First let me thank the board members who helped me with my decision in choosing home dialysis. Your input was very helpful and I thank you all (especially Gus!) I hope that I can return the favor with any questions posed to me.
Now onto the great news! As of Monday August 15th, I had my first dialysis treatment in my Home with the NxStage Solution One machine. I am so happy with the machine and the treatment I am getting from the machine.
I was also fortunate to train with an incredible home dialysis team at DaVita Franklin Center in Philadelphia. With their top notch care and training, I was able to complete my NxStage training in 3 weeks (actually 14 days). The DaVita Franklin Center home dialysis team helped me tremendously accelerate my training. I will miss seeing them each morning. A special thank you goes out to James, Gina, Karen and Barb for their care and making my home dialysis training fun. I highly recommend this unit and these incredible people. I would also like to thank Courtney for all her help.
I also believe my training went so well because of the ease of the NxStage One machine. I am glad that I chose this modality and especially this machine. The NxStage machine is easy to operate and takes up little space. I am able to operate the machine from set-up, to treatment, to break down all by myself. I did not have any problems to date with the machine. During my training, I had some problems that the machine picked up and alarmed me. I was glad to see that the machines safety features worked properly.
A little about my treatment with the NxStage. I am 37 years old (working full-time) I am 5’7", and 77kg. I dialyze six days a week for 2.5 hours a day. My access is an AV Fistula in my upper left arm. Another thanks goes to James at DaVita for teaching me self-cannulation so quickly. I am also in the process of developing a buttonhole. I run my blood flow at 450 and pull off about 1 kg a day. Currently, I use 20 L of solution per treatment. However, NxStage has come out with a new “improved” filter that may allow me adjust my treatment or at the very least, give me better clearance. I am happy that NxStage is upgrading their machines to better serve their patients.
I did most of my training alone. My wife did attend 4 days to familiarize herself with the machine. I like that I am able to use the NxStage without any assisstance. Although, I do like to have my wife with me while I dialyze for support and company. She helps out with set-up and clean up and sometimes with making the connections and helping me disconnect. I did dialyze by myself once this week and I felt quite safe.
My blood work looks good (for a dialysis patient), especially, my phosporous and potassium. Although, I did not have any problems with those numbers before dialysis. But even more importantly, I feel much better with daily dialysis. And I love to be in control of my treatment. If I feel like I am removing too much fluid, I can quickly make adjustments and avoid cramping and feeling sick.
I share my story with you in hope that I can help someone considering Home Dialysis or NxStage. Please post any questions or e-mail me. I hope that my experience can help another.
Best to all,
Michael
http://www.nxstage.com/
Franklin Dialysis At Home150 South Independence West 101 Public Ledger Bldg
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3413
215-922-2801 (tel)
215-922-2817 (fax)
Modalities offered: HOME