| Author | Subject: Re: Access Options |
| Beth Witten | Posted At 15:51:32 02/01/2002 Depending on where people plan to go, whether they're traveling by car or public transportation, availability of space and electricity at the destination, etc. some people choose to take the PD cycler with them while others choose to do daily exchanges manually (CAPD). It is usually easier to arrange for PD supply delivery or to take supplies with you for peritoneal dialysis than it is to arrange to do hemodialysis in a center. A few centers in tourist areas seem to cater to traveling dialysis patients, but most have limited space making it necessary for people to plan at least 1-3 months ahead and require them to be flexible on days and times of dialysis. Ask your dialysis clinic, your local National Kidney Foundation affiliate (www.kidney.org), or your local American Association of Kidney Patients chapter (www.aakp.org) if there is someone you can talk with who uses the cycler. The NKF has People Like Us, Live! classes for people in some NKF affiliates to help people approaching kidney failure understand their options. If you have an opportunity to talk with someone on the cycler, ask about how to set it up, what it feels like to dialyze using it, whether their sleep (or their spouse's sleep) has been disturbed, how they travel, etc. People on a particular treatment are great resources and generally enjoy doing what they can to help new people. |