DA’ FISTULA PIC!..1st access failed..so second is where it is at..read on for more info…….
wats a fistula they say an ask to me all the time;? heres an explanation @ best @ possible for yaz..I also have been doing lotsa research…So frum what i have learnt bout my fistula is this…# 1 it hurts like a s.o.b. right now. But i will get over it eventually it will become part of my body…..but has only been a few days after the new setup has been done to my artery an my vein structure! . ….this is how it werks ….
A fistula is what your vascular surgeon constructs by “joining an artery to a vein”.
It keeps a direct opening to your veins. This allows an even greater amount of blood to pass through the vein and allows your dialysis to proceed efficiently. In the weeks after surgery, the fistula begins to mature. The vein increases in size and may look like a cord under your skin. The whole process of maturation, which is a beneficial feature that permits the blood flow to increase in the fistula, typically takes 3 to 6 months. Some fistulas may take as long as a year or more to develop fully, but this is unusual. Once matured, a fistula should be large and strong enough for dialysis technicians and nurses to insert the large dialysis needles easily. If it fails to mature in a reasonable period of time, however, you may need another fistula….hopefully that’s not the case for mikey here….
To perform the surgery, your physician joins a large vein under the skin to an artery nearby. The physician divides your vein and sews it to an opening made in the side of the artery. As a result, the blood flows down the arteries into the hand, as usual, and also some of this faster moving blood flows into the veins that lead back to your heart. The blood that normally traveled in your divided vein goes back to the heart through other veins, and there is usually plenty of blood remaining in your artery to supply your hand. Is why my left hand is tingling a lot an numb still in the fingers cuz some circulation has been robbed i guess….doc says it is not enuff to matter ..so okay…
Hemodialysis cleans blood by removing it from the body and passing it through a dialyzer, or artificial kidney. The dialyzer is a filter with two parts: one for blood and another for dialysis fluid, called dialysate. The filter between these two parts has very small pores, allowing some tiny particles to pass through. The particles that are filtered include the toxins that need to be removed from the body such as urea, creatinine and potassium, while larger blood cells and protein the body needs cannot pass through. The filtered blood is then returned to the body.
The process of removing blood from the body, filtering it and returning it takes time. Hemodialysis treatment usually takes three to five hours and is repeated three times a week.
The type of access a person has is important for getting the best dialysis possible. There are three types of access: catheter, arteriovenous (AV) graft and arteriovenous (AV) fistula..and well i got the fistula in my left arm…They were going to put it i by my wrist but after the furst incesion the main vein collapsed an they had to move the spot toinside my elbow….
Arteriovenous (AV) fistula for hemodialysis
A fistula used for hemodialysis is a direct connection of an artery to a vein. Once the fistula is created it is a natural part of the body. This is the preferred type of access because once the fistula properly matures and gets bigger and stronger; it provides an access with good blood flow that can last for decades. Yeahaa lol…. After the fistula is surgically created, it can take weeks to months before the fistula matures and is ready to be used for hemodialysis. People with kidney disease can do exercises including squeezing a rubber ball to strengthen the fistula before use.
Fistula — the gold standard access…they gave me a kidney to squeeze…an said it was okay to excercize my wrist with the clutch lever on morotcycle ..so kewl 🙂 @ least sumptin is werkin right…
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), DaVita Patient Citizens (DPC) and other organizations and experts generally agree that fistulas are the best type of vascular access. Low rates of complications, clotting and infection all contribute to the fistula’s reputation as the “gold standard” of vascular access.
Dialysis experts also generally agree that the safest and longest lasting of the access types is the AV fistula. Because a fistula is made by connecting a vein to an artery, the vein becomes bigger allowing for increased blood flow. The fistula is created from natural parts of the body and can be repeatedly “stuck” to perform hemodialysis treatments.
A fistula is the “gold standard” because:
It has a lower risk of infection than grafts or catheters
It has a lower tendency to clot than grafts or catheters
It allows for greater blood flow, increasing the effectiveness of hemodialysis as well as reducing treatment time
It stays functional for longer than other access types; in some cases a well-formed fistula can last for decades
Fistulas are usually less expensive to maintain than synthetic accesses
While the AV fistula is the preferred access, there are some people who are unable to have a fistula. If the vascular system is greatly compromised, a fistula may not be attempted. Some people have had fistulas surgically created, but the fistula never matured; therefore, could not be used. Some of the drawbacks of fistulas are:
A bulge at the access site that some people feel is unattractive, well no matter 2 me…
Taking several months to mature…okay as long as it werks…
Sometimes never maturing at all…praying for mine to mature properly! is all i can do an by the looks an feel of it it is progressing jest fine.
so this is supposed to be much better than the old skewl method used in the 70’s..catheters an older teck in machinery also ..the dialysis units themselves are light years above the ones of the 80’s etc etc…..
the next 4-6 weeks are weeks for healing 4 me 🙂 an affirmation for me…an Prayers that my fistula keeps functioning properly an matures as it is supposed to…typing on the keyboard here is quite a werkout for the left arm really…so i have to take it bit at a time right now ..little steps..yeah baby steps..
also, is a matter of somehow pulling together the resources i need to fix my transportation an set up an gear up my life for trips 3 times a week 120 miles round trip when that time comes….@ soon as the fistula is healed …an ready to use….something like the pic below will be my home 3 times a week 4 hrs plus each visit…Guess i will get a lotta reading done! and or spend those 4 hours in lala land as my meditation time 3 times a week 🙂 however it be will be something i have to do ..do doubt about it an no fail…? is for me is how to get to there frum here is all…when everything takes cash an ya live on a limited income an ya have sold most evrything ya can that would get ya by into the future…….
To check see that my fistula is werking properly i have to check a few times a day to make sure i can feel the “THRILL” lol …the pulse ya can feel in the fistula …lets ya know it is werking properly…is weird feeling ur heartbeat as a vib in ur left arm…an they call it the “THRILL?” listening to ur own beat…wunder what doc came up with calling it that…..
Anyhow is what it is… I am healing frum ..having the fistula Installed…..and am looking forward to the day actually when i can plug in an start getting my blood filtered properly! once again…an getting back to feeling “normal” whatevr that is ..been a lotta years lol…so the next 6 weeks is about staying alive without having my blood filered an having the toxins build up as they do evr so often…over an over it has been happening for years,, an even though my motto is crashing is not an option? well i crash evr so often cuz my body gets finally toxic an i go down for the count till they stabalize my blood again ussually with a jar er 2 of saline.. because i get also de hydrated …when i crash..an my bp goes sky high……docs are trippin though ..cuz i am able to keep a grip now on my B.P> Blood pressure…which has been in the dangerous level for quite some time..well, i have stabalized it to almost normal…last reading the other day was 130 over 70..bout time …usually i am in the 140’s to the 90 or more @ a norm…….so is good for me to get it down …
Okay take care everyone…Hope this article here was educational to ya if ya never knew what a fistula was….thats what the Q is going thru.whoo hoo…..yeahaa huh! .such @ life .HA!….
PS: THERE ARE many different kinds of kindey malfunctions an disease…the kind i have affects approximately 1 in 600,000 people….so is not that common..but world wide that adds up to a lotta people suffering like me to the same degree or werse…so my prayers for all of them for whatevr its werth ..still everyone goes PKD WHAT never heard of it?….wow is all i can say…jest another day …been kickin my arse down for over 10 years now it has been ..this PKD!…
Next great adventure is i gotta go get a brainscan mri to check see if i have any unruptured anuyersisms …which i am thinking of opting out of because well if i did have any unruptured ones i would have head aches like my dad did…which i did not have? so I don’t think i need to get radiated thata way unless there is a problem..cuz the radiation itself could even cause a prob…when they say that 60% of all cancers of the 20th century exist because of abnormal radiation like X-rays inapproitely directed etc etc…so this one will be ? A question in the mind of Q for the future…
Right now time to heal an get better! an make this fistula thing werk ..an help the “team” they are going to assemble for em to implant a new kidney when the time can come …a few years over due they say they are for me but they are going to go for it anyhow…since now i have the Medicare to pay for it …ha all bout $$$$ yeah right they wouldn’t help me years ago cuz i had no insurance or medicare…but my doc did help me get on disability which took years ..but that barely covers living expenses…so what does one do asks the Q..hm? will keep ya posted! Namaste’ …an over an out till then…………………
Q
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if ya want to read the rest of the original inspiring article click here…below
https://www.davita.com/kidney-disease/dialysis/treatment/arteriovenous-av-fistula-%2597-the-gold-standard-hemodialysis-access/e/1301
Jest some food 4 thought 4 da’ day 
Quarksire 