hi Kathy, welcome back to the boards.

when I used to dialyze in a center there was a woman there with a fistula in her leg and they used to put a curtain around her when doing the cannulation so I never saw how they did it. if this is the way they must go on you I would recommend wearing a loose skirt to treatments, easier than removing pants during treatments because you won't be able to wear them till all done and any breakthrough bleeding after (it happens occasionally) will be easier to get to.

I wish you luck with your surgery and hope you will let us all know what happens so we can be more educated and have more empathy for those who have to go the way you must.

Kathy,

Please make sure that your surgeon is a vascular surgeon who does many fistulas. You might want to get another opinion before procdeeding. Some of the larger hospitals have fistula clinics where they do nothing but work on fistulas. I know this becasue my nephrologist indicated that if mine has any problems she would want me to go into the city to one of them. I have one in my upper arm but the other arm is off limits due to breast cancer treatment, so I need to keep this one.

Liz

Kathy,

With those tiny veins of yours, have your considered doing peritoneal dialysis (PD) instead?  No needle sticks needed except for monthly labs.  Instead you have a catheter placed in your stomach and your peritoneum, the fascia between your abdomen and the cavity where your kidney are, acts as the filter.  Many PKD patients have tremendous success with this form of dialysis and prefer the flexibility it offers (and love the no needle aspect).  It's definitely something to look into considering the two unsuccessful surgeries you've already had.

 

Some doctors seem reticent to recommend it, but sometimes I wonder if it's because they have a financial stake in the hemodialysis centers.  PD cost substantially less than hemodialysis and the profit margin isn't as high.  I know that shouldn't be a consideration when recommending treatment options to patients, but I still wonder if somehow some doctors are in practices where the "hemo at our clinic" is so ingrained in the practice they nearly ignore the alternatives.

 

Although I'm not close to needing dialysis, my doctor has recommended PD as the choice if/when I get to that point.  I have no veins, only valves, so creating a fistula would take a miracle.  He has most of his PKD patients on PD....and is a military doctor so has no financial stake in what form of dialysis his patients choose.

 

Just food for thought.

Good luck!

Ruth

Its funny you mention PD I just came from my Neph this afternoon and he is reluctant to put me thru the thigh graft (if all else fails we can have it as a back-up option) and he suggested PD. I am going to go for a class/consult on the 24th to get more info and will probably be going that route first. It does sound like a much better option for me and my lifestyle and work. Thanks for the info!

Keepin my fingers crossed,

Kathy

Thanks to all who have responded with great info and ideas! I did see my neph today, and am going to give PD a try. If needed we can always do the thigh graft later as a last resort, but I am willing to try other things first

Thanks again and I look forward to reading and learning more from everyone

Kathy

Kathy,

Just a tidbit of information for insurance purposes, as soon as you start "training" for PD, you become eligible for Medicare.  With hemodialysis the eligibility date is your first actual treatment.  Talk with your social worker about how that will affect your personal insurance situation.

 

Please let us know how the session goes and keep us posted on how you're doing.  Come on over to the general message board for the update too; more folks read that board.

 

Best wishes,

Ruth