Im getting my fistula

[BRANDY]

I am to get my fistula on thursday of next week  I already done preop.  Is it reg routine  to have ekg,chest x-ray, and 4 blood work tubes? I wa sreally suprised when they told me I had to do all this.I am going to have access in rt arm  even tho it is my dominate wrist.  Is there anything wrong with wrist verses lower arm . 

[monrein]

Wrist is lower arm Brandy, at least it was in my case.  The cut is at the wrist and the vein develops up the forearm from the point at the wrist where they join the vein and the artery together.
Best of luck with everything. 

[BRANDY]

That sounds better than what she showed me .  the cut is to be put right below hand, not up the arm . is it still thed same as what you said  sure hope so.

[kellyt]

Good luck.   Just slight pain and discomfort for a couple days following surgery.  Nothing Tylenol couldn't take care of.

[BRANDY]

Kelly your shoes of your icon is a funny pic    I am  one of those people   I love the comfort of them  but hate the looks , but I am one of those people that really dont care what people think of my  attire  Comfort before fashion. 

[kellyt]

I own a pair, but don't wear them outside my house.  They do feel good (surprisingly).  If someone hadn't sworn to me they would help with my heal pain I would have never have purchased them.  I also got them in an ugly color AND they are a little too big (men's size).   Yes, I look like a dumbass in them.   

[BRANDY]

dumbass or not I still wear them quite frequently  Mine are brite white. I have alot of feet problems  so I change into several shoes a day,.  Try that with your heel problem, you might be surprised to the diffrence  it makes.

[monrein]

That sounds better than what she showed me .  the cut is to be put right below hand, not up the arm . is it still thed same as what you said  sure hope so.

That sounds right.  Here's a photo of mine.  You see the scar at the wrist and then the long white scar is from needling that fistula for 5 years till transplant.  Never a problem.  It went flat when it clotted off.  When active it was the size of a biggish worm but I never minded it really.  I think my upper arm one is uglier, although in that photo it is new and bruised but not painful.

[kellyt]

Your wrist scar is in a totally different place than mine, Monrein (or so it looks like on the photo).  If you are looking at the inside of your left wrist my scar runs length wise maybe 1/2" to 1" directly below the meaty part of the thumb and is about 2" long.  Looks like a botched suicide attempt!   

[monrein]

I think it depends if they do an end to end join or a side to side join.  Mine was an end to end but you know, some surgeons think they're artistes so I guess they wing it a bit. 

[kellyt]

It's all Greek to me.   

[BRANDY]

Monrein--- thanks for the pic. It helped me seee what it will probably look like later. Visual is better than speaking about something.

[BRANDY]

I got my blood work  my gfr is14% So here I am now no even with matured fistula and am already gettting nausea all day  I cant eat any hing  I haven t eaten supper in 3 days.  i eat brunch and that is it for the day .  i have lost 1 lb in 3 days.  Is this what I am going to do until dialysis and then have  emergency cath ( that in its self scares me)  I dont know what to eat  or not to eat now  Im am absolutly scatterbrained about it . Any suggestions

[Lucinda]

I am down to 5% Brandy and still not on dialysis.  I feel pretty good considering.  Unfortunately the predialysis diet is pretty boring and strict.  Even though we have lived through hearing the reverse, carbs are probably best at this late stage.  My diet is really boring but here goes.  I have the same nearly every day.  Two crackers with low fat cheese for breakfast - even though cheese is really a no-no it does give me a bit of energy. Lunch I have a salad sandwich with lettuce, cucumber and pineapple on white bread and dinner I have pasta with pasley and lemon juice.  Since I have given up all the "bad" heavy foods, the nausea has been under control.  I also take about 10 antacids a day which help enormously.  Also, try not to eat too late and give yourself at least an hour after eating before going to bed.  You will probably be lucky enough to put off the inevitable until your fistula matures.  Not the same for everyone but my function was at 14 percent about 18 months ago.  Good luck with everything.

[BRANDY]

Lucinda-----   Thank you, I will try your meal plan  It really sounds ok   Im sure I will tire of it but if it workd  then great  thank you again  I truly dont know what to do or eat   This is a start.  maybe it will help me stay off of D.

[RichardMEL]

My fistula was created right on the wrist just below the hand. It's weird at first but you soon get used to it - and obsessive about checking for the thrill! I couldn't feel mine for a little bit the other day and had a bit of a freak out but I'm purring again now

I don't recall any EKG's or blood tests or whatever pre-op it was all very boring for mine, but I wouldn't worry. You'll be fine

[paddbear0000]

Brandy, a lot of surgeons want all those tests done to make sure you are healthy enough for the surgery, especially the anesthesia. The EKG checks to make sure your heart is healthy enough and the chest xray checks to make sure you do not have fluid or pneumonia in the lungs for the anesthesia. And the blood work checks a number of organs and systems, like heart, liver, blood cell volume, signs of infection, etc. My surgeon needed to see blood work, EKG and chest xray too.

[iketchum]

My first fistula was at the wrist. The vein and artery were small and made too tight a turn and it clotted off. They tried to open it up but failed after one treatment. They put a second fistula in my upper arm at the elbow. This one is much better and seems to be stronger.