PD Dialysis - Week 5 - Training Day 3

[RonZone]

For Day Three (Wednesday), this was practice, practice, practice day. My PD nurse first filled me with 1500ml of 1.5 ml of PD solution.

NOTE: We decided to go back to 1.5 solution because the 2.5 solution from Day 2 caused me to wake up at 2:30 and again at 4:30 with leg cramps. Not fun. Seems that's the only way to figure out which strength you need is to up it and see if you get cramps or get dizzy or something. So based on that, we switched back to 1.5 today.

We reviewed some of the training modules that I had gone through last weekend on my own and asked me some questions from the modules. I remembered most of it, but there's a LOT of it, so I missed a few and will go back and review this weekend while I'm doing full blow 4 times a day PD.

After that she got me to practice doing an exchange on our "dummy" patient three times. I hooked that bad boy up, filled it, flushed it and drained it three times. He was looking pretty good by the time I got through with him!

After that it was time for me to drain, so she let me disconnect myself (that was a little scary, but she was watching me like a hawk and was all washed up ready to jump in if I crashed and burned, but it went A-OK thank goodness. So that was the end of that day.

[Bassetmommer]

Hi Ron, Why would you get leg cramps? Is there too much being drained or is it changing something chemically?

[RonZone in reply to Bassetmommer]

You know, that's a very good question. Not sure. I'll find out. Possibly both?

[RonZone in reply to Bassetmommer]

Ok, I asked my PD nurse who just called to check on me (which was nice of her). She said the cramps are caused by the loss of fluid. The muscles need fluid and salt and when they don't have it, they sorta shrivel up and yell at you (in the form of cramps) to be fed more fluid. So it's fluid loss, not chemical loss that causes it she said.

[Bassetmommer in reply to RonZone]

thanks for finding out. I hate leg cramps. I have gotten them in my thighs, and I'll save my description but nothing worse. Some of the ladies in my water aerobics class get them because they do not hydrate before class. The water actually pulls fluid out of your muscles when you are working out, whihc is great if you have enough water in you to begin with. I drink at least 48 ounces before class. I hope it gets worked out so you don't have to have cramps,