Yesterday I had an appointment with the surgeon that did my fistula surgery. It was the first time I’ve seen him since my fistulagram, and he wasn’t too impressed with the results from that. Our next step is to do another fistula creation further up my arm, around my bicep area. He seemed confident that this one should mature. When he did my last surgery he said during the ultrasound to map my veins, he saw a good potential vein in my upper arm. He explained to me that he tried it near the wrist first because I’m still young…
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Your nephrologist has said it’s time for you to start hemodialysis. This can be a scary subject to think about, especially when you don’t really know what to expect. It was for me as I didn’t know what questions to ask, and at the time I didn’t know anyone I could really ask for tips for my first session. I relied mostly on what I thought was going to happen mixed with a dash of technical knowledge of how hemodialysis worked. I’m going to share with you some tips and tricks I’ve learned that might help you with your first…
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This past week was a rollercoaster ride for me. On Monday I had dialysis but my catheter was on its last leg. I didn’t get a very good session and went home feeling less than stellar. I got a call from the surgery center about getting in to get a new catheter. It’s hard for me to make plans for surgery because I don’t have reliable transportation when I’m sedated. But luckily this surgery center allowed me to Uber home, which took all the stress and worry off my plate. On a side note, can I tell you how much…
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My Journey With Kidney Disease I’m sure you’ve heard people joke about what they could get for selling their kidney on the black market. It’s something you hear in movies, on television, and maybe you’ve even made the joke that something would “cost you a kidney”. I’ve made that remark myself from time to time. The truth is kidneys are one of the hardest organs to come by when they are needed. There are various methods of getting a kidney from someone; living donors, kidney swaps, or deceased donors. In any case the goal is the same, to allow someone…