Dialysis travel: planning a trip around treatment days

Search for advice on traveling with dialysis and you'll find the same guidance everywhere: book your treatment six to eight weeks ahead, arrange your supplies, check your insurance, carry your prescription.

All essential. All handled by your care team.

But then there's the other half nobody covers — what you actually do on the days between. That part is left to you, and it turns out to be the harder problem.

What makes it harder than a normal trip

Some days can't move. If you're dialyzing Monday, Wednesday and Friday, those mornings are fixed before anything else is planned. Every other decision has to work around them.

You need to be near the center. A day trip two hours away doesn't work on a treatment day. So it's worth working out which outings fit which days before you book.

Recovery is real. Many people feel worn out after a session, and recovery can take hours, so long journeys right before or after treatment are hard. The National Kidney Foundation's travel tips for kidney patients recommend planning activities realistically so you don't get overtired, and asking for assistance at check-in if you need help boarding a plane or train.

Everyone deserves a real vacation, including the person on treatment. If you're traveling with family or friends, a good plan makes room for treatment and for the things everyone came to do, so nobody spends the trip waiting around.

What actually helps

Block the treatment days first, before choosing a single activity. Everything else bends around them; they don't bend.

Keep those days close to home base. Save the big excursions for the days between.

Plan a real rest after each session. Keep the rest of a treatment day lighter than you think you need to. This is the one people underestimate.

Plan some time apart. While someone is at the clinic, others can do something nearby, with a set time to meet back up.

What we learned planning around treatment days

On one family trip, we put treatment in the mornings so the evenings stayed free for time with everyone. That part worked. What didn't was the afternoon: we planned a hike after a morning treatment, thinking it would be easy, and it was too much. A meal and an hour's nap weren't enough rest after treatment. Now treatment days get a long, real rest and nothing more demanding than a short, easy outing close by. The bigger plans wait for the days in between.

Traveling on home dialysis

If you do peritoneal dialysis (PD) or home hemodialysis, you can often bring treatment with you instead of booking a center. That means planning for supplies, equipment and space.

• Start with your home training nurse. Ask whether to travel with your machine or use a center where you're going, and how far ahead your supply company needs your order. Trips outside the U.S. take much longer to arrange.
• Have supplies shipped ahead. Supply companies can usually deliver to a hotel or rental. Aim for them to arrive a couple of days before you do, ask the hotel about storage fees, and have someone confirm the boxes are there before you leave home.
• Pack a carry-on you can't lose. Keep your medications, a day or two of supplies, and your prescription with you, along with a letter from your doctor saying your equipment is medically necessary.
• Your machine flies free. Airlines treat a dialysis machine as an assistive device, so it doesn't count toward your bag limit or cost extra. A PD cycler may fit in the cabin; a NxStage machine is checked. Call the airline's disability desk ahead of time, and TSA Cares at (855) 787-2227 at least 72 hours before you fly.
• Ask for the right room. Look for a desk or counter near an outlet, room to set up, and a clean, private spot for exchanges. Accessible rooms often have more space.
• Plan the day around treatment. Cycler nights, daytime exchanges and setup time are busy times like any other. Keep the morning after a long night gentle, and leave room to rest.
• Try a short trip first. Many people start with a night or two close to home before a longer trip.

In Restway, mark exchange times or setup time as busy, and the plan works around them.

Traveling for the holidays on dialysis

Holiday travel takes more planning when treatment comes along. Treatment spots fill up early around Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, so the most helpful thing you can do is start early.

Ask about treatment first. Before booking anything else, talk to the social worker or travel coordinator at your dialysis center. They can help find a center near where you're staying and send your records ahead. The National Kidney Foundation suggests starting 6 to 8 weeks before you go, and earlier for the holidays. For Thanksgiving, that means starting in early October.

Stay flexible on dates. Holiday spots are limited. If one week is full, a day earlier or later may open up.

Ask about coverage. Check how your insurance covers treatment away from home, so there are no surprises.

Carry copies. Even if your records are sent ahead, bring copies of recent records, your medication list and your insurance information. Pack extra medication in case of delays.

If you do home dialysis, ask your care team early whether to bring your equipment or arrange treatment at a center where you're going. See Traveling on home dialysis above for supplies, flying and setup.

Build the days around treatment. Once your treatment times are set, plan everything else around them, not the other way around. Leave room to rest afterward, and save bigger outings for the days in between.

Keep travel days light. Long drives and flights are tiring on their own. Try not to plan a big gathering right after a long trip.

Plan for the big meal. Holiday food is often salty and rich. Your dietitian can help you plan ahead so you can enjoy it.

How Restway handles it

You mark the days and times you're busy. We never ask why — a Wednesday morning is a Wednesday morning, whether it's dialysis, a family lunch, or sleeping in. You never have to tell us what a busy time is for.

Then we build the trip around your busy times: nothing scheduled during them, no day trips on the days you need to stay close, slower days mixed in on longer trips, with rest built in, and suggestions for whoever's free while others are tied up — with a time everyone meets back up. You can see one full day free before you pay.

Restway doesn't book treatment or give medical advice. Your dialysis center and care team are your best guides for staying well while you travel.