It had happened before, and in March 2021, Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) became more and more uncomfortable. My prescription for PD was for 7 hours every night. PD is based on placing a catheter in the abdomen and using the peritoneal membrane in the abdomen the same as the filter on a hemodialysis (HD) machine. For the second time in as many years, the process became more and more painful with each treatment. The abdominal discomfort lead to multiple appointments with several Gastroenterologists, radiological studies and another hospital admission. The catheter had to be surgically repositioned but had already damaged my bladder. A Permacath was surgically placed in my left chest as access for HD while my abdomen healed. My hemodialysis schedule was 4 hours Monday-Wednesday-Friday. After 4 weeks of HD, I returned to nightly PD. While dealing with the abdominal issue, frequent foot and leg cramps (attributed to dehydration) was affecting my mobility, sleep and general comfort. One extreme episode resulted in another hospital admission after a call to 911. PD was administered by the dialysis nurses while I was an inpatient. PD is every day. No vacation allowed. The machine is even approved by TSA to travel with me on a plane or cruise ship. Nice.
In March, a colorectal surgeon determined that my abdominal pain was due to a structural problem and performed laparoscopic surgery in May to hopefully fix things. Five weeks post op and I have been cleared to attempt PD again. The “flush” of my catheter yesterday went well. No pain. I would be able to do PD tonight but I have to show the clinic nurses tomorrow that I have not forgotten how to connect myself to the machine that I’ve lived with for four years. I’ve been on HD 109 days today. 47 three and a half hour treatments. Nothing compared to hundreds of nights on PD. How do they think that I could EVER forget how to wash and sanitize my hands, put on a mask, clean the catheter, and plug myself into the machine next to my bed? The machine that has my husband’s middle name because I spend every night with it. The machine has an LED screen that walks you through every single step, not allowing any step to be missed. Perhaps someone thinks that I have lost my ability to read.
Apologies if I sound annoyed. I am. I know that after much prayer and some sleep, I will be fine.
