Has anybody used a portable hd unit,and a... - Dialysis Support
Has anybody used a portable hd unit,and are they ok?
Hi billsy, my wife has been using a NxStage machine since May 2011 which is claimed to be "portable" but, at 34 kg, "transportable" would be a more accurate description. We are able to travel with it (only tried it in the UK so far) but it can be transported by air in a suitable strong box. It is used with bagged dialysate when traveling. Is it OK ? most definitely ! It doesn't have the programming flexibility of, say a Fresenius m/c, but it is eminently suitable for home dialysis with considerably less set up and operating costs. If you discount the US manufacturer's claims of 2.5 hours dialysis which would require you to run at blood pump speeds of 450 ml/min + (not good in my opinion unless you have have a fistula flow approaching 1500 ml/min) for 6 sessions per week but adopt a more conservative approach then the NxStage is just about perfect. My wife dialyses for 3.5 hours at a blood pump speed of 380 ml/min for 5 sessions per week and her monthly bloods results and general health are excellent. The more frequent dialysis sessions have resulted in her having no dietary restrictions (she takes only one phosphate binder with main meals), fluid intake is far less critical and her blood pressure medication is now minimal.
The NxStage, to my knowledge, is the only "portable" unit currently available, it is the home dialysis machine of choice in the USA and its usage in the UK is increasing (60+ units). I'm assuming that you are already dialysing at home, so talk to your consultant or homecare nurse and ask if they are aware of the NxStage m/c and whether they would support such a change (remind them if necessary that "patient choice" is the gospel these days). Not all Health Authorities are "on board" with this machine at the moment but this, I'm sure, is only a matter of time once they begin to appreciate the benefits to patients and the substantially lower costs to the NHS.
Glad the info was of help. For home use, the NxStage Cycler is supplied with a PureFlow base unit. This unit will make up a 60 litre batch of dialysate (sufficient for 2 - 3 sessions) and comprises a de-ionisation water purification PAK, processing fresh water from your domestic supply, which passes purified water into a replaceable SAK (containing dialysate concentrate) housed in a tub and a Control Unit linked to the Cycler. It would be possible to
install the PureFlow unit in a caravan provided that you you can hook up to a suitable water supply to make up a batch (which takes 7.25 hours) but, if you are travelling from one site to another you would also need to have a permanent electrical supply to the PureFlow to power the dialysate heater. Ready mixed bagged dialysate (in 5 litre bags) is the most practical soloution but you can appreciate the storage requirements when you consider that you would need either 4 or 5 bags per session. For bagged dialysate there is a warming plate, an attachment which sits on top of the cycler and which holds one 5 litre bag (the remaining bags are all linked up together and feed into the bag on the warming plate). With this set up you can be ready to dialyse within approx.30 minutes after hooking up to a power supply. The power consumption with the Cycler plus PureFlow or bag warmer operating will be less than 700 Watts.
