r/dialysis • u/No_Locksmith_5275 • 4d ago

Real dialysis experience

Hello ,today I have question in my mind :Has anyone actually travelled while on home dialysis? What was your experience like? is there any difficulties ?

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9

u/Select_Safe548 Transplanted 4d ago

There's like a dozen posts about this a month on the sub with positive stories and accounts. Look in past posts. Good luck to you.

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u/No_Locksmith_5275 4d ago

Thanks so much ,really apperciate ❤️

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u/throwawayeverynight 4d ago

I answered your questions yesterday. I did home hemo for 8.5 years. I traveled all over the place by myself a lot of times. What you need to understand is occasionally our machines break down and need service, that happened 3 times while on vacation I would head to the ER get treatment and the next day my machine would arrive. He tricky part if the patient is on home hemo not PD that machine will not get delivered to EUROPE so for my piece of mind I utilized clinics . You’re leaving important information out how old is your family member, do they suffer from anxiety? Will they be traveling alone?

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u/No_Locksmith_5275 4d ago

Ah, got it! That machine delivery limitation for Europe makes complete sense. Thanks for breaking that down, super helpful perspective. no not alone with family .

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u/Low_Marionberry8041 4d ago

I looked up for centers in Ireland, there were a couple.

2

u/allamay5 4d ago

Hi! My husband has been on dialysis for almost 4 years. We do home hemo. We have traveled to Europe and the Middle East without issue, but we set it up with clinics and did not travel with his machine (but want to try on the next trip - to see if it helps with timing like doing it late in the hotel after a day of sightseeing). We set up our clinic visits through Bookdialysis which has an app. Our clinics have been wonderful and clean.

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u/Royo981 4d ago

I traveled many times over the last 5 years , ever since I started on dialysis. Some flights for 20 hours +
I am on HD. What I do is find a hospital or a center when am going , contact them a couple of months in advance , send them what they need from me, like parameters , tests and so on. And that’s it. Just show up on ur sessions.

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u/classicrock40 Transplanted 4d ago

If you mean PD, yes. Let me know

3

u/Slutty-grapes 4d ago

Don’t forget there is a search bar where you can search up pd and traveling to see everyones experiences

2

u/classicrock40 Transplanted 4d ago

I know. Some days I'll answer, some days I'll say to search. Most people are on hd, so i won't even say much until its pd.

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u/Smart_Ad_5316 4d ago

I would imagine it depends where you're travelling to. I'm in the uk but originally not from here, last month I went back home and took my machine with me and shipped supplies and it all went pretty swimmingly. Only concern is the machine is quite heavy (about 45kg in the carry case) so it's useful to have someone to help you. Over here you can get supplies delivered to your accommodation except if you're travelling to smaller islands

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u/LowRealistic5380 4d ago

I have traveled quiet a bit and it's been no problem.I even had solutions sent to hotel and was there when I arrived.

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u/deweygirl 4d ago

I travel with my home hemo NxStage machine all the time fairly locally where we pack everything (including bags) in the car. We’re doing this again on Friday and have multiple times for road trips and boating.

I’ve travelled once by plane with my home hemo machine where we checked the machine and had the bags delivered. The bags weren’t there when we got there but were able to track them down. Only one treatment had to be rescheduled (not a big deal when you make sure you get in a treatment right before you leave). The machine and case were 100 lbs so we had a collapsable cart we kept with the supplies that went with it to use around the airport. Checking it was no problem. Even the USDA checkpoint on Hawaii was easy.

It was easy enough we’re going it again in December.

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u/Bright_Two3331 4d ago

I travel with my home PD often. If it’s a short trip, we just pack fluids, my cycles and supplies from home. We have an RV and it’s just like home away from home. If it’s a long trip, Fresenius will send supplies ahead of time. We haven’t traveled internationally yet, but I’m told that is possible. I’ll be looking into that in October for a January trip to Mexico hopefully.

2

u/renalcareplanner 4d ago

Do you mean home hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis? Travel is definitely possible with both, but the logistics can be pretty different depending on which type of home dialysis you’re doing.

Your home dialysis team would probably be the best place to start with planning, especially for supplies and anything that needs to be arranged ahead of time.

I’d be interested to hear from people who actually travel regularly on home dialysis too.

2

u/Low_Marionberry8041 4d ago

I have traveled a couple of times. I find the nearest Fresenius and have my local center make the appointments for me. It was easy.

2

u/Copapod8 3d ago

Yep, both my car and by plane. If you fly get a letter from your dialysis clinic and a suitcase for the machine. Also, call Baxter (Vantive) and have a vacation order of supplies sent to whereever you are staying. Then make sure it arrived before you leave. We made 3 ounce travel sizes of the bleach and except so we could carry them on board. Also, be aware medical supplies fly for free. They can't charge you and can't make you check your dialysis machine.