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During dialysis

Your time is your life—and even those hours spent in the dialysis unit count. Here are some tips put together from my own experiences and by watching other patients:

1. Bring along a portable DVD player and catch up on the films you may have missed. Over the course of a month I caught up series 1, 2 & 3 of Spooks! (You can borrow, buy or rent)
2. Bring your MP3 player with plenty of music loaded onto it – I also listened to talking books using my MP3 player
3. Catch up with your reading. You could even start a lending library in your unit where you can bring books you have already read and take one you haven’t
4. If you find it difficult to concentrate then flicking through magazines or a newspaper may be easier
5. Play an electronic game - there are a variety of games available to suit all ages from Puzzles and Brain Training to Sports and Action. Make sure though you turn the sound down so you don’t disturb patients around you
6. Bring Crosswords, word searches or other puzzle books, or write a letter
7. Write a journal. I once met a patient who had kept a journal from his very first dialysis session (and he had been dialysing for 6 years). He said it helped him focus on the positive if he got rid of any anger or frustration on paper and didn’t carry it round with him. His journal had words, pictures and poems
8. If you like to draw or even colour bring a sketch pad or colouring book and some coloured pencils or markers
9. If your access allows you to use both arms you could work on a hobby like knitting or sewing. I even saw someone tie flies for fishing once!
10. The last thing to remember is that during your session you may go through stages where you are alert, drowsy, distracted and unsettled, so the most important thing is to bring in a variety of things to keep you occupied