WELCOME TO Don's
Dialysis WebPage
This site is all about dialysis as I understand it.
New er pictures from 2005 See New machines Phoenix
A little about myself
Here is a few pictures from the Dialysis unit I currently go to
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A little about myself I was diagnosed with nephritis when I was 18 years old (I am now 37). I started on hemodialysis when I was 21. I was on the machine for 7 months until my father gave me one of his kidneys. |
| This transplant lasted 7 years finally scarring and chronic rejection took
its toll. I then was back on Dialysis for 3 years waiting on a kidney. I received a
cadaver transplant and again it lasted 7 years. I am currently on hemodialysis at AHDC in St Louis, MO. I started back on in December of 98. |
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I currently go to Dialysis on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 3 1/2
hours per treatment. I don't urinate and this is how I get rid of the waste and fluid that
builds-up in my body. Charles He left to go to another unit closer to his house. |
| Here is Diane talking with a patient | |
| typing in the patients status. blood pressure | |
| Here is what the dialysis Machine look like. The round part is the pump and the cylinder is the dialysis | |
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Here they have put in the first needle. #16, the size of a ball point pen cartridge |
| Here goes the second one IN, thank God for Hail Mary's |
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Here is the blood flowing out my arm, through the machine and back in |
| Upper arm fistula, The surgeon placed a rubber Gore-Tex tube in my arm and hooked it into the artery and vein |  |
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The blood flows through the tubing. the pump pushes against the tube to make it move. |
| Before getting on the machine the nurse weighs the patient to see how much fluid he or she has on. Remember all fluids will stay in a patient until he comes here to have the fluid removed |  |
| I currently go to Dialysis on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 3 1/2
hours per treatment. I don't urinate and this is how I get rid of the waste and fluid that
builds-up in my body. |
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We do alot of sitting, here the patient is watching TV. I usually eat my lunch, watch the 12:00 news and then sleep till 4:00 |
| The Staff keeps pretty busy |  |
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| Restock... | We go through a lot of saline |
| Jennifer left us because her family moved to another state.. | |
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Here they are removing the needles from my arm, gets kind of messy sometimes. I have to hold the stick for about 20 min's before it quits bleeding. |
| Remember Potassium Kills... |
Information on foods I can and can't eat
Potassium Kills
A few things I have to be careful of is; 1.My weight gain between treatments. I am allowed between 6 to 8 lbs. of fluid gain. Any more than that leads to cramping and headaches after dialysis. I keep track of my fluid intake by keeping all my fluid in a measured container in the refrigerator, thus seeing what I have used between treatments 2. My Diet, this is probably the most important subject due to the consequences it could have on me, including bone loss, excess fluid gain and even Death ( from too much Potassium). I have to keep a close eye on what I eat, I can't have tomatoes, cheese, potatoes, most fresh fruit, especially bananas, cantaloupe and oranges to mention a few. Check out my Diet Page for more information (coming soon). Also I have to watch my sodium intake because it will make me retain fluid, most processed food products are very high in sodium added as a flavor enhancer and preservative. My suggestion is to read, read, read labels. Many of the "off name" brands are lower in sodium than the name brands (and cheaper too), I usually cook fresh vegetables and make most of my own foods from scratch.
| Burns62's Home Page | Kidney Transplants | Hemo Dialysis |
For More Information For More Information
| National Kidney Foundation | Eastern Missouri Foundation |
| 30 East 33rd Street | 1 800 638-8299 |
| New York, NY 10016 | 1 800 727-0240 |
| 1-800 622-9010 | 314 961-2828 |
Websites for the Renal Community
| Organizations/Government Agencies | |
| American Nephrology Nurses' Association | www.annanurse.org |
| American Society for Artificial Internal Organs | www.asaio.com |
| American society of Nephrology | www.asn-online.com |
| Center for Disease Control and Prevention | www.cdc.gov |
| Environmental Protection Agency | www.epa.gov |
| Food and Drug Administration | www.fda.gov |
| Health Care Financing Administration | www.hfca.gov |
| National associations for Nephrology Technicians | www.nephroworld.com/nant/asp |
| National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Disease | www.niddk.hih.gov |
| National Kidney foundation | www.kidney.org |
| National Renal Administrators Association | www.nraa.org |
| End Stage forum of Networks | www.esrdnetworks.org |
| Renal Professional Resources | |
| Hypertension, Dialysis and clinical Nephrology | www.medtest.com/hdcm.htm |
| IKidney A service of R&D laboratories,Inc | www.ikidney.com |
| Journal of the American Society of Nephrology | www.wwilkins.com/JASN |
| National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE) | www.nlm.nih/gov |
| Nephrology dialysis Transplantation Journal | www.oup.co.uk/ndt.contents |
| Nephrology Analytical Services Research & Statistical Data | www.nephrology.org |
| Nephron Information Center | www.nephron.com |
| Renal Net | www.renalnet.org |
| Renal Web | www.renalweb.com |
| Dialysis Patient Resources | |
| American Association of Kidney Patients | www.aakp.org |
| Dialysis Finder Travel help for Patients | www.dialysisfinder.com |
| Dialysis Patient's health guide | www.nephron.com/dialvsishg.html |
| IKidney | www.ikidney.com |
| National Kidney foundation | www.kidney.org |
| American Kidney Fund | www.akfinc.org |
| Life Options Rehabilitation Programs | www.lifeoptions.org |
This is a great source of Information
Thanks again for visiting my Web page
Don
Your Lucky #
play it!