Today's Jim's visit to the dialysis center went ok. His catheter was flushed again. While the draining of fluids went ok, Michelle (his PD nurse) was concerned as to why his draining seemed positional. In other words, it seemed to drain better when he was standing. The drain flow should be the same whether standing or sitting. She wanted Jim to have an x-ray done to see the position of the catheter in his belly. After cleaning his exit site, (and again being told NO SHOWER), we proceeded to Barnes to have an x-ray done. She was right... the tip of the catheter is a little high in his belly. She wants him to take magnesium citrate to see if this cleans out his belly. If this doesn't work, they will have to put a wire inside the catheter and try to maneuver it around. Jim's main concern was having to have the procedure done over, something he doesn't want to do.
His training on manual dialysis starts on Monday. He will do manual exchanges for about 3 weeks before being trained on the cycler (which is done at night). Supplies have started to arrive (where or where to go with them) and his dialysis room (aka Lindsay's bedroom) has been cleaned, sanitized, and dedogged.
Jim is now feeling good and walking around much better. His spirits are still down, but hopefully once the apprehension of this new way of life begins, things will feel more normal. Oh yes...and once he is able to shower again, should make him smile.
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