advise needed

[babycake]

i have a question to ask
about chest caf
i most likey will be getting
one soon which i dont want
for i have a fistula but i have
a anirisum (how ever you spell it)
so they want to put in a graph
my older sister keeps saying
i will need to be at my mom
for a week after i have the graph put in
which i know i dont need to
but that is what she is insisting that i go and stay
with my mom
i have appt with my fistula doc this week
and im sure he will say i dont need to be
at my moms
what do u all think . of this

by the way
i have a button hole
which the doc doesnt advise
to use for it can cause infections
and he doesnt like the idea
for the sharp to be used in the area
of the anarisum
which a tech has used the sharps in
that area several times in the past before

now  if i question
the doc or the nurse
at the center
about what if they
just quit using
the button holes all together
and just use the sharps
can i avoid by getting the caf
that i dont want

[Rerun]

The "cath or catheter" in your chest is an outpatient procedure and you will be sore for awhile but it can be used immediately.  A graft is a different thing.  It usually has to heal before you use it and it is not in your chest.  It would be either another arm or leg.  That surgery you may need some help for a couple of days.

   

[babycake]

there is a guy
at my center
that just got a graft
and he was able to use
it right away
and he didnt have to
have a chest caft

so whats the difference
but yet i was told
he still has kidney function

[Alex C.]

A graft is when they put an artificial piece of vein into your arm. It's large and unsightly, but can be used immediately. It is also considered only temporary, since after it has been 'stuck' a certain number of times, it will need to be removed or replaced. It is considered a 'second best' alternative to a fistula. You can not do buttonholes with a graft. You must find a new entry point each canulation. These used to be more common (my mom had one at first), but are considered less than ideal today. For some people, it might be the best choice, but not for most.

[babycake]

yes
but you didnt answer
my question

what is the difference
 as of why that patient
didnt get a chest caf
and they were stating
it to me

i also know
it can be used for a temp
for my son had one
for he was nearly
on his death bed
when we found out how sick
he was....

by the way
he got his kidney
last month

[noahvale]

*
 

[angroid]

Hi Babycake, what is your GFR and do you have any bad symptoms? Can you just get another fistula elsewhere?

angroid

[babycake]

now tell me what is GFR
and no im not having
any form of symptoms
and if so what would
they be
why would i need another fistula else where
sense the one i have has been good so far
for 10yrs
they only want to quit using it all together
to avoid the annaurism (however you spell it)

[KarenInWA]

How do you get to the point of dialysis for years and not know what GFR is??? GFR is glomural filtration rate, which basically tells you the percentage of kidney function you have. That will also tell you what stage of kidney disease you are in. For example, a GFR of 15 is the beginning stages of Stage 5, where you may need dialysis or transplant, or getting to that point.

KarenInWA

[jeannea]

Actually Karen, my doc never used GFR to me. I don't know why. I was diagnosed in 1992, first transplant in 1998. They determined I was ready for transplant at the time by creatinine, symptoms, and finally a 24 hour urine. I should have gone on dialysis but my mother was already approved so we did living donor transplant. When my transplant failed, I was in a coma so of course no one talked to me about GFR. Not that they needed GFR. I was so swollen with fluid that you couldn't tell I had toes or fingers. I had 3 years of dialysis and no one discussed GFR with me. I found out about it by becoming a member here. My GFR does now show up online in my blood test results but we still don't discuss it.

Maybe my docs are just a little old school. I just understand it shouldn't be the only factor in decisions. Some doctors just don't use that number with patients.

[angroid]

Hi Babycake,

Like Karen says, GFR is glomerular filtration rate, an estimation of percentage of kidney function derived from a fancy formula and the presence of creatinine in your blood.

angroid

PS: This information can be found on every one of your CBC blood tests, which I recommend everyone learn to read and understand.

[noahvale]

*

[babycake]

i also agree
that my doc
never stated what
my gfr was
i never heard of it
never heard
of it in dialyis either

but any how
i went in today
and saw my vascular doc
and my blood flow is 1500
which is awesome
and mila meter of my annarisum is 2.5
so it hasent done anything in 3months
he will want to see me in 6months

[angroid]

Howdy Noah,

Are you saying GFR is included in monthly lab results?  Plus, the CBC measures the concentration of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets in the blood.

Yep, should be...besides that your renal blood test report (a CBC plus) will show many other things, including creatinine and GFR.

angroid

[noahvale]

^

[angroid]

Maybe automatic at your facility. Been doing dialysis since 1978 at hospital based, private and corporate facilities - including Davita - and have never seen GFR on monthly lab reports.  Once in endstage, what's the point?  Exception: if nephrologist ordered 24 hour urine collection and for the test to be done if a patient has a good amount of urine output and possible returning function.

Hey Noah, that's too bad, especially I think Davita provides it.
Pre-dialysis I got the report every month as ordered by my nephrologist.
So far on dialysis I get a copy of a similar report once a month also. Not same but very similar
What's the point of a bloodwork report? Oh to check everything on the report so that what
is not in line can be corrected. You might have never seen it, but somebody has, and they have
been using it to treat you on your dialysis machine - since 1978.

angroid

[noahvale]

*

[angroid]

However, what's the point of GFR once in full blown ESRD?  There's nothing more to do. 

All you're doing is changing the subject. There is NOT GFR on my dialysis bloodwork report either.
My comment was about bloodwork not GFR, and I was responding assuming OP not yet on dialysis.

"End Stage Renal Disease" can be at GFR 12, can be at GFR 3 and less. I would think that
worth tracking. Unless there is no kidney function as you say. But otherwise this can
always be estimated by the amount of creatinine, which is indeed on my monthly dialysis
blood report.

I do still have some function, maybe that is the difference in our reports.
I check and record my calcium, phosphorous, potassium, red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit,
platelets, salt, CO2, etc. and record their ups and downs.

Starting dialysis did not change my ability to record these report results.

And I don't know why you are copping an attitude, did I offend you somehow?
Say something wrong?
 
Lighten up dude.

angroid

[noahvale]

*

[babycake]

davita
at least  at my center
does not provide the GFR
in any of my lab work

[angroid]

Funny...coming from  someone who goes by the name "Angroid!"...
It's quite obvious she is on dialysis.

You see again same lame mistake, from a real lamer I'm guessing no doubt.
Your mistake is in your assumptions. It was not obvious to me, nor can it be from what she wrote.
Here I was thinking I was just helping out someone asking an honest question. Even reading through the 2nd grade English to do so.

And, the "G" in my name is soft, obviously like your attitude.

Have a nice life.

angroid

[kitkatz]

This the first warning coming from an administrator about arguing and attacking each other in the threads.  There is room for every opinion.

kitkatz-admin

[Alex C.]

The GFR number tells how well your kidneys process things (mostly protein). This is important for those who have not started dialysis, but is rather pointless after starting dialysis. In my case, my GFR number got all the way down to 5. Once dialysis is fully functional, you would probably show a GFR number closer to 15-20, but since your filtration is now partially to mostly being done by a machine, this number is no longer really useful.