Yet Another Fistulogram

[Lexxtech18]

Right now I'm sitting at home waiting to get the call that I can head up to the vascular clinic for my "emergency" fistulogram. This would make the FIFTH one in the last year. It. Reds a declotting once again. And it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so craptastic outside: icy and snowy here in MI. And I have to travel 45 minutes to get to my vascular doc which will take two hours in this weather. They don't even open for another half an hour so i guess it's not too much of an emergency, eh? At my old clinic I'd just go to the radiology department at the local hospital 10 mins away. But whatever. Another FMLA day. I'm getting tired of this shit.

[geoffcamp]

UGH!!  Hate that!!  I have been in your shoes wat too many times too!!  At least 10-12 attempts at gettin a good graft of fistula. Had so many fistula grams I can't even count and even more emergency visits to hospital to have them unclotted by stints and balloons and other techniques. I seriously in the last 7 years have been in the hospital at least 50 times facing the same thing you are!!  So frustrating!!  I have a cath for dialysis now and it's wirking. I think I'm done trying for another graft or fistula!!  Good luck I hope they get you in and it all goes well. G.

[Whamo]

Wow, it's 70 and sunny where I live.  I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow.  Life is tough.

[Lexxtech18]

Wow, it's 70 and sunny where I live.  I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow.  Life is tough.

Really? I just got out of the hospital after having three surgeries; one for the fistulogram that didn't work so I had to have a central cath put in and they thought it was a good time to also do a PD cath at the same time. So I'm in serious pain from neck to naval. Your happy trip to sunny Disney is the last thing I want to read about. But thanks for sharing. lol

[geoffcamp]

That really stinks!!  Attempt to fix something and end up with 2 additional surgeries!!  Hope you got the "good" pain pills!!  Good luck hope you heal up fast and well!  I personally have been using central cath for aboutb3 years now. It's actually kind of nice not having the needles at dialysis. But I had to increase my time because blood flow was not as good. 

[Lexxtech18]

No they gave me crappy low dose Norco; the hospital I had the surgeries done at are stingy with their pain meds. >.> But I have two weeks off work to recover so I'm just trying to lay back, relax and catch up on some TV shows and text some friends. My sister is taking care of me like a little mother hen. I was so mad cuz I went in for the declot ans my vascular doc did the declot and sent me back to dialysis knowing it wasn't going to work instead or keeping me there to just put the vasocath in place. I went 4 days without dialysis. Miserable.

[noahvale]

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[Lexxtech18]

Wow, it's 70 and sunny where I live.  I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow.  Life is tough.

Really? I just got out of the hospital after having three surgeries; one for the fistulogram that didn't work so I had to have a central cath put in and they thought it was a good time to also do a PD cath at the same time. So I'm in serious pain from neck to naval. Your happy trip to sunny Disney is the last thing I want to read about. But thanks for sharing. lol

Did you authorize them in advance to place the PD cath?

Yes. My unit was wanting me to make an appointment for a PD cath consultation anyway so when I was there for the fistulogram the doc said if they had to do a vasocath he could do the PD cath at the same time to save time and a surgery.

[noahvale]

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[Lexxtech18]

My body has not been tolerating hemo well for about a year now. My blood pressure starts out low and drops even more during treatment so I'm unable to remove much fluid. My neph and I agreed that PD would be gentler on my body until I can get another transplant, which should be within the next year or so hopefully. I'd much rather have a PD cath than another nasty mutilated arm anyway thank you very much. I was lucky the first fistula and then my graft that I didn't develop any big, bulging aneurysms; I won't take that chance again. It sounds shallow but I'm a 25 year old woman with a lot of life to live and I'd love to be able to date again someday. I would much rather have the gentler PD than keep ending up in ER with fluid overloads because they can't get me down in hemo. Does that answer your question?