I have been on Peritoneal Dialysis, supported by the Fresenius Medical Team in Granbury, Texas, for approaching four months. In this blog, I intend to share my experiences, good and not-so-good, thus far.
First, the Good:
- I feel great most of the time but get tired toward the day’s end. I am 84 years old, so what? I don’t nap at all. I can still take care of the necessary yard work on our half-acre chunk of paradise and stay up with necessary house repairs, more or less.
- I have established a routine for dialysis-related requirements that is effective, efficient, safe, and satisfactory. It includes the Navy Seal credo “Make your bed.”
- I can’t overstate the satisfaction of having a routine for taking down, setting up, and using the Peritoneal Dialysis System. In truth, it has become part of my daily life and, by extension, my very existence. Not only is PD keeping me alive, but it is also the reason I’m alive, and as such, is deserving of my full attention. It is not a burden or a crutch but a central component of my life. There is no me without dialysis. We are the same.
- Fresenius and Fresenius Team Support are central to my current successful PD. Supply ordering at first seemed to be obtuse but proved to be straightforward. I use the app for ordering. Supplies have always been delivered within the stated window and stowed where we desired. Team meetings occurred as scheduled, and a team member professionally dispelled all my questions and concerns.
The Not-So-Good:
- The’s lots of “stuff” to keep in mind with PD. Supplies, the status of, do you have all the expendables you need – tape, gauze, germicidal crème, etc.?
- The Cycler throws excessive amounts of errors during the Drain Cycle in particular. Last night, for instance, I had to get up during the first three drain events and stand up to complete the drain cycle for about 10 minutes each, resulting in about half an hour of lost sleep. Drain problems take place on about 8 out of 10 nights. I can’t wait to see how much the new VersiPD improves in this area.
The Ugly:
- I am on a fixed four-cycle of two-hour duration each night. What on the surface would appear to be eight hours of dialysis neglects drain times. On average, the PD process for me takes about 10 hours and thirty minutes. The longest is 10 hrs 55 minutes; the shortest is 10 hrs 13 minutes. Not included are setup and tear down times, handling of necessary components, added time to shower because of catheter requirements, and other necessities. When you add all the time requirements, half your day is involved in PD. PD requires a fixed block of time. If you stay up to watch an NFL game, you pay for it on the other side by remaining hooked up to the Cycler later in the morning. There is no way around it. Half your life is devoted to Peritoneal Dialysis in one form or another.
- At the start of our dialysis journey, unknowns bugged us. (By us, I mean my wife and me.) We watched YouTube videos on using the Liberty Cycler and had that down before requiring PD, to the degree that I accomplished two weeks of training in four days. The most critical question in our minds, mirrored in Fresenius-sponsored Forums, is how we would deal with all the supplies required to support PD. I have previously blogged on how we deal with this aspect of PD; for us, it’s no big deal.
- One of the problems often listed in Forums is the weight of the solutions boxes, the new boxes not having handles like the old ones, and so forth. Yes, the boxes are heavy and difficult to move around easily. I understand how some people regardless of age could find this effort to be challenging, especially when accompanied by the frailty of old age. But should people be denied PD based solely on this? I don’t think so. On a bag-to-bag basis, rather than a box basis, I think most people could cope. An organization such as I use wherein supplies are moved from bulk storage to ready storage next to my Cycler would help I’m certain. Maybe Fresenius could offer this service as part of their package.
- erectile dysfunction (ED) is very common in men on dialysis—as is sexual dysfunction (difficulty with arousal or orgasm) for women undergoing treatment. I can attest to this from a male perspective.
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