Notes

(1) At the end of one of my last afternoon dialysis sessions, the nurse in charge informed me that my high heart rate at the end of the session was an issue.  She explained that that meant that too much liquid was being removed from my body too quickly, and that that was putting unnecessary strain on my cardiovascular system. The remedy is to have longer sessions to lessen the stress.  Fortunately, I did not have to pursue this issue, since I have transferred to nocturnal dialysis sessions, which are much gentler on the system because they are 6-hour sessions.  I have, however, noticed that my heart rate is still high at the end of the session.  I am not going to pursue the issue now, but wanted to note it for future reference.

(2) Paperwork should be brought to patients' attention at the beginning of a session, not at the end.  At the end of a session, all I am thinking about is getting out of that room.  Again, my personal issue with this has been ameliorated by my moving to the nocturnal dialysis shift.  To be honest, the shift is much better controlled.  Some of that is out of the staff's hands, as nocturnal patients are expected to adhere to a somewhat more restrictive and cooperative set of rules, and that makes them an easier group to manage.