The wonders of modern technology
 

Rho has been on dialysis now for almost 5 months. And it's been a fit-throwing hell ride at times. Infections, catheter issues, almost a dozen hospitalizations, then a small island of calm for most of April.

But still...traveling by bus down to the dialysis center (about 6 miles or so away) 3 days a week...sitting in a chair for 3 1/2 hours while your blood is cycled through a machine...you're the youngest person there...your travel is restricted...and you're unable to work a full-time job.

But thanks to modern technology, Rho can emulate this process from the comfort of our home over the course of an 8-hour evening. A 40-lb machine allows Rho to do this at home, using a dextrose solution as opposed to draining blood. The only drawbacks so far are that Rho carries an extra 4 lbs. of fluid weight (as the solution sits inside of her for 16 hours a day), she has to be careful of how she sleeps at night, and we have about 40 medium-sized boxes lining a wall of our bedroom--this is one month's worth of supplies.

Well worth it though. Rho is doing fine (although she hates the extra weight), and can finally go back to work. Good thing b/c we need the money. :)

As much as the Commonwealth of PA irritates me at times, I must give them mad props at the moment. They have a special renal patient program, which helped to make this home dialysis machine possible. Therefore, I thank myself and the other PA residents on here who pay taxes. :)

Weird side effect
 

There is one odd side effect to the treatment...not for Rho, but for our apartment.

The dialysis machine is a rather large unit, and I believe it runs on a 220V current. When Rho is plugged up to it at night, it causes the lights in our bathroom to flicker, sorta like a strobe effect. When you're using the bathroom at 3 in the morning, it tends to freak you out a bit. :)

I was concerned that it would eat up a lot of power, but I didn't notice a huge dent in our electric bill last month, so that's a good thing.

Re: Weird side effect
 

Probably the spike of current that the pumps draw during start-up causes a temporary voltage drop. I'm assuming the lights are flourescent? That initial spike is brief enough that it's not noticable in the overall electric bill, though.

I'm guessing that the machine is *not* 220v, unless you've tracked down a special 220v outlet to plug it into; not common in an apartment. It's probably the trying to get as much current as it needs to start at 120v that causes the voltage drop you're seeing in the bathrrom; it's likely on the same 120v branch circuit as the bedroom.. Goofy looking but basically harmless.

Peritoneal dialysis is indeed a modern marvel--as for the taxes, you're welcome. :-)

Re: Re: Weird side effect
 

Nah, just 4 standard incandescents...60 watts each I believe.

You're probably right on that. After posting that, I was thinking that we really wouldn't need a 220V outlet, b/c we don't have to hook up anything major in our apartment, like a large A/C. Our fridge could be on one, but who knows.

These days 220vac is usually for *big* current draws, like electric ranges and clothes driers. Fortunately it uses a different plug....:-)

If the dialysis machine is dimming the lights, you may be close to the capacity of that branch circuit. Keep alert for the possibility of a tripped breaker; if you haven't already, find out where the panel is now before you need to find it in the dark.

Nope...everything is on a "standard" plug, so I'm assuming the entire apt. is 120.

Hmmm...I wonder if it's just the dialysis machine doing it then. The only thing that runs in the bedroom besides the machine is the television, and I know that the bedroom and bathroom are on one circuit (from a power outage the complex had 2 weeks ago).

Hard to say. The PD should have a data plate on it giving the maximum current draw. So should the TV. In this weather we shouldn't need to worry about electric blankets, and I'll assume for the nonce that you don't have a waterbed and hence no WB heater. So that would leave that 10hp vibrator...:-)

The breaker handle for that circuit should have the current rating stamped on it...like "15" or "25".

But *strobing* in an incadescent lamp is really odd...unless the PD machine constantly stops and restarts the pump. Sorry...my PD expert divorced me a few years ago, so I only see her once a week when I do visitiation with my youngest...who starts *high school* in the fall. :-)

Not in this house. :)

It's a 30.

It runs through 5 cycles (pump fluid in, drain fluid out), off and on during the night.