My Arm Is Swollen

[Bajanne]

Girlfriend, please know that we are there at the edge with you.  Hope that thing lasts sixty more years!!!  You are very important to us at IHD, Rerun.    You are very important to me

[paris]

You are in good company there on the edge!  I think at any given time you will find several of us there.   I told my daughter tonight that I was tettering and one little push would have me over the edge.    We'll just plan on things getting a little better, fistuala keeps working and you keep posting on IHD ----- because we need you and we love you    

[Joe Paul]

Rerun, I hope your current fistula lasts as long as you want to carry on. Its not hard getting down hearted with this lifestyle. Lots of big hugs coming your way 

[Wattle]

   {{{HUGS}}}  Dialysis and doctors suck Rerun. I am sure everyone would agree. It would be great to be "normal" for a day!

Please just take one day at a time and make the decision when you have too. I hope your fistula can be repaired and the bozos smarten up.   

[twirl]

rerun ------"no shit, Dick Tracy"        I am going to quote you every chance I get ------ good thing I am not teaching high school ------  I could start a new catch phrase-----

[pelagia]

     (do you understand what I am trying to say?!)

[kitkatz]

Rerun I just saw this on another site and thought I would pull it over here.  Have your doctor look into it.

[Rerun]

Thanks Kit I'll copy that and show it to him.

I had my fistulagram on my left arm today to look at the aneurysm.  And he did a vienogram on my right arm to see if there were any veins to work with.

We didn't talk about anything today because he could tell that today was enough trauma for me.

We will talk in a few days.

Then my sister and I went out to a Buffet because I had dialysis last night and again tonight to get the dye out of my system, so FREE EAT ANYTHING YOU WANT day!   

I'll post more when I hear from the Surgeon on my options. 

[Zach]

 FREE EAT ANYTHING YOU WANT day!   

Have yourself a few Ritz crackers with peanut butter!
 

[paris]

Rerun I just saw this on another site and thought I would pull it over here.  Have your doctor look into it.

Kitkatz, thanks for sharing that.    Rerun, enjoy the buffet 

[okarol]

Rerun, everytime I see this thread I remember you selling windows or siding - strutting your stiff - oh man - makes me laff - sorry honey - I hope tomorrow is better.

[Rerun]

The surgeon finally called me.  He originally said he would call me in a couple days..... well maybe he meant a couple of weeks!  It has been 14 days.  So, I told him that I called his office 3 days after my procedure to send him this new technique idea for fistuals (the one Kit posted) and his office girl would NOT let me email the office so that I tried to make an appointment and no one called me back.  I told him "That is why I don't want to continue this.... I'll be damned if I'll call six times to make an appointment".  Yes, I did say that. 

                               

He immediately gave me his email and 3 hours I got a call from the office trying to apologize saying they didn't get a message.

He said there are 2 options for me.  To take a tube and go from my fistula across my chest to to a vein to drain or to start over with my right arm.  I guess he found a vein he could work with.  I told him I would think about it.  I really don't want to go to my right arm. 

I keep thinking that my current fistula is working now......

                       

[Zach]

 

[Stacy Without An E]

My graft finally was done after 13 years of use (I know, I'm amazed too) and I had a fistula placed in my upper arm March 12th.

It looked great, really strong with a very active thrill.  So Monday we decide to start with one 17 gauge needle.  We'd use my catheter for the other line.

Everything was fine for two hours.  Until they removed it.  I held the gauze for about 30 seconds before I had incredible burning pain.  It hadn't burst, but had bled underneath and spread.  Now my upper arm is swollen and we have to wait another four weeks to try again.

Egad.

[paddbear0000]

This is for both Rerun and Stacy! 

[Jill D.]

Hope this gets resolved soon Rerun...and sorry to hear about your fistula Stacy.

[Wattle]

    Hugs Rerun. I know either option sounds like a pain in the       Thinking of you.


    Hugs to you too Stacy.

[Rerun]

The surgeon replied to my email.  I sent him a picture of the HeOR that Kit sent me.

Thanks for the info.   It was FDA approved Jan '08; but the company didn't really ramp up and start selling it until less than a year ago.   I had been following it in the literature, and was waiting for it to become available, because it is a device we can use for some of our patients. 
It is not, unfortunately, a device that we can really use for your left arm (primarily because we cannot cross your chronic occlusion)
I suppose it could be placed in your right arm, but your best option there long term is another transposition.
 
Your choices are either:
1) start constructing a new R brachial-basilic transposition
2) construct an axillary vein-axillary vein prosthetic to drain your left arm and hopefully improve its long term patency, as well as keep your L arm pseudoaneurysms from worsening
3) do nothing.  If you then thrombose, you will definitely be looking at a right neck or femoral catheter
Dr. Joe Davis

[kitkatz]

Well crap. Those are some choices there.

[MandaMe1986]

I am with kitkat those choices suck... Im sorry

[Wattle]

   Crap

Dialysis SUCKS. 

 

[lola]

Rerun I just saw this sorry u have to deal with this crap Girlfriend

[Rerun]

This is what I emailed Dr. Davis....

Dr. Davis,

Will this axillary vein prosthetic be visible; like a tube under my skin across my collarbone?  I'm not vain at all,  but I don't want to look like more of a freak then I do.

Have you done this procedure on others, and if so, can I talk to someone who has one?

Even with my left arm... it has always had problems and Dr. Park (in Sacramento) told me I would have problems because I had bad veins from 22 years of Prednisone.  How would my right arm be any different?  To me it would be even worse because they chose the "good" arm.

I went ahead and had the left arm fistual against my better judgement because my transplanted kidney had not failed yet and it would be a slow death with it still trying to work for me.  I'm just telling you how it is.  Now it would be quick.

I am willing to try anything once.  I have done home hemodialysis, PD, transplant, incenter hemodialysis, and nocturnal dialysis.  I have had probably 4 catheters and countless fistulagrams.  I am not a quitter, but my gosh it comes to a point where I feel guilty for costing the tax payers so much money, and I get tired of contributing to the health care crisis.

Neither option will cure me, and what future do I have in dialysis with no hope for a transplant.  All I can see are more problems. You have to realize there is no break from dialysis.  There is no two weeks off to go to Hawaii and then come back and hit it again.  It is every other night with Saturday night off.  I guess that is not enough for me.

Maybe you could get back to me with a name and phone number of someone who has this axillary vein prosthetic?

I have yet to see Obermiller, so I emailed him today reminding him that if he doesn't visit the center in April he won't get paid by Medicare.  That may set a fire under his ass!

I stopped the nurse last night before he put heparin in the wrong line.  That is just another example of why I'm tired of dialysis. 

I really hope you understand my decision, but maybe we can agree to disagree.  Isn't that politically correct these days?

Thanks,

Darla

[okarol]

Great letter Rerun 

[kitkatz]

Good letter to the doc.  Maybe he will see things your way soon. I am hoping you can work something out soon.