av fistula

[LILO714]

Hi everyone! I just had my fistula put in near my wrist because that was the best option per vein mapping with veins at 2mm (not sure what that means) but I was told to be listening and feeling. For "the thrill" (again not sure what that exactly is supposed to sound and feel Like) would love to hear from anyone about this!               Ps! I had my staples taken out by nurse yesterday but she said she didn't know about the thrill and since doc was stuck in surgery, I would need to come back to see if it works.                                                                                                                                                         

[MooseMom]

How long ago did you have your fistula created?  As the days go by, you should be able to feel something like an enhanced pulse in the wrist area.  I think you'll know it when you feel it.  My fistula was created in my upper arm, so maybe it takes a bit longer for you to begin feeling something at the wrist. 

Having a fistula that never begins working is not that uncommon of an experience.  Just make sure you have the very best vascular surgeon for the job, one who has a lot of experience in this area.  My mother had a fistula created in her upper arm by a crap surgeon, and for 18 months she had to have a cath because the fistula never worked, so she was advised by one of the D nurses to find a better surgeon and not one to whom she was referred by her clinic.  So, she found a top notch surgeon, and he fixed her crap fistula which worked well for the five years she survived on D. 

Good luck to you, and let us know how you are doing.

[Mr. B 123]

Got my fistula a little over a year ago and could feel the thrill in 1-2 weeks or so.  Mine feels like a little motor purring away, I check it every day.  To listen to it you need to buy a stethoscope for about $15-20 to actually listen to it, I check it about once a week.  Check out "Fistula First" website for more info and explanations, you can actually hear what to listen for to make sure all is well with your fistula.  Hope all goes well.

[bevvy5]

Not sure what it feels like from the "inside", but hubby's could be felt externally almost immediately.  He has a lower arm and now.  HIs was done last September and I tease him that it feels like an alien in there - you will definitely know it when you feel it, kind of like when your pregnant and the baby starts moving around, I would think.

[MommyChick]

I actually have my fistula in my upper arm, so I'm not sure if the wrist would be a little different. You should be able to feel a buzzing sensation as well as hear a buzzing or pulse where it is. Mr. B is right though best way to hear is with a stethoscope. I know mine didn't take to long before I could feel the thrill. Squeezing a stress ball will help it mature faster too.
Good Luck!

[LILO714]

I've had the fistula for 2 weeks now. I will definately go buy a stethescope and checkout that website. Thanks everyone for your help!

[natnnnat]

Can you feel it yet?  My husband had his made on July 23rd, you could feel the thrill that day.  But I know its not always as fast as that.

[MomoMcSleepy]

Hello!  I had mine put in my upper arm and I could feel it right away when I woke from surgery.   It feels like a purring, or like the humming of a refrigerator.  When you listen with a stethoscope, it sort of sounds to me like a factory, or a big metal door rhythmically slamming.  You can feel a pulse, and also a "buzzing" or purring.

The sound is the "bruit," and the feeling is the "thrill."  If I curl my arm around my pillow (but don't lay it!) I can hear it, too.

now, mine got weak, and a couple weeks ago at my six week checkup my PA looked worried and grabbed my arm a lot because my flow was very light, though the vessel has matured to the right diameter.  I had a stenosis (narrowing, caused by scar tissue) where I had complained of a weird, hard, lump 2 week post-op.  Two days ago I got an angioplasty (catheter put into my fistula, and a balloon in the catheter inflated to open up that narrow area) and it started buzzing away immediately.  If you don't feel anything, go to the ER/call your doc so they can save it, otherwise you might have to get it re-done.  It might just be very weak, the wrist has much smaller vessels, maybe it takes longer to mature?  But I think it would be obvious to you, and you should call right away.  I understand and sympathize with you re: very little patient education.  I'm surprised at that nurse's lack of knowledge, but maybe she's been out of things a while.

BTW- when my fistula was narrowing, I could hear a whistling sound near the scar tissue area when listening with the stethoscope.  It's a bad sound, it means the blood is rushing through a narrow area, just like wind through a pipe instead of wind through a tunnel.  Scary times!

links: http://www.google.com/gwt/x?gl=US&hl=en-US&u=http://allnurses.com/dialysis-renal-urology/bruits-and-thrills-20465.html&client=ms-palm-webOS&q=dialysis+bruit+and+thrill&sa=X&ei=eSMtUOTqG-TByQGS-YCAAw&ved=0CBwQFjAA

(nurses discussing how to added fruit and thrill)

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?client=ms-palm-webOS&gl=US&wsc=pb&u=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemodialysis&ei=ECQtUI_tEafWkwL25oCQBg&whp=3AAV_fistula

part of Wikipedia article on A/V fistula--or just google these things if these URL's are no good.

[MomoMcSleepy]

I've had the fistula for 2 weeks now. I will definately go buy a stethescope and checkout that website. Thanks everyone for your help!

I have one from CVS cause I had to take my blood pressure, anyway.  Good to have a cuff and stethoscope, even if you have an automatic cuff.  Good to know how to check BP "the old-fashioned" way to check for faulty readings.  Plus you get to play nurse, and that's fun!