It indeed was the cartriges. nxstage has changed the design and i have no no problems since receiving the new batch of cartridges.
You can make these changes at home? I’ve never been told that i would so much rather it pull on the front end instead of right up until the end. How do you make those changes? Thank you!
Can you tell us more about how you set your machine, MrsB?
How do you determine how much fluid to remove per treatment, and how do you determine the hourly rate of removal?
The UF rate is max out at .86. I can change those numbers up to .86 and it doesn’t go further. I was at .96 but loss more weigh so they (meaning the home dialysis nurses) changed it.
I do weigh in kgs then Subtract my wheelchair weight to get my starting Pre weight. My dry weight is set at 68 kg and I can’t change that. The program them tells me how much I am over and how much to pull. I am able to determine how much to pull even if I go over what it said I need to.
Mrs. B,
I believe the reason your nurse has locked your hourly UltraFiltration Rate (UFR) down to 0.86L/hr is because of your dry-weight and the risk of organ stunning.
CMS says fluid can be removed at a rate of 13mL/kg/hr (13mL of fluid removal, per 1 kg of body weight, per hour). That rate of 13mL/kg/hr is actually REALLY high and can lead to systemic organ damage. Therefore, that is the MAX rate of in-center HD in the USA.
We have a really great tool for determining safe UFR, and it’s located here: Ultrafiltration Rate Calculator (UFR) - Home Dialysis Central
Plug your information in there, and you will see what I mean.
13mL/kg/hr on a 68kg person is 0.88L per hour. That is the highest it can be run without breaking CMS rules and potentially doing harm.
Now, if you were lower your maximum UFR to, say, 10mL/kg/hr, you would be running a much safer/less physiologically taxing treatment, and your max UFR there would be 0.68L per hour.
If you have a history of heart disease or cardiovascular disease, your max UFR should be even LOWER! For example, if you were to use 8mL/kg/hr as your guide (way healthier) your max UFR would be 0.54L per hour.
Long story short- I believe you are locked out from increasing your UFR beyond the 13mL/kg/hr. Have they told you to make the treatment longer if you have to remove fluid in excess of that?