jfwag
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 140
PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2003 7:11 am Post subject: Homehemo getting better...
...One more great article in our favor. Sounds alot like what we talk about here. Anyone of us could write this one.<
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>Developments in home dialysis<
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>By Linda Marsa <
>Health Correspondent <
>Posted March 2 2003 <
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>There's no doubt that dialysis saves the lives of people with advanced kidney disease -- without it, the toxins in their blood would quickly overwhelm their organs and kill them. But it comes with a price.<
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>The lengthy treatments to cleanse the blood must be done three times a week, patients must adhere to strict diets while battling fatigue, and life-threatening medical problems are a constant threat.<
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>It might not have to be this way. Doctors and patients are finding that more frequent dialysis can ameliorate many of the pitfalls experienced with the traditional process to remove toxins from the bloodstream.<
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>About a dozen dialysis centers nationwide now offer daily, at-home hemodialysis to approximately 300 to 400 people. Some patients cleanse their blood during a two- to three-hour session during the day; others prefer to do it while they're sleeping. Both use the same equipment found in dialysis centers.<
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>"This is a way of getting patients back to a more normal lifestyle and improving their health," says Dr. Larry Idroos, chief of nephrology at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, which has just launched a daily, at-home dialysis program. "In the future, as many as 50 percent to 60 percent of dialysis patients would be good candidates for this procedure."<
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>Currently, about 250,000 of the nation's end-stage kidney disease patients have to travel to dialysis centers, where they sit at machines for three to five hours three times a week while their blood is removed, cleansed of toxins, and returned to their bodies. The treatment leaves people feeling drained or ill.<
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>"It's very hard to live a normal life when you're on dialysis," says Richard Snyder, 48, of Trabuco Canyon, Calif. A former engineer who has diabetes, Snyder is starting a home dialysis program to prevent further deterioration in his health.<
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>Because their kidneys no longer flush out fluids, people with end-stage kidney disease can't drink more than 11/2 quarts of liquid a day. Nor can they eat much food with potassium and phosphorous, which their bodies no longer metabolize properly. This can include red meat, nuts, dairy products, and many fruits and vegetables.<
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>Between dialysis sessions, dangerous toxins accumulate in their blood, triggering a cascade of problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, severe pain in joints where calcium collects, and impaired cognitive function.<
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>Patients spend an average of two weeks a year in the hospital for complications related to their kidney failure. Mortality rates are staggeringly high -- half of dialysis patients die within six years.<
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>A 2002 study by Canadian scientists, who have pioneered the use of nocturnal dialysis, has shown that most daily dialysis patients don't need blood pressure drugs, require less of a costly medication for anemia, spend half as much time in the hospital, have fewer treatment-related symptoms, and suffer little of the collateral damage experienced by conventional dialysis patients, such as an enlarged heart, joint calcification or high blood pressure. When all expenses were factored in, the Canadian research found that nocturnal dialysis costs about $7,000 less than conventional treatment, which runs about $70,000 annually. The study involved 75 patients.<
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>Because dialysis is done more often, waste removal is more efficient, eliminating between-treatment "peaks and valleys," and shrinking calcium deposits. <
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>Judy Weintraub of Los Angeles says nocturnal dialysis is "an investment in my future." Weintraub, whose kidneys failed when she was 15 because of a rare genetic disorder, has been on dialysis for 28 years, and had three unsuccessful transplants, mostly recently in 2000.<
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>The 43-year-old former special education teacher switched to nocturnal dialysis in November. First, she had six weeks of training on operating and cleaning the dialysis machine. After she started using the device, she had to learn to sleep tethered to the equipment.<
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>"It was a huge adjustment," says Weintraub, who spends two hours a day setting up, dismantling and disinfecting the machine. But now that her days are free, she says, "I'm looking forward to returning to work full time."<
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>The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Transplants are an option, but because of the lack of donors, only 13,000 transplants are performed each year in the United States, and more than 2,000 people died in 2001 waiting for a kidney. This makes the need for better dialysis methods more urgent.<
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>Daily dialysis isn't for everyone -- at least not yet.<
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>The evidence that daily dialysis is better is largely anecdotal. Critics point out that only the healthiest patients can do daily dialysis, which is why their outcomes are better. Also, some patients, especially the elderly, might be unable to operate the complicated equipment; others may fear undergoing the procedure without supervision. "It takes a highly motivated individual," says Dr. Brent W. Miller, a kidney specialist at Washington University in St. Louis. <
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>The recent development of personal dialysis machines may enable more patients to take over their own treatment. The first to hit the market, the Aksys PHD (personal hemodialysis system), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in March. The computer-operated device takes much less time to set up and dismantle than conventional dialysis machines, and doesn't require an outside water source.<
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>These new machines go for about $40,000, compared with $16,000 for conventional equipment, says Dr. Scott Rasgon, director of the home dialysis program at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. "But a couple of days in the hospital cost a lot more than the machine." <
>Copyright ? 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel <
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Lin
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 337
PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2003 7:25 am Post subject: Super article!
Gee, Hmmm, I think that writer has been monitoring our posts lol My favorite line aily dialysis isn't for everyone -- at least not yet.<
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>I'm so glad "at least not yet" was added! I suspect (hope) that options in providing home hemo improve. I hope the machines become smaller and easier to use so that many more can see the results reported by the members both here and elsewhere, such as the Canadian studies. I'm very curious about the AKSYS machines; have read about them. I'm curious to see how many will have them and how they are working out. It sounds super that they don't need the water tx.. Guess you know where my mind is at lol No DI necessary lol Lin.
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ridgerunner
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 101
PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2003 2:01 pm Post subject: home dialysis
the very sick and us old people need more dialysis than any one. ask martha. at our center we have people on a well, just need a water softner and a simple in line filter. the equipment is now in place and anyone that can use a computer can run a machine. home dialysis was here at the beginning even when they were using a converted maytag washing machine. we do not need any buck rogers rockets or any excuses.
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Lin
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 337
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:22 am Post subject: It's not the same everywhere
Ridgerunner, I have a well, inline filtering system, and a water softener; but am told that is not enough. What do those pts. use for disenfection? Lin.
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Marty
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 160
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2003 3:23 am Post subject: HR 1759
It is now becoming quite common for the results and probablity of home daily or nocturnal dialysis to be talked about. So far from the articles and our own experience it is quite convincing that more dialylsis is better
for patients. I think we all should be behind the support of HR 1759. I believe the ripple affect of paying for more treatments will be the encouragement of better technology and machines to accommodate more patients for doing dialysis at home. Now if we could just get more centers moving in this direction the future dialysis may have a whole new look. I'll will be content when I can go to bed at night knowing if anyone else close to me needs dialysis they will truly have the option of home daily or nocturnal dialysis so they can stay in control of their lives and health. Home dialysis may never reach a point where it is for everyone but I also believe that another ripple affect of this will be patients having a better education. Home patients who talk with in-center patients can answer questions and let them know what to expect and how a treatment should be set up and what to look out for.
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jfwag
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 140
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2003 7:54 am Post subject: Lin...
...I was struck by that same quote myself. Marty as usual, "ditto" to everything you said. To Ridgerunner, the term homehemo is "coming full circle" I see used in articles and lingo with people that I speak with all the time more and more.
