Stressful day for a fistulogram

[Rivy]

Auh, today will be a stressful day for me not that it's been stressful since, I heard I have to go for a awful fistulogram.  My doctor here in Albuquerque's Fresenius Airport Center mention that I'm having a problem with having my creatine go up from 11 to 14.  I really thought it was going down since I was going throught the dialysis. Wrong, it's going up and having to think that there is something seriously wrong with the kidney thing.   So, I have to go for a fistulogram (which I hate.) today at 1:00.  This must be the fourth time already, but the other times It was for an stunoma and now this time it's for the creatine.
     I really didn't know that they did that for that?  I usually get the word if the access flow is low, however the access flow is fine, it's the creatine.  I'm thinking that I have an infection of some sort which I am prone to infection lately.  I already taken a urine culture for the doc to see if there is one, so I'm waiting to hear about that soon.   
   I guess I'm not understanding the whole thing about me doing a fistulogram just for the creatine going up?  I hate doing them . It's just the way they set it up with all the needles and tubes that drives me feeling like I'm beeing tortored. 
    What can I say, I've ranted and raved about it to my techs and nurses at the center that they all have this say, "you have to do it to save your access arm."  but do they really know what one goes through to have one done, plus go to treatment the next day.   
   I'm just worried that it might be putting a stint in my arm at this point and I was so trying to aviod that...  I'll do a lot of holding my breath, and not to think about it to day.  It's going to do a lot for me since I don't have it until 1:00pm instead of the morning where I can get over it quickly.   I am going to ask if I can be sadated for the time being there when they start to insert the dye. 
Thank you for taking the time to read my concern,

Take care,
  Rivy

[2_DallasCowboys]

Rivy,

Can I just say I am very sorry to read that you are going thru all this stress.  Access issues
can be so very hard!   As far as the techs go, it is so true that they can be just a little more
sympathetic to their patients.   No one, including those whose job it is to perform dialyisis, can
know what a great hardship it is, on the person and also their family or loved one.  I think only those
actually going thru kidney failure and their families understand.
I will pray that this issue is taken care of for you and that you will have no further access problems!

Anne

[Rerun]

Creatinine is a metabolic byproduct of your muscles.  It is very small and easy to get out from the kidney machine.
If you creatinine is going up that means you are not getting cleaned very good probably due to not enough blood being cleaned.  The flow may be good but you could be getting a lot of recirculation.  That means the same blood is getting cleaned.  A stint is not bad and may open up the fistula enough for fresh blood to get cleaned.  Yes, ask for sedation if you want.  Best of luck and let us know how it goes.