Pd not working since they put it in

[7piglets]

Hi I am new (and did intro myself in the introduction section )
My question is I have a pd cath that has not worked since day dr put it in. He said in o/r he thought since I was clotting alot that it was just blood clots but a month + more and it is still not working. He wants to have gen surgeon go in through my stomach and see if something is going on .I did have Ct scan of abdomen which showed it was fine and had a test where they put contrast into the catheter and took pic which he said looked fine (except the radiologist told me it was sitting to high)
Is there any other way to fix this other than having my stomach cut...?? Anyone go through simliar? I read some drs can put wire through catheter and fix it that way and that is just under local (which of course I would prefer_
Or I was thinking take it out and restart at least that too is not major surgery..
Now other question is they did CT of abdomen which was fine but showed sev swollen lymph nodes in pelvis and more imptly a mass in my lung...Anyone told they had mass but turned out to be fluid?? (GOd willing that is what it is )
thanks no matter what for your help

[Red from Canada]

Hi 7 Piglets,  I have a catheter that just quit working after almost one year.  The plan is to go in laparoscopicly(tiny cut in abdomen and reposition or maybe take out omentum which could be blocking it.  I had 3 weeks of severe coughing with a bout of brochitis and I think something moved.  They say they can fix it that way.  The wire thing is not often too successful.  Good luck with the other and take care.

[KT0930]

7Piglets, when I did PD, I had pain during filling, and my neph mentioned trying to move it using a guidewire. An x-ray and CT both showed the position as "perfect", so nothing ever came of it, but just so you know, other docs have mentioned the guidewire thing as well.

Maybe the swollen lymph nodes are constricting the end of the cath somehow? Will anything go in through the cath? How about come out? Which doesn't seem to working, or is it both? Hope the mass in your lung is nothing serious. 

[7piglets]

Hi thanks again for the info..
As for the catheter when he placed it in during the o/r he tried to fill which some did go in but he couldnt drain. .He said he thought it was a blood clot so put in heparin and away I went
When I went to pd nurse she tried to fill which very little went in ..then she sqeezed the bag and I saw stars..I started to sweat from the pain (and I have a very high pain tolerence) but she tried to fill again nothing. She then tried to put in manually with syringe and it went in ..But still nothin at all came out ..even when she tried with syringe and she pulled back on it nothing. They ordered a test where they put contrast type dye in the catheter to take a pic which dr put in and it went in..
I am getting frustrated because I just want it to work so I can start already and dr doesn't seem urgent to get this fixed. Now he wants a surgeon to go in to stomach and check catheter I just dont feel comfortable with that at all and he seems upset I am not agreeing with him but there has to be other optons....right

[KICKSTART]

Firstly the 'shadow' on your lungs is more than likely fluid , i have had this as well. As for the catheter , strange it isnt working. Mine is not and never has been in its correct position but does work. The guide wire option was suggested to me , but its pretty useless i was told , also a 'large' dose of laxatives ..lol as if your bowels are quite full it holds your catheter up high !. Benn interesting to know your solution and whats causing your problems , keep us updated 

[7piglets]

kickstart..thank you you made my day (not wishing the fluid in your lungs but that it was there LOL) I have been to so many sites..FOr the cancer, for the pd and kidney failure I even posted on lung cancer sites to see if anyone had similiar exp..So it at least gave me hope to know you did have similiar.
Only concern is dr stated mass not shadow but again they didnt use contrast so hoping that makes a difference.
As for the catheter ..they are saying it is in place .(Although when I had the contrast put in and the reading down the radiologist said it was sitting too high) I asked my dr and he said no it is fine ..arghh I just wish I could get staight answers.
They did have me take go lightly (sp?) before the CT but I couldnt take the whole thing it made me so sick ..
the other time they had me take doucolax (again sorry I am horrible with spelling sp?) right before the xray thing with contrast  and I then went to pd nurse after ..That is when a little more went in but nothing came out ..
IF too much info sorry ..but since surgery I have been totally constipated ..so wondering if maybe I just not having enough laxatives prior?? But then again before surguery they had me take 2 doucolax's and not eat dinner night before so if the catheter should have at least worked in o/r right Sorry I am still learning and pretty much not sure what is going on

[KICKSTART]

Dont worry we all have to learn ..ask away! The mass on your lungs might have just been his wording and the fact he said its probably fluid and not something else is probably right , fluid does get on your lungs. Right laxatives are really important , many of us get constipated and you need to stop this happening. Usually a regular laxative or regular dose is not enough. I am in the  and the laxative i was given to try and bring my catheter down into place was so strong you cant buy it over the counter. Now for the details ..lol  i took it a 8am by 12am i was in the toilet and couldnt move very far away from it till around 6pm ..lol it was so powerfull. My catheter is stuck under my last rib ..yes! and its always worked pefectly , but no one knows how ..lol  the reason they tried to move it was because i had pain in my side all the time, it ws my catheter digging in ..now i just live with it ! Before any starts to mess with you , i would ask/try a really strong laxative , like i say it can be enough to stop things working properly. You will probably find you need laxatives now on a regular basis , but not always the really super strong ones. Hope this info helps you ..

[KT0930]

You mentioned that in the OR, the surgeon tried heparin because he thought it could be a blood clot. Has that been tried again? Sometimes fibrin (strings of protein that are normally present in the peritoneal cavity but can get in the way in PD) can get caught on the end of the catheter, and this could cause fluid to not flow into or out of the catheter very effectively.

[7piglets]

KT0930..yes they put heparin in the o/r I cant remember about any other time I think they might have tried by pd nurse but that was when we couldnt get any fluids in .Last time they tried about 2wks there was small grey flotter like thing in the tube that scared me and was told it is just old blood..I think I am going to self diagnos prior to agreeing to any surgery and take tons of laxative for a week and make an appt with pd nurse to try again and see what happens. I am not on any restricted diet just watch potassium.. but last few months have not been eating like I use to maybe that is cause for everyihing. who knows ..

kickstart ...I was hoping it was worded wrong but have been told when they say mass it is most likely that a mass ..God willing it isnt but as you see it is late and I am up still so you know which way my mind is playing this out. I tried to look up every possible scenerio with no luck. I am hoping the no contrast played a part and that it was a CT of abdomen which happened to pick up lung that it was caught with so my prayers are heading to fluid but due to angle it was read as mass..
arghhhhh I dont know what do it!! I hate the unknown I wish I could just beat the asnwers out of the drs and have them call me right now LOL

[Psim]

Waiting is so hard. My prayers are with you.

[Laurie]

7piglets, I had the procedure with the guidewire through the catheter, it was not bad, no pain, but for me, it did not work. Luckily for me, I started draining without needing surgery. The next step was gonna be to go in through my stomach and see what was wrong. The surgeon did mention that sometimes the catheter will get hung in the omentum which is a fatty piece that hangs down from the peritoneum and they have to go in and cut some of that out.
I hope this helps a little and I hope they get it figured out.