Introducing myself

[FirefighterRandy]

Started in center Dialysis on May 7 2016 and about 45 days later we switched to home dialysis. We do that 4 days a week for 3 1/2 hours with the help of my wife.

[LadyLuv]

Welcome!!!!!

[judystuddard in reply to LadyLuv]

Please tell me about hemo home dialysis. Not familiar with it.

[LadyLuv in reply to judystuddard]

To be honest, I think it's the same as the Incenter. I think that it does the same. My cousin's wife did it when she was on it. Now she's back on it and she does Peritoneal. To be sure, talk to your nurse. Call them tomorrow and have them explain things to you.

Good night!!!!!

[TheOther_MrsRobinson]

hello Mr & Mrs Firefighter Randy !!! My husband and I did home hemo through NxStage !!! It was awesome, but we mostly did it because Mr hubby was working. Since he retired, we found its easier on the both of us for him to go back to in center. But his health vastly improved during that period on home hemo and we thank God !!! We also thank you for all that you and your fellow fire fighters do in service to our communities !!! God bless you both and welcome to the site 😊

[judystuddard in reply to TheOther_MrsRobinson]

Please tell me about home hemp and cycler.

[TheOther_MrsRobinson in reply to judystuddard]

Hi !!!! So we did our home hemo through NxStage.......its a great cycler, its convenient, it doesn't take up as much space as the equally effective Fresenius PD machine, and it hooked up to a drain faucet in your house ( either your kitchen faucet, or the pipe under the sink or washing machine hookup ). You and a care partner ( only a family member, home health nurse, or a spouse are qualify ) are trained by the nurse at the hospital where you get dialysis, which means, unless your local dialysis center uses NxStage dialyzers, you may only be able to get trained if your local dialysis center agrees to train patients who qualify. They test your water supply to make sure that the chemicals in your water dont interfere with the solution used for treatment. The boxes for supplies take up WAY less space then PD supplies..... You do it more often per week ( 5-6 treatments ), for no more than 3.5 hours depending on the Rx from your doc, and you still do monthly blood work. It's also VERY easy to travel with the machine, its quite heavy but its only the size of mini fridge ( the size that usually go in college dorm rooms ), and they have premixed dialysate bags to take with you !!! If you are able to do it and you have a family member or a nurse that is able to be trained with you, it will significantly increase your quality of life !!! Its what enabled my husband to finally travel out of state since hez been in dialysis !!!!

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador]

Fresenius doesn't make a PD machine. They do however manufacture many hemodialysis machines. Back when I started home hemodialysis I was one of only 100 Americans who did nocturnal home hemodialysis and I have only used Fresenius dialysis machines, never a NxStage. I started dialysis before NxStage was even available. There are centers out there that still offer training on machines *other* than NxStage. I used to do dialysis 8 hrs per night 6 nights per week. Now I only do extended treatments (6-8 hrs) 4-5 days per week. I do it in the afternoons/evenings and arrange it according to other commitments. My husband is my care partner. We can't take our machine with us when we travel, so we arrange for dialysis at a clinic. We've traveled to Minnesota, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Washington D.C., North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and more. They do test your water to insure the water treatment machine can adequately remove the chemicals for your dialysis. If you need any water/electric changes made to your home the clinic (Medicare) pays for it. They also provide a chair for the home and all the necessary supplies are delivered to your home either every 2 weeks or monthly. If you have more questions, please ask away. Blessings