RichardMel ---STAY AWAY FROM MY WOMEN

[dwcrawford]

Hehehe.... I thought that would get your attention.

But seriously, Richard, in your profile it says they gave you two years before dialysis and you changed doctors.  My delima is last November they gave me 2 years before diallysis and then this April he give me NO time before diallysis.  Should I change doctors or even get a second opinion.  He has me schedule for the surgeon next Wednesday for a fistala and a cateter....(please don't take off points for my spelling.)
It is all base, according to him, on my Creatin (whatever that is) and Bun (ditto) numbers.  Creatin went from 4.2 in January to 5.8 last week... is that bad?

[kristina]

I am sorry to read about your story and I appreciate the position you are in. You say you have a Creatinine of 5.8. May I please ask you if you have any of these symptoms associated with uremia such as scratching, swollen face/ankles, nausea and sickness, no appetite, etc,etc...? Kind regards, Kristina.

[paris]

DW---you are bad!!   I came here all ready to defend RichardMeltMyHeart and assure you that there are plenty of women to go around!       You did get my attention           Sounds like your creatinine is going up and it really is about time to get everything in place.  It seems like you have a good relationship with your doctor and you will have to trust him to decide when the time is right.   Good news is that you are becoming a very informed patient.   

[G-Ma]

He's watching your numbers which is good, at least he is not letting you drag through the dredges of crashing like most of us.  That is not a                      pretty picture if I must say so myself.  My young son used to compliment me..."wow mom, you can walk by the bathroom and vomit at the toilet from 10 feet away and not have to clean up anything...what a mom".....and he was 33...the snot.....that is not what I want on my Rock some day.   Get ready to do what your Dr. says.

[dwcrawford]

To Kristina... I have no outward symptoms other than extreme fatigue....Paris is correct in that I have a good relationship with the doctors but I really don't want to do surgery... it hurts.

[BigSky]

See for yourself what stage you are in and what is recommended.

Here is a tool from Davita that will let you put in  your information and give you what stage you are in and the different stages of failure.

http://www.davita.com/tools/gfr-calculator/#

[dwcrawford]

Interesting... he's always done something on a calcuater and said about a state.. (or percentage).  That says I'm stage 5 (10) which is what he said Tuesday...  I always thought it had other factors than Creatin but I guess not  -- I mean potassium etc. is all good...bp, etc.

[okarol]

dw - you can find out more about what lab tests mean here http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=13394.0

[shelly]

DW that heading definitely got my attention!  I just started dialysis February 2009 and had my 1st fistula surgery last July 2008, it had to be redone in October 2008 and at that time my creatine was between 8 and 9 which is quite high.  The only reason I was able to go so long before starting dialysis was because the only symptoms I had were fatigue.  No swelling, or vomiting involved thank goodness. I was able to hold off until my creatin was 11.55.  I knew then I couldn't hold out any longer I was dragging.  So it really depends on how your body reacts to the toxins and fluid building up in you. If every month you see your levels going a little higher it is time to get things in place.   

[dwcrawford]

mmm I think everybody saw my post except RichardMel.... oh well!  I used that chart that BigSky sent and read the article from okarol.  My number was 10 so maybe I could wait a bit but since it is all planned I'll go ahead.  I think he(doctor) is trying to make it easy for me by starting in the hospital.  He seemed to say part of the reason was the two things  at one time.  Also, I've always had low blood platelets (idiopathic) so they need to watch that.  Once the surgery is done, I'll just lay back and order up all kinds of wonderful food.  Protein?  I've been on low protein so  long I won't know how to act.

[okarol]

Richard is in Australia and might still be asleep - the time in Melbourne is Sun 6:04 AM - right now - according to the World Clock http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

[dwcrawford]

I have all my answer anyway.  Aside from wondering about that, I thought it might be fun to harass Richard.  He seems to take it all very well.

[kristina]

Thanks for replying to my question I really appreciated this. I am in a similar situation and I understand the insecurity. IHD is really good because you get great feed-back and this allows you to get a better picture and makes you fell more confident at this very vulnerable time. good luck, we are all thinking of you. Kind regards, Kristina.

[kitkatz]

Oh boy now I do not know which one to  to DW or Rich.

[G-Ma]

Well, just set a timer and switch off every few hours....   

[kitkatz]

Well, just set a timer and switch off every few hours....   

Now there is a solution.  Naaah! Better stick to  to the man I already have.

[willieandwinnie]

Hey, we could just rotate them since they are in different time zones. 

[okarol]

  

[dwcrawford]

    After all, Richard and I are not just pieces of meat you can throw around like that....   

[Wenchie58]

Who says you aren't?       

[kitkatz]

RichardMEL gave us a very succinct answer about what he would do if the ladies of IHD.com showed up on his doorstep.  What would YOU do?

[dwcrawford]

I know ... he was answering my post... I think he's bluffing.

[Chris]

DW---you are bad!!   I came here all ready to defend RichardMeltMyHeart and assure you that there are plenty of women to go around!       You did get my attention           Sounds like your creatinine is going up and it really is about time to get everything in place.  It seems like you have a good relationship with your doctor and you will have to trust him to decide when the time is right.   Good news is that you are becoming a very informed patient.   

Made you think though didn't it 
Somewhat like the comedian me and kitkatz like, Gabriel Iglesies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIScMJnxBAY

[RichardMEL]

LOL! I nearly fell off my chair when I saw this subject headline pop up!!! LOL. Yes, looks like it started in the "wee" (no, not that sort!) hours for us and although I was woken at 4:50am by a text message (not the phone activity I wanted!) so sorry I did not get this till much later!

On the "hidden" topic here - I was very tired (like you) before I started Dialysis - I had none of those other symptoms.. but frankly I would want to start before I got that bad - do you want to feel like crap all day, nausea, throwing up etc is NOT fun... if your neph says it's time.. then it probably is.. though hey if you want a second opinion there's no problem with that.

Just to clarify my own story a little more.. the first neph I saw said "You have two years" - that is the VERY first thing he said. I can't remember exactly how much further he said after that - we were so shocked at his wonderful patient manner. NOT!!! LOL). So we were never sure if he meant I supposedly had two years to live, two years till Dialysis or what. I mean geez... and hey mate, that was in 1993 so he can stick his two years!!! Of course he just had some labs to go on so who knows... but anyway we ditched him and went to a much better doc who my mother had worked with and he accepted me and well.. yeah I lasted another 13 years which was awesome... but I was probably around GFR 30 or 40 back in 1993(I can't remember) and luckily had a very slow moving form of FSGS which perhaps they didn't realise at the initial diagnosis. Whatever.

As for my response and bluffing or not... oh well (this is for kitkatz) "Vulcans never bluff" 

So I think YOU should answer what you would do if the girls of IHD showed up !!!!  hehehehe

[dwcrawford]

I knew that you have a good sense of humor else I wouldn't have done that.  You are one of my hero's, man.  I am sure it will be, at least, another 13 years, my friend.

As for my response to kitkatz, I know i couldn't top yours.  She'll just have to wonder.  But them I am 68 years old so that should be taken into consideration.  Give me a Break!!!!