Skip to main content
  1. Careers
  2. Resource Center
  3. About Us
  4. Contact Us
  5. Español
Thrive On
Fresenius Kidney Care
  • PatientHub
  • Community

Find a Dialysis Center

Find a Dialysis Center

Find a Dialysis Center
Permission to detect location was denied Current location could not be determined
    Try a detailed search

    Need help? Call 1-888-373-1470

    1. About Kidney Disease
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease
      3. Kidney Disease Stages
      4. What Is a Nephrologist?
      5. What to Expect with CKD
      6. Kidney Disease Management
      7. Understanding Acute Kidney Injury
      8. How Kidneys Work
      9. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
    2. Treatments
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Dialysis Basics
      3. Benefits of Home Dialysis
      4. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
      5. Home Hemodialysis
      6. Sign up to Talk to a Home Dialysis Expert
      7. In-Center Hemodialysis
      8. Transplant
      9. Insurance & Managing Costs
      10. Choosing Not to Treat
    3. Life On Dialysis
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
      3. Staying Engaged
      4. Staying Healthy
      5. Dialysis Travel Services and Information
      6. Tips for Loved Ones
      7. PatientHub
    4. Recipes & Nutrition
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Recipes
      3. Managing Your Diet
      4. Fluid Management on Dialysis
      5. Dialysis Diet Planning
      6. Cookbooks
    5. Thrive Central
      1. CKD
      2. Dialysis
      3. Diet & Nutrition
      4. Stories
      5. Wellness
      6. See All
    COMMUNITY
    PATIENTHUB
    HOME
    1. I Have Kidney Disease
    2. I’m Preparing For Dialysis
    3. I’m on Dialysis
    1. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
    2. Resource Center
    3. Recipes
    4. Request Patient Travel Services Information
    5. Sign Up for Our Newsletter

    Find a Dialysis Center

    Find a Dialysis Center

    Find a Dialysis Center
    Permission to detect location was denied Current location could not be determined
      Try a detailed search

      Need help? Call 1-888-373-1470

      1. About Us
      2. Contact Us
      3. FAQ
      4. Glossary
      5. Media
      6. Careers
      7. Español

      Need help? Call
      1-888-373-1470

      • facebook
      • twitter
      • youtube
      1. About Kidney Disease
        1. Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease
          1. Symptoms
          2. Risk Factors
          3. Causes
          4. Diagnosis and Testing
          5. GFR Calculator
        2. Kidney Disease Stages
          1. Stage 1
          2. Stage 2
          3. Stage 3
          4. Stage 4
          5. Stage 5
        3. What Is a Nephrologist?
        4. What to Expect with CKD
        5. Kidney Disease Management
          1. Kidney Diet Basics
          2. CKD Medications
          3. Your Kidney Care Team
          4. Diabetes
          5. High Blood Pressure
        6. Understanding Acute Kidney Injury
          1. Acute Kidney Injury Treatment and Recovery
        7. How Kidneys Work
        8. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
      2. Treatments
        1. Dialysis Basics
          1. How Does a Hemodialysis Machine Work
          2. Starting Dialysis
          3. Types of Dialysis Access
          4. Your Care Plan
          5. Dialysis Medications
          6. Monitoring Your Lab Results
        2. Benefits of Home Dialysis
        3. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
          1. What to Expect
          2. Getting Prepared
          3. PD Access
          4. PD Training
          5. PD Monitoring
          6. Your Care Team
        4. Home Hemodialysis
          1. What to Expect
          2. Getting Prepared
          3. HD Training
          4. HD Monitoring
          5. Your Care Team
        5. Sign up to Talk to a Home Dialysis Expert
        6. In-Center Hemodialysis
          1. In-Center Treatment Options
          2. What to Expect
          3. Types of Vascular Access for Hemodialysis
          4. Your Care Team
          5. How to Choose a Center
        7. Transplant
          1. Finding a Kidney Donor
          2. Considering Kidney Donation
        8. Insurance & Managing Costs
          1. Understanding Medicare Coverage
          2. Understanding Medicare Advantage
          3. Understanding Employer Plans
        9. Choosing Not to Treat
      3. Life On Dialysis
        1. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
          1. Managing Your Emotions
          2. Talking About Dialysis
          3. Intimacy
          4. Body Image and Dialysis
          5. Building Your Dialysis Support Network
        2. Staying Engaged
          1. Tips for Working While on Dialysis
          2. In-Center Activities
          3. Hobbies
        3. Staying Healthy
          1. Managing Your Time on Dialysis
          2. Dialysis & Exercise
          3. Weight Management
          4. Avoiding Infection
          5. Managing Multiple Conditions
          6. Fighting the Flu
        4. Dialysis Travel Services and Information
        5. Tips for Loved Ones
          1. In-Center Hemodialysis
          2. At-Home Hemodialysis
          3. At-Home Peritoneal Dialysis
        6. PatientHub
      4. Recipes & Nutrition
        1. Recipes
        2. Managing Your Diet
          1. Eating Well on a CKD Diet
          2. Eating Well on a Dialysis Diet
          3. Salt and Kidney Disease
          4. Potassium and Kidney Disease
          5. Phosphorus and Kidney Disease
          6. Talking With Your Dietitian
        3. Fluid Management on Dialysis
        4. Dialysis Diet Planning
          1. Kidney-Friendly Shopping
          2. Eating Out
          3. Holiday Diet Tips
          4. A Chef’s Advice | Chef Aaron McCargo on Kidney Friendly Meals
        5. Cookbooks
      5. Thrive Central
        1. CKD
        2. Dialysis
        3. Diet & Nutrition
        4. Stories
        5. Wellness
        6. See All
      1. Home
      2. Thrive Central
      3. Stories
      4. New to Kidney Disease—Rob Starts Peritoneal Dialysis
      Share:

      Rob’s Kidney Disease Journey Continues—Exploring Options and Starting Peritoneal Dialysis

      Rob Barge and spouse
      In February 2020, Rob Barge entered a world of health and lifestyle changes, without much warning. A visit to the emergency room in the middle of the night revealed he had both kidney and heart failure. Since then, he’s had multiple surgeries, dozens of doctor’s visits, and started dialysis to treat end stage renal disease (ESRD). Last year, Rob shared his experiences as a person brand new to dialysis. This is part 2 of Rob’s story.

      Therapy Choices—Rob Learns About Peritoneal Dialysis

      While in-center hemodialysis (HD) helped Rob feel better, he wanted to explore every therapy option to ensure he was making the best choice for his health, his family, and his life.

      “Someone mentioned peritoneal dialysis (PD) as a possibility for down the road,” says Rob, remembering his early days in-center. “Once I heard there was an option that lets you do dialysis at home, and it’s a gentler form of treatment, I was pushing to be on PD from the get-go.”

      A heart condition meant Rob needed approval from his doctors to begin PD, and as soon as he was cleared, he started training. “I told my training nurse Deb, ‘Watch out because I’m going to be the most curious patient you’ve ever had, and there’s a reason for that. My goal is to be your best PD patient, so I want to learn everything I can.’”

      Rob says his training was thorough, covering cycler use, loading cartridges, using dialysate fluid, sterile set-up practices, handling alarms, spotting signs of infection, and much more. After a few weeks, Deb visited the Barge household to help Rob and his wife Trisha get set up at home. Among other tips, she showed them where to place the cycler for maximum mobility during dialysis and helped them figure out the best spot to store supplies.

      “We carved out a place to put the boxes,” says Rob. “Now when I get my delivery every 2 weeks, I know exactly where everything is going. So yeah, we’ve got a good handle on that.”

      Bringing Therapy Home—A Little Scared, A lot of Success

      Even though he was confident in his training, at first the idea of doing treatments at home made Rob a bit nervous. He jokingly compares the feeling to coming home from the hospital with a new baby. “All of a sudden, it’s time to start doing things on your own, and you’re thinking ‘I don’t remember anything!’” he says with a laugh.

      Despite the jitters, Rob and Trisha (who was there for much of Rob’s training) worked together to recall all they had learned, and he completed his first treatment without a problem. Now, months later, PD has become routine. If he has any issues with his PD cycler, which is rare, Rob has learned to count on Fresenius Kidney Care nursing and technical support, both of which are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

      “Usually, you can troubleshoot things pretty easily because the cycler tells you what to do right there on the screen,” says Rob. “But there was one time the alarm kept going off, and we couldn’t resolve it. I called tech support and they walked me through it step by step. We sorted it out, and I was able to continue PD and get it done that night.”

      Rob says he has more energy on PD and feels healthier than at any other point since his chronic kidney disease (CKD) diagnosis. In addition, the freedom to do his treatments while he sleeps helps him keep a consistent schedule at work and home. “Because I’m self-employed, I had to keep working,” says the 57-year-old graphic designer. “It was tough to stop what I was doing at work and head to the center every other day. Also, one of my treatment days was Saturday, so HD would sometimes disrupt our family plans. With PD I have the option of doing it when it works best for me.”

      Always Looking Forward—Taking Steps Toward Transplantation

      Although he appreciates the benefits PD offers, Rob has continued learning about his choices for ESRD therapy and is in the process of getting on the transplant list, with help from his care team at Fresenius Kidney Care Opelika. He’s had transplant evaluations at hospitals in Alabama and Atlanta, and a growing list of friends and family have offered to be tested as potential donors.

      For now, heart valve issues are putting transplant plans on hold, but Rob is confident that a new kidney is in his future. In the meantime, he is focusing on a specific word and practice—patience.

      “Getting a transplant is going to be a process,” says Rob. “It’s going to take time, so I’m trying to be patient. I think that would be my advice for anyone going through dialysis and thinking about changing treatments. Pursue what’s best for you but be patient with yourself and with everybody else involved.”

      Keep an eye on Thrive Central in the coming months to find out more about Rob and his continuing journey with ESRD.

      Suggested topics


      heart

      Understanding the Relationship Between Heart Failure and Kidney Disease

      Your kidneys and heart work together to keep you healthy and feeling your best. When one is impacted, it affects the other. If you are living with heart failure, you may be at risk
      Read more
      Sandra Metzger

      Freedom to Do What She Loves on Peritoneal Dialysis

      Sandra Metzger isn’t the type to let kidney disease stop her from doing anything. “If I do get down, I get right back up,” she says....

      Read more
      donate-life-mainicon-tile

      Kidney Transplant Waitlist

      For many of the millions of people living with kidney failure, a kidney transplant is considered the most ideal and desirable treatment option. However, transplantation is a process...

      Read More
      Back to Top
      1. About Us
      2. Español
      1. FAQ
      2. Resource Center
      3. Contact Us
      4. Glossary
      5. Media
      6. Careers
      1. Website Privacy Policy
      2. Terms of Use
      3. Site Map
      4. HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
      5. FreseniusKidneyCare.com Web Accessibility Statement
      6. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Data
      7. Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information
      • facebook
      • youtube
      • twitter
      • pinterest
      © 2016-2022 Fresenius Medical Care. All Rights Reserved.