Home Dialysis

What to Expect from Home Dialysis

The best thing about home dialysis is that you don’t have to interrupt your current responsibilities with work and family. Home dialysis is right for you if you:

• Desire more freedom and control of your life
• Wish to maintain an active lifestyle
• Want to spend more time with your family

And don’t worry, it’s easy to learn if you are motivated and commit to your dialysis regimen. Throughout your home dialysis, you will have tools, training and on-call support.

Training & Support for Home Dialysis

If you and your doctor decide that home dialysis is right for you, you will receive training for you and your partners at home. You will also receive a home dialysis machine or help to get one from a supplier. And you'll receive these supplies to complete the dialysis treatments delivered to your home.

Types of Home Dialysis

Home dialysis treatments include:

Hemodialysis

A benefit of doing hemodialysis at home is that it may allow you to do night treatment while you sleep. And compared with outpatient dialysis treatment, home dialysis has other potential benefits, including:

• Less fatigue
• Improved sleep
• Better control of your blood pressure
• The ability to take less medicine

You may also enjoy a more liberal diet and the involvement of your partner or caregiver with your treatments.

Peritoneal Dialysis

This treatment does require a machine to filter your blood because it filters waste through the lining of your abdomen using gravity.

During continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), the cleansing solution (dialysate) flows through a plastic tube into your abdomen. This draws the waste through the abdominal lining and into the abdomen. After a set time, you then drain the fluid out through the same tube.

You will perform several dialysis sessions each day. Using automated peritoneal dialysis (APD), it may be possible to deliver and remove the solution several times while you sleep using a machine.

Home dialysis is covered by most insurers, Medicaid and Medicare.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Home Dialysis

If you are considering home dialysis, you probably have a lot of questions to ask your doctor. Here are some to get you started:

• Is it difficult to learn how to do home dialysis?
• How is the machine cleaned and maintained?
• What happens if the machine breaks down? Would that be considered an emergency?
• How do I know it’s working?
• Can I still do home dialysis if I live alone?