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What's your experience with dialysis? Give & get support here
Dialysis is required if your kidneys don't function adequately on their own. Your doctor will discuss with you the type of dialysis that's best for you. Dialysis treatment is a serious responsibility, You'll need to work closely with your health care team who have experience in managing dialysis. Open communication with your health care team is essential to your overall health.
Fellow patients are a wonderful source of support and practical information because of a shared dialysis experience.
If you are a dialysis patient, or loved one of a patient, what are some things that you have experienced that might be helpful to someone who is new to dialysis? What kind of life adjustments have you had to make? How has it affected your everyday life?
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Someone posted pictures of the pike of boxes and supplies each month that are delivered for PD. Now I can’t find it and a search came up with nothing. Any help out there ?
@jprust A lot depends on how many exchanges a day you are doing. I do two a day, and use manual for my exchanges, not a machine. So, my monthly supply is a lot less than someone else. My bags come 5 to a box, 2000cc in each bag. If you use a cycler, it is (2) 10000cc bags to a box. Add in the caps, bandages for daily site change-out, antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer, and cleaners. A box of caps lasts me 3 weeks. And don't forget they advise to keep a couple weeks' extra on hand of all supplies. If you have a storage issue, many providers can arrange a twice-monthly delivery.
I would figure a regular pallet size of supplies each month, about 3-4 feet high. Your initial delivery is especially big, as various one-time components arrive. Remember, the delivery drivers are instructed to place the boxes of fluids where you tell them to. Are you using manual or a cycler? How many exchanges per day?
Ginger
Thank you for your answer. My husband is the one that is contemplating PD. I am just trying to picture how much space we will need and what closet or room to clean out. He is not on dialysis yet. He just finished the three day evaluation to see if he qualifies for a transplant. Since waiting periods are so long, it seems very real that he will need dialysis sometime. His gfr is 17 and creatine is 3.4.
I don’t know how to post a picture here but we received 101 boxes for our first delivery. One of the spaces I hope to use was above the hot tub where we’d had a piece of plywood placed. That didn’t work because, understandably, they won’t lift the boxes rather, they use a dolly to set them down on the floor. It’s a lot!
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1 Reaction@jprust We have a small 2 bedroom house. I repositioned my yarn and fabric supplies and am using the closet in the second bedroom for the fluid boxes. Cleared out a shelf on the open-shelf unit and placed 2 drawer units that hold daily supplies like caps, alcohol prep, bandages, etc. Below that is a shelf with backup supplies. Another small shelf unit is in bedroom with the heating bag and additional supplies [extra hand sanitizer, bleach wipes, antiseptic] And in the hall closet are boxes of masks, gloves, syringes. There was no way I could get everything into one space, so we had to get creative, with things tucked into available space. It makes my inventory control each month like a treasure hunt!
BTW, I started my dialysis at eGFR of 14%. As I deal with a blood cancer also, and was feeling so bad, I decided to go ahead and start dialysis since it was a chance it would help me feel better. It did!
Ginger