost all the way over onto my stomach without any drainage or fill problems.
Ginger,
Thank you so much for your input! I will let my dad know later when I talk with him.
Can you tell me how many bags of dialysate come to a box (for the cycler)? My dad’s bedroom is on the second floor of their townhome and he doesn’t think there would be room for a delivery of dialysate anywhere upstairs as well as he doesn’t know if he would be able to handle the larger bags–he uses the 2 liter bags now for his 4 daily exhanges and can handle them fine, but he’s worried about the added weight for the cycler bags.
Thanks, again!!
Eileen
There are 2 5L or 2 6L bags/box depending on his prescription. The boxes themselves are the same size that the 2L bags come in. They make great packing or storage boxes and also recycle well. The delivery driver is supposed to put your boxes where you want them and also rotate your stock for you as needed. The number of boxes delivered/month will be between 16-30 boxes of solution. There will be some extras of different strengths so you can use what you need based on weight and blood pressure. If there is a space problem, you may be able to get the delivery changed to every 2 weeks. My boxes took up one wall in my laundry room on the same level of my house as my bedroom. Does your father have a spare room on the same level as his bedroom where his supplies could be housed? or a closet that can be used? I have also heard of people lining them up in their hallways (if the hall is wide) and covering them with a sheet.
Ginger,
Thank you for the information.
My dad so hates to put anyone out; he would probably be reticent to ask the delivery driver to go up two flights of stairs to put the boxes upstairs. He does have an extra bedroom upstairs but is going to have to be convinced to take down the bed to put the boxes in there. My parents have things that they are not ready to part with–they’re not pack rats, but had to get rid of some things when they moved to VA from NY (house to townhome) and, at their ages, it’s very emotional to even think about having to part with anything else. So, their closets are full as are the rooms in their dwelling.
I think it’s very important that my dad try the cycler–now that I have reasoned it all out with the dr. and he is agreeing; a simple problem with logistics should not prevent him from trying this mode. The other option is HD and I have A LOT of reservations about that–logistically, he may have a problem getting to and from each treatment AND hemo is so much harder on a person than PD is.
I will be visiting my dad within the next week and will try to help him figure out a plan to make this work.
Oh, I got ahold of a couple of people at Fresenius to ask about the new cycler–neither of them knew anything but I was given the name of the sales rep for my dad’s clinic and have left him a message. He’s at a sales meeting somewhere this week but checks his messages. Will let you know what I find out!!
Thank you, again.
Eileen
PD delivery people are used to putting supplies where someone needs them. I’m sure the delivery person has taken boxes upstairs and downstairs many times before. I also suspect that the delivery person is younger than your dad and probably in relatively good physical condition to do supply delivery day after day.
Is your dad’s bedroom large enough to stack boxes in a row along one wall? If so, maybe he or his wife can pick out some nifty printed material to cover the boxes and use them as “decoration.” If he has a lightweight board or piece of plexiglass the length of the row of boxes, he could lay that across the top to have a place to display pictures or anything else that they’d normally put on a dresser or bookshelf. As long as the two end boxes are the same height (taking boxes from the middle), I think this would work without making the room too clinic-like.
Thank you, Beth, for the information. I thought that the delivery people were pretty much at the patient’s disposal as to where to put product within the home. My dad is very proud and hates to “be a bother” to anyone, so I am not sure that he would ask–if I could be there for every delivery, I would, but I am hampered by distance.
His bedroom is not large enough to stack the boxes, the hallway is narrow and very short, and the “extra” room on the same floor is filled with stuff that they are storing as well as his violet collection (which has been his hobby for decades). There is a furnished guest bedroom as well that I am trying to convince him would be ideal for storage supplies if we just take down the bed. He says the door doesn’t open all the way–don’t remember that so will check–but my concern is him ability to handle the larger, heavier bags as the other bedroom is not right next to his.
Thank you for the decorating suggestions. That may be what we end up doing.
The biggest thing is that I want him to try the cycler (since he does not want to be on HD) to hopefully give him back some quality of life. In my mind, whatever it takes is what we need to do.
Thanks, again.
Eileen