I just got back from traveling to Lancaster, PA with my NxStage.
As always, this year I am thankful for the love of my family and I am also thankful for my NxStage System One and DaVita at Home. If you would like to see a short travelogue of my trip click below.
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On our nine hour drive back we decided to stop in Hershey and have a Chocolate Fest at the various attractions. The problem wasn’t phosphorous as one might think rather it was time. The motel we stayed at was one of convenience that sufficed with the proper amount of Fabreeze and Chlorox Wipes. Let’s just say the Inn wasn’t dialysis “Quality.” We didn’t get home until 5:00 and though there was plenty of time to dialysis I was too exhausted. Needless to say, I’ll be pulling 4 K off for a couple of days.
Though I have changed my entire relationship with beverages traveling threw me a few challenges. I’ve switched from Coke Big Gulps to triple espressos and from guzzling liters of water to sipping a couple 100 milliliters but the length of time driving, the dry air of the car and boredom did cause me to get a little too moist.
There was a tendency to get on dialysis a little too late for my comfort. It was nice to have the flexibility but it was hard to leave my 92 year old Nana, my father and Auntie and Uncle as early as I would have preferred to dialyze. On one occasion my Dad did come to our room and sit with me during treatment. He had never seen me dialyze before. Our suite worked out well for visitors as well as having a place for the kids to sleep while I dialyzed late into the evening.
I had to adjust to a new angle for cannulation. There was a bit of pain my first night since I didn’t hit the button hole just right. I was using sharps.
The main thought was how easy it was to travel with my family.
Great blog, and your kids are so adorable! It’s great that you have the freedom to travel. We drive our older daughter from Wisconsin to her college in NYC each fall (and back home again each summer), and get sooo close to Hershey, but never seem to have time to stop. Someday…
My name is Kelly and I have been doing in center hemodialysis well over 10 years and now Im considering home dialysis and I just wanted some honest advice about it the pros and the cons.
Hi Kelly, welcome to the board. Usually when someone asks me that question I talk about the advantages I experienced switching to high dose home dialysis after 11 years of incenter dialysis. Certainly reading this board should give you a good idea what the folks who post here have identified as advantages and together I am sure we could come up with pages of information.
However, rather than giving you a comprehensive list I’d like to turn the question around and ask you what your goals are? What is important to you? What three things make you, you? Then it should be easier to identify which modality is the best fit.
My experience is that dialysis is a means to an end; once you know where you want to go you’ll have a better idea of what you need to get there. So tell us what’s important to you and then we can evaluate your treatment options against that vision. This would be a new approach for me but I think it could be a helpful approach.
Getting someone such as yourself - a veteran incenter dialyzor - to take a hard look at home dialysis/ more frequent dialysis is something I am trying to find a way to encourage. What was it that has gotten you to consider home dialysis? Was it Erich’s travels and success at home? I was thinking your question would be a good thread of its own: Kelly’s Choice or Switching After 10 Years Incenter. FYI: To start a new thread go to the index page of the “HD—For Patients” Board and above the thread index on the left is a “New Thread”button.
My name is Kelly and I have been doing in center hemodialysis well over 10 years and now Im considering home dialysis and I just wanted some honest advice about it the pros and the cons.
awaiting your response.[/quote]
Just like Bill stated, it depends really why you want to go home. Jot down why you want to go home and that will help us serve you better. There’s many reasons why some of us want to go home. For example, one of the reasons I wanted to go home and dialyze is a sense of freedom and control of my own life. If you think your ready to take charge of your own life then just maybe it just for you! One of the biggest advantages of doing home dialysis is how your health will greatly improve. That means labs and vitals will be way better than what they were in-center!
We just started home hemo and it is fantastic. You have the freedom to hook to the machine whenever you want. The lab results when you do blood work are super. My husband says that he thinks clearer now than he ever did ( I wonder if his thoughts were ever clear ! ha, ha). I notice that his skin has a pinker tone than when he was in center. It is a much more normal life. You still have to watch fluid to a certain extent but not like when on 3 times per week. It is saving us money and time in travel. He finds that he misses the social aspect of in center but he is not willing to give up nocturnal for that. Let us know what you decide.