New Portable Dialysis Machine

Anybody read this?..

http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/medizin_gesundheit/bericht-25367.html

Yup! I called up Mike Baker when I saw this press release several months ago, and the product is still in the relatively early stages of development. It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on it and see how it’s coming along!

According to that reading this new portable machine suppose to dialyze pati ents while they sleep and the size of the dialyzer is about 4 sugar cubes!..

Most important is that the dialyzer is 90% more efficient than the standard 28% …

I’m already excited about all this…

Gus, I am with you on the excitement of this machine. I wouldn’t want to change my father from slow nocturnal as sleeping through dialysis is wonderful but am definitely looking to a machine which you can travel with and has much less setup time and tear down time and run all night on.

Believe it or not but NxStage is under a study using Nocturnal …there’s actually several studies including 5x a week daily short dialysis without having 2 days off…anyway, the nightly dialysis while sleeping is very
interesting but I wonder about dealing with needles or nightmares…or even sleep walking…hehe

Interesting Gus, I spoke with NxStage a couple of months ago and they said they weren’t doing any nocturnal studies yet because they don’t have any way to deliver the heparin, but that they were working on it. I wonder what they have come up with. I had requested a NxStage but was told it wasn’t available for nocturnal (I’m with the same provider you are with, only in San Jose).

Cathy

Interesting, I was told their onto it and want to start the Nocturnal study for Nxstage but like you said…heparin…buttonholes needles shouldn’t pose a problem as they’re not sharp but who knows…I think just a few additions are needed for it to work…like a heparin pump, an extra backup alarm system for air, and maybe a standalone dialysate tank on rollers that can be shipped via UPS and last up to 1 week…if being able to get on the list you’d prolly be the first to participate but if enough interest and push is shown then they’ll move faster on updating the machine for Nocturnal

Gus can’t answer your questions on sleeping problems because fortunately dad doesn’t sleep walk, or have night mares and he uses a catheter. Acutally truth be known he sleeps really well; alot of the time he falls asleep when I am hooking him up and doesn’t wake up when I take him off. Dad is only 1 of a very few patients in the nocturnal program using a catheter all others use needles and the buttonhole technique. I don’t think sleeping is a big problem as patients haven’t dropped out of the program. Patiently waiting to get word NxStage is doing nocturnal. I wonder how they choose the patients for trial?

My understanding is that Wellbound is in N. CA. Have not heard of Satellite Health -where is that located? Are the Nxstage trials only in CA?

My understanding is that Satellite and Wellbound are affiliated programs. Satellite offers in center hemo and Wellbound offers home dialysis options. Wellbound is currently only in No. California. Don’t know about Satellite.

Satellite and WellBound have chapters opening everywhere…here in my hometown Modesto, Ca a WellBound clinic just opened last October and they’re affiliated with Satellite Health which also has chapters almost everywhere…

The Wellbound in Modesto is near Freeways and Highways and next to many Hotels and Motels…there’s also an airport in Modesto …not major but flyouts in and out are active…so coming over here for training is convenient and easy…plus the sunshine in summer is NICE!.. :smiley:

There is a Satellit center in Sonora Calif and in Carson City Nevada

Wow! This sounds great! What type of program do they offer? Has anybody tried it? Does Medicare cover it the cost of the machine and supplies for its use? People could live much better life. Pack it up and go. It could be used in hotel rooms, since there is no water hook up. Have they worked out the heprin problem, yet? Has it been used for daily hemo dialysis by anybody? Anybody know if Medicare covers hemo for daily use?

Satellite Healthcare is a non-profit company that started in 1974 in Northern California. It’s corporate office is in Mountain View, CA. Satellite operates 14 dialysis clinics, a lab, has a grants program, a venture capital program, and has given millions to the National Kidney Foundation and others over the years. Five Satellite clinics on the Home Dialysis Central database offer only PD and they’re all in CA. You can read about Satellite Dialysis at www.satellitecapital.com/dialysis/default.asp.

WellBound’s corporate office is at the same address in Mountain View as Satellite. WellBound shares key leadership with Satellite. The three WellBound clinics that are listed on the Home Dialysis Central database offer PD and home hemo (all but one offer all 5 choices). As far as we know, all the operating WellBound clinics are in CA. You can read about WellBound at www.wellbound.com.

What the representative at NxStage told me:

Cost & Insurance Coverage:
The NxStage cost $25,000.00 out of pocket. It is Medicare approved and covered completely. It cost $1,500.00 a month, which he said is plenty more than Medicare provides for machine and supplies.

Repairs:
They swap the broken machine for a new one through mail, like Dell Computers. The Device last longer, because there is no water going through, so there is less breakage.

Dialysis & Medication:
Users dialyze for 2.5 hours a day. Giving themselves a bullois of heprin.
Epo is covered, given through the machine. Calicum is taken orally as medicare does not pay for this. People have purchased a heprin pump can be purchased out of pocket for runs longer than 2.5 hours or notronal use. Most people get off of other medications, such as binders when dialying at home, because of the longer dialysis time and stop itching.

Power for the Machine, Cleaning:
There is no plumbing involved. Using a IV pole, bag of saline and bags of diasolate. There is a drop in cartilege. Not much cleaning cause there is no pumbling hook up and no unique elecitrical requirement. Can be pluged into any normal outlet anywhere.

My Excitement:
This NxStage is going to become huge, everybody is going to want one. People that are incenter and have said no to home hemo, will say yes to home hemo with NxStage, because they will regain what we all love dearly as human beings OUR FREEDOM to go where we want and when we want and with whom we choose, OUR PRIVACY AND PERSONALIZED CARE to have our labs monitored by the Doctor we choose to hire, not everybody and anybody - strangers, thus gaining more Safety, Control over our own destiny and bodies.

QUALITY OF CARE, being able to take care of yourself is always better. You can live a longer, much better quality of life, by being able to dialyze longer on the machine, access and clean your own cite, environment, machine and not have your time cut or be neglected, mistreated or yelled at, because of another’s attitude/mood/mental focus. No more crashing, trying to take off large amounts of fluid in a short period of time.

LESS FEAR, having positivity in care and getting better care gives a human being a better outlook, no more watching other people crash, cramp, loose limbs, die. Hurray, no more sick people, no more feeling like cattle being lead to a slow slaughter. Feeling like a human being again able to do the things you want during your day. Going back to life, where you choose what your day will be like, regaining Employment, not swaping it for a life of where you have little say so.

My Currant Situation:
My currant situation and past medical care hasn’t been preventive or even decent. I am currently on in center hemo dialysis, where most of the people have good attitudes towards the patients and others you have to play teacher/parent/begging and fighting for better care, which absolutely sucks big time!

Having to go into the dialysis center, seeing all those people loosing limbs, life, crashing, cramping, passing out makes me feel like I’m a severely abused slave, cattle and meat on somebodies grill or just a paycheck. I am a human being, not a animal, I have a right to a life, to be able to work, feel healthy, care for my family and my own needs, travel and have freedom and control over my own life, freedom from need, want, fear. Freedom to say and do things. Freedom to make my own decisions regarding my body, which holds my life at this time on this Earth. Freedom to make my dreams come true.

More Freedom through better treatment instead of Freedom through losing everything here, Death. Mmmmmm… I recently learned about home hemo dialysis yes! from another patient that ran into a few good Doctors at another hospital. My past Doctor - center - nurses haven’t kept me posted on new options happening thats for sure and have even cut my dialysis time against my wishes, because my labs are the best at the center, they don’t even know or choose to not care, very sad.

One past doctor even “We’re going to let your kidney’s bottom out”, by not giving me high blood pressure medication, when my pressure was so high, good nurses say its a miracle you didn’t die from a stroke. I was so out of it and fogged. I didn’t know what he was doing or what was going on, I trusted, not anymore. God willing I’ll be able to change doctors, have a good relationship with him, be trained and use the NxStage for my care, have good relationships in my personal life, get married to a positive partner, care for my family and travel. I never thought it possible for me to travel overseas without getting PD dialysis. WoW!

God willing I’m in the process of getting a Doctor that I get along really well with and sharing with him as well as others this information of NxStage, Home Dialysis Central, what people are doing in other parts of this Nation, inorder to get that machine in this state for me and so many other human beings.

I’m young and capable of caring for myself through home hemo dialysis, God willing. God willing, I have a career waiting for me to return to, money, if I choose, hopefully a better life to live that involves the freedom of travel with a wonderful partner, where we are both dedicated to making human lives better through helping people regain their independance through knowledge, education, positive decision through wanting to live a outstanding excellent life.

My Outlook has changed. Since dialysis I’ve felt that I lost my life-died and entered into hell, losing everything, including my dignity/quality of compassion/care in treatment, time with my child-family-friends, no life, just existance trapped in this hell of abusive slavery, worst than any nightmare.

God has turned everything around in my life, every second of my life gets better and better. My wants, desires and dreams are being a reality in life. The people, events, things, situations in my life gets better and better. God has been protecting me, placing people that care in my life, changing hearts, thinking, behavior of people. I stay constantly in prayer and vulunteer at Church. My child will regain a loving parent that was taken away from him and thus have a better life. Now with Home Dialysis Central, the NxStage, all these positive good people sharing information, there is SunShine and HOPE at feeling better, having more independance, freedom, privacy, quality of life and moments of happiness, love, comfort in my life.

I used to walk around asking, “how come somebody doesn’t come up with a hemo dialysis device that you can drop into your fanny pack and dialyze during the day all day and night if you like?” Here it is in the NxStage!!! WoW! Being able to trade fear for strenght in awareness, WoW! I was amazed and shocked at the progressive and positivity of this web cite and especially about the creation of a portable home hemo device!!! WoW! WoW! Whew!!! All my hopes, God willing will come to happen, be.

that are sharing information, ideas and what is going on with regaining personal freedom.

Gus:

There are many different things you can do to get your self to sleep soundly throughout the night. Try some of these and God willing in no time you’ll be sleeping like a baby.

I’ve found that thinking and having your goal, positive words, feelings from others around you has a whole lot to do with how the body, spirit, mind behaves. Relaxe and think positively and make it your goal to have a good night sleep. Don’t think about unpleasant things or be afraid you’re not going to wake up or know whats going on around you. Talk to God, ask God for his protection, while you sleep.

Let go of all negative, pressures, stresses from the years and day. Play soothing music or turn the TV on watch something familar, pleasant, non threatening first then play some soothing music to lull you to sleep. Turn on a fan or machine to lull you to sleep. Turn on a sound machine. Most importantly pray, ask God for help. God gives his people anything they need and want as long as its good for them. God wants us all to be happy, live good lives, help each other and care for each other’s quality of life and longivity.

Maybe something is missing in your life, maybe you’re doing something that causes you stress that you need to stop doing or not doing something that causes you happiness that you need to start doing. God calls us to do different things for others and sometimes some people might enjoy beig pamphered. Maybe having a massage, pedicure, vulunteering, cutting out some of your work load or being more busy with things you enjoy, that relax you, that you enjoy during the day. I will say a prayer for you Gus, maybe you just need somebody to pray for you and care.

Is that you Gina? Do you need to talk to me? If it’s you please meet me on AIM…we can speak more there one on one…wow, you write alot… :roll:

I’m just curious about this…

I’ve never seen a NxStage machine in person. I’m wondering what the advantages are, really, at this point. Almost everything positive that was said about it above applies to daily hemodialysis in general no matter what machine is used. I’ve read the comments about portability, but is a 70 lb machine (not including supplies) really that portable? Maybe it’s portable if it’s in an RV motorhome or something like that. I mean, I don’t buy 75lb bags of potatoes at the grocery store, because that’s way too heavy to get home. Are there any limitations that the NxStage machine has that a full service machine like a Fresenius doesn’t? If there are any limitations, what are they, and are they outweighed by any advantages with NxStage?

Pierre

The only reason I wouldn’t change from the Fresenius to the NxStage is because it is only suitable for daily dialysis and with the Fresenius we do nocturnal which we prefer but really appreciate having the option to run during the day if for some reason nightly doesn’t fit our schedule.

Big advantage to NxStage…uses no water.

Big advantage NxStage only weighing 70#. I would travel with the NxStage, I can get help lifting 70# a Fresenius Machine would be out of the question.

Big advantage NxStage Setup, Teardown and Cleaning just about as easy as you can get. I think one could easily assume you would save 1/2 the amount of time you are required to do these chores with the Fresenius.

Big advantage NxStage. Service is done by having a new machine sent to you overnight. Fresenius repair personnel has to be called and parts ordered which can can be more time consuming.

Big advantage Space. Compared to the Fresenius and the required RO the
NxStage doesn’t take up anywhere near as much room in a room.

I have never used the NxStage so my comments are only based on what appears to me to be advantages.