quick question for u guys

[statesidela]

i have a fistula in my right arm pretty much right on top of my bicept...the people i have seen with a fistula theres look huge like a hose pipe under there arm...mine does not look like that at all in fact you can barly tell i have a fistula..i still feel the thrill in my arm...and i am curious did the surgon do a poor job with mine or is there other factors involved that is stopping mine grow as large as others?

also is it possable to have a fistula reversed i.e put back to the way it was before surgery...not that i would do this cause that is my life line for when i need it again...just curious???

thank fir any info you can give me guys

bren

[Rerun]

Hi Bren, When they showed me someones fistula the first time, I burst into tears.  My god was my arm going to look like Frankenstein's?

Well, a lot of vanity has now left me.  I went through so many fistulagrams and surgeries just to get the little one to work that I am thrilled to have a HOSE under my skin that works.  I don't care one bit that it is ugly and has lumps (aneurysms) because it works.  The techs have no problem sticking it.  No more digging around.  No more infiltrations. No more clotting off.  No more having to go home whiteout dialysis and having to report to surgery the next day.

Pray for a big ugly fistula.  I'm telling you, the big ones work and you will have a better life on dialysis. 

Usually when you get a transplant they quit and I'm not sure if they can reverse them. 

You need to start making up "come backs" for people not on dialysis who say..... "what happened to your arm"?

Things like "I was attacked by a mountain lion"  or something.   

Your fistula is your life line.  Take care of it, and love it like only a Mother could love an ugly child.

Just my   

[statesidela]

hi rerun i am not worried about looks or vanity or nothing i was just wonder why mine has never. developed into the hose pipe...i have had the fistula for almost a year now...i am thinking that its not a good fistula...and when i return to dialysis there gonna tell me to get more surgery....i really want to avoid getting another chest catheter

[boswife]

Hi Bren  , hubby (bo) has had his fistula for 2 years and his is still looking ..well, not very noticeable at all  but yet it is beautiful functioning. . (we are on nxStage and we run the maching slow so that does help as well as me being the only 'sticker'  )  I have seen both types huge, and like his that have done thier jobs beautifuly.  I think you can get a 'fistula gram' to check out its usefulness though to settle your thoughts?   

[Desert Dancer]

My fistula is in my left wrist and unless I point it out, people don't know it's there.

I've been using it for almost a year now and I've never had a single problem with it (knock wood). I don't think it has to look bad to work well.

[Poppylicious]

My Blokey has been using his fistula (it's on his lower arm) for nearly a year now and at a glance even I can't tell it's there ... it's not *that* noticeable, but it does work splendidly well. 

 

[tyefly]

I had mine for two years and using the same two buttonholes...   the only thing that shows are the buttonholes....   looks like some dog bit me..... like a vanpire bite.... 

[willowtreewren]

It's interesting how different all the fistulas are. Carl's is a whopping rope that sits above the contour of his lower arm and runs from his wrist to his elbow. It is still humming along even though he is no longer using it. I just hope it will still be there if he ever needs it again.

Aleta

[sullidog]

I don't have a fistula, but have a graft, no one comments and I don't care if they did.

[statesidela]

ah thanks guys i feel better knowing that i should not need more surgery i was concerned about about this....and also the fact that i may need another dreaded chest catheter....that was one of the worst things to do with dialysis for me i hated that thing with a passion especially the constant tape on my skin was sooo itchy

another related question for you guys if you don't mind

Is there anything i should be doing to ensure that my fistula keeps working for as long as possible while it is not in use?

the surgeon told me not to let them stick me in the same place twice.....but you guys do buttonhole which does sound better to me.....just not sure i could ever stick myself....i need to grow a pair any thoughts on this???

thanks again guys

bren

[kamar55]

the surgeon told me not to let them stick me in the same place twice.....but you guys do buttonhole which does sound better to me.....just not sure i could ever stick myself....i need to grow a pair any thoughts on this???
bren

I had a fistulagram last Sept. and the dr. suggested buttonholing. They tried for several months, but with no success. I recently saw my surgeon who put in my fistula and he was livid about buttonholing. NO! NO! NO! He said it wears out your fistula by sticking the needles in the same place each time. But, I see/hear other patients doing it with great success. Have you asked your nephrologist?

[willowtreewren]

Carl's vascular surgeon was also against buttonholes.

It is hard to know what to do!

Here are some things that we were told to help maintain the fistula:

Try to avoid sleeping on that arm.
Do not carry heavy bags with the strap over that shoulder.
Do not allow the fistula to get sunburned.
Do not wear constricting clothing over the fistula.

Good luck. Carl had his fistula for about a year and a half before he had to use it. 

Aleta

[lmunchkin]

You want to make sure you can feel the "frill".  If not, then you may have underlying issues.  My husbands fistula is like Carls, a beautiful rope from wrist to elbow.  And I do not do buttonholes, I prefer the "ladder" method, but either is fine Im sure!

lmunchkin

[jazzin11]

I had mine for two years and using the same two buttonholes...   the only thing that shows are the buttonholes....   looks like some dog bit me..... like a vanpire bite....

Mine sounds like yours Tyefly, I sometimes reply "You should have seen the size of that snake!"  After the shock wears off I tell them the truth. We have to have some fun, right?

John (jazzin11)

[tbarrett2533]

I  look like an IV drug addict where as someone else may not even have a bug bite mark..... it depends on the person, however I must agree with the above posts........treat your fistula as if it is you lifeline, because in all reality, it is!!!!   

my best come back for when people scream out in horror over the sight of my arm is that, "hey that is what keeps me alive, you don't like it, don't look." then they feel bad and ask me one million questions about dialysis and apologize that I am on dialysis because I am so young!!!! 

[Rerun]

Sorry for going on and on about how you have to learn to like your fistula.  I guess it was more my problem than yours.

Has anyone told you to get a soft ball and squeeze it.  It is supposed to make your fistula mature.  Ask your vascular surgeon about that.