Peritoneal Dialysis
Peritoneal Dialysis is an alternative to Hemodialysis. To do Peritoneal Dialysis you need to get a catheter placed in your tummy, in the Peritoneal cavity. The tube stays in at all times. It's not as bad as it sounds. I tape to my skin and it is hidden.
You have to be very careful on the cleanliness and upkeep of the exit site. You don't want to get an infection. Usually the infection is peritonitis. A person can die of peritonitis. But if you just take a little time for yourself and your up keep there are no problems.
I do PD 4 times a day. To do this I set up a table in a room that isn't used much. There can be no air movements so I shut the window and make sure the ceiling fan is off. I wear a mask during my connection procedure or my unhooking. I also wash my hands in hot water with an antibacterial soap before starting. I soak the medicine port on the dianeal bag for 5 minutes with Betadine, along with the top of my insulin bottle.While soaking, I do an assessment of myself, I take my blood pressure, weight, BG level and my tempature. All these assessments tell me what strength of solution I need. I have 2.5 %, 1.25%, and 4.25%. The solution I am using is kept in a heating pad so it will be warm in my stomach. Then I put the required amount of insulin in a syringe and put it in my bag of dianeal solution. I clamp the bag and hook up the drain bag and the dianeal solution to a Y-set. Then I open both the dianeal bag and the drain bag at the same time to let the air out and then clamp the dianeal bag. I drain, which takes 10-20 minutes. I usually cramp a little when empty so I know to shut it off and start to fill again. Filling takes 15-25 minutes.
My son has fixed up my IV poll with cardboard so I can walk anywhere while doing this. Usually I sit at the computer while doing exchanges. I have gone to the beach and done them in the car. I warmed the solution in the window, boy does the sun do a great job. I then moved my visors to the side and used the little hooks for my IV pole. I did wipe the dash with alcohol before I started and had the windows up.
PD is great! I'd recommend it to anyone with a life.I have a wonderful nurse and friend. Her name is Lisa Hotchkiss. How she keeps up with her baby, Megan and me and other patients, I'll never know but am grateful.
