I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: Phil on October 04, 2010, 02:42:10 AM
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I have a fistula on my right arm, and over the last few weeks i've noticed that i get pins & needles in my left arm...anyone else get this? I figured that the increased bp in my fistula arm may have something to do with it...
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How long have you had the fistula? Any numbness or discoloration?
Steal syndrome is when the blood supply is rerouted (hence the name steal) away from where it used to go, and can cause this sometimes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vascular_access_steal_syndrome
I just got my fistula last wednesday and today bought a cheapo $10 stethoscope at the local mom n pop pharmacy. I thought it might be junk and would wind up getting a Littmann online later but surprisingly it works quite well! I can hear the bruit just fine with it. Nice wooosh woosh sound. I recommend anyone with a fistula get a stethoscope if you haven't already.
CVS didn't have any stethoscopes. They had telescopes, children's toys, and even floor standing home theater speakers but no stethoscopes. Go figure.
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The right arm fistula shouldn't really be affecting the left arm. Maybe nerve damage? Something pinched from those miserable over-tight bp cuffs they use at the D center seems more likely to me than a sudden problem with a fistula in the other arm. Or from constantly trying to sleep on the off-fistula side, perhaps. Some meds can have those kind of side effects as well. Also, if you have a calcium build up started, it too could be pressing on a nerve.
Just a few thoughts, anyhow...