Yup. It’s Christmas but the dialysis never stops. Well, the clinic is taking tomorrow off so the next two days get pushed out. My next session is now on Sunday instead of Saturday.
Due to the holidays, several of the dialysis center staff took days off. The tech that normally cannulates me is off for a few days so I thought the other tech would stick me today; they usually are assigned in pairs. However, the “substitute” was another staff member that normally just refilled supplies, such as saline, tubing kit, dialyzer filters, and blankets. He also sets up the dialysis machines for their cleaning cycles between patients. I’ve seen him since my first day at the dialysis center but I’ve never seen him work on a patient.
So, I was a bit surprised when he came over to hook me up to the machine. I was a bit worried at first since most techs have problems getting a clean insertions. He also used the top two insertion points; typically we use the bottom one (closest to wrist). I decided to let him try and it worked out great. He was a bit slower than the other techs but worked very carefully. The insertions did not hurt at all and was fine throughout the entire session. Even when he took out the needles at the end, it didn’t hurt at all. Often I get a weird pain sensation when the needles are pulled out.
However, I still felt like crap at the end of the session. I’m still not getting enough sleep and for me, it’s hard to sleep during dialysis. I also came in heavy again; not sure if it’s fluid or eating more. We only removed 3,000 mL of fluid today though I was about 4.0 kg over last session’s weight. I did get some cramps in my ankles earlier today so I don’t know if my dry weight is set to low now.
Life with chronic diseases 