Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) at home

This is the main type of dialysis we offer for patients who want treatment at home. It is a different way for you to do your dialysis.

PD uses the lining of your tummy, to clean your blood. There are no needles. A special fluid goes into your abdomen and then drains out. This fluid exchange helps to clean your blood. We will need to place a tube into your abdomen so you can do this treatment at home.

There are two types of PD. You can choose what is best for you and your lifestyle:

With CAPD:

You do the fluid exchange yourself at home in a clean, well-lit area.
Each time you do a fluid exchange it takes about 20–30 minutes. You will need to do this four times a day.
The fluid stays in your tummy for about 4 hours to clean your blood.
You can do your normal activities between the fluid exchanges.
At night, you do one last exchange before bed, and that fluid stays until morning.

CAPD pic 1.jpg CAPD pic2.jpg

With APD:

A machine does the exchanges for you while you sleep.
Treatment lasts about 8 hours overnight.
The machine fills your belly with fluid. It then waits about 1 hour 20 minutes (called dwell time), then drains it and repeats.

APD Automated Peritoneal dialysis.jpg

We will teach you how to manage your own treatment with PD.

You will need to learn how to perform your PD dialysis. It is a good idea for another family member or carer to learn this too.

We will train you at home, or when you come into one of our centres for your dialysis. We can also offer you a full day of intensive training. This will be in Manchester and we will pay for you to attend this.

We want to make sure you are confident and know what to do before we set up PD dialysis.

We will visit your home to explain your treatment and check you have enough space.

You will need to take laxatives so that you do not get constipation. If you do get constipated, your treatment may not work. If you take laxatives as advised it will help keep your treatment working well.

We will ask you to collect urine for 24 hours. We will also check some fluid from your overnight bag, and a blood sample. This is an adequacy test. It checks if your dialysis is working well.

We may also do a PET test. This involves collecting fluid from your belly over 4 hours. It helps make sure your treatment plan is right for you.

Do not worry, we have a special team to support you at home. They are at the end of the phone 24/7 if you run into any problems. We will make sure you know how to fix any problems before you start home dialysis.