Were you given the option to dialyse at h... - Dialysis Support
Were you given the option to dialyse at home, or just told that you had to go to the hospital for dialysis ?
In my original unit there was no option for home dialysis (except PD) so had to go to the hospital - have just moved units and am hopefully going to start homeHD training in a few months :o)
great news ive just been given my training date for home dialysis! im really looking forward to it and hoping that it will give me some more freedom in my life as well as feeling better :o)
Great news for you, but the NKF is sad to hear that there are still units ( or consultants ) that are not offering the choice of Home Haemo to suitable patients.
In the discussions that the NKF has with the Department of Health we always push for this choice of therapy to always be on the table - as a matter of right to suitable patients.
Why did you not consider PD as an option for Home Dialysis?
I am unable to have PD coz of the number of ops i've had in my lower abdomen was told that it would be too risky and not ever an option for me :o(
I chose not to do HD so for me that question did not crop up, I was on PD. However I was not offered APD I had to find out about it from someone else then request it
no I was not offered anything other than hospital in fact although I asked for home heamo it was made very clear to me that this was not available at the unit I attended and that to do home heamo I would have to change consultant and move to another hospital. infact it took nearly nine years to eventually go home,but what a difference it has made to my life and that of my family,the freedom to dialyise when I want and not to have to travel in order to do it
As it was 22 years ago when I finally succumbed to HD there was no choice, i had my fistula some 12/18 months prior, which is still working to this day (touch wood). It was only when I refused to go on HHD that i was told about PD in 1990!
My husband was fully informed about all the options at every stage and as he is 70 but continues to work 3 days a week he chose CAPD which enables him to keep his occupation and our income. He dialysis 4x daily at home with no equipment, very little disruption - just a monthly delivery of fluid bags etc (need garage for storage or similar) and a need for him (perhaps me as he gets older) to be methodical, keep his canulla clean and accept that four times a day he has to sit and listen to the radio for 50 minutes. He's settled already after only six weeks and feeling so much better. The only real disadvantage is that he feels that he needs to be home every six or seven hours - he hasn't tried doing an exchange anywhere else although we were assured by the community nurse that it is possible to dialyse using CAPD on top of a mountain and she showed us photos to prove it! Good luck to everyone who needs dialysis - make sure you are informed about the possibilities via the web so that you can make your wishes known. Obviously no one method is suitable for everyone, but as much choice as possible makes it much easier to cope emotionally.