A is for Appetite

Rachael M, here.  I love Rachel's idea for alphabet posts!  Starting off with A today.

Appetite.

When I first started PD, I did manual exchanges at home every day.  Four times a day.  I almost always had about 1500 to 2000 ml of solution in my gut at any given time.  Rarely did I want to eat.

I started manipulating my fills a bit when I figured it out.  Having a full bag on board was making me feel like I had just eaten Thanksgiving dinner.  All day long.  So, for my afternoon exchange, I would cut it down to 1000 ml of solution and I got my appetite back.

Now that I am using the cycler, I get pretty intense exchanges overnight and can go light during the day.  I usually have about 750 ml in me during the day.  And my appetite is good.

Maybe TOO good.

But it's the holiday season.  So, yeah, I'm eating some bad, bad goodies.

Ah well.  I'm happy to be hungry!

Having a low fill volume during the day has allowed me to have a fairly normal eating schedule again.  Walking around all day with a completely full belly can be quite uncomfortable.   One more reason I'm happy about the cycler.  Not only does it take care of the dialysis at night, but I can adjust what I'm carrying during the day.

So, that's A.  I think I know what B will be.  Gotta follow Rachel's lead and talk about Baxter.

Until next time!