I've said a bunch of different terms throughout the posts I've made so far and not everyone may be familiar with what everything means. In this post, I'm going to try to list some of these terms and their definitions, etc. I might make full posts on some of them in the future to go into more depth. If you still have any questions, just let me know, and I'll try to clear it up.
Dialysis: A process of running a patient's blood through a machine with various filters and chemicals to clean out toxins and unwanted particles that couldn't be cleaned by malfunctioning kidney(s).
Dialyzer: The part of the dialysis machine that does most of the work. The simplest way to explain this would be to call it an artificial kidney. It has a huge number of microscopic semipermeable membranes through which the blood flows. On one side of the dialyzer, there is a chemical solution bath that is used to clean the toxins out. Depending on the patient, the bath can be changed to add in various things that are needed. There are various types of dialysis also.
CKD: Chronic Kidney Disease
ESRD: End Stage Renal Disease
Hemodialysis: Dialysis: Dialysis using a central line catheter or a fistula access to pull the patient's blood through a dialyzer. This is usually a 3 to 4 hour treatment 3 times a week. This is what I use.
Central line catheter: A tube put into the patient's neck/shoulder area or upper chest that goes into the jugular vein close to the heart. It has a port having 2 small tubes sticking out through the skin and has to be cleaned at least once or twice a week. This is very prone to infection. I had this put in the first day I was in the hospital and it was removed in November once my fistula had matured and was working properly. I'll go into more detail on this later.
Fistula: A vein and artery are connected in a person's arm or leg to increase blood flow rate in that particular area. A fistula has to mature for 6 to 8 weeks before it can be used. The veins/arteries by the fistula get bigger and has an intense pressure flow. I'll explain more of this later also.
Graft: Sometimes a patient doesn't have good enough veins and arteries for a fistula, so an artificial graft has to be inserted into their arm or leg, acting as a fistula, but with a synthetic connection. This is more prone to infection as well since it has something that's not natural in the body.
Hemoglobin: An iron containing protein in the red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the cells of the body and collects carbon dioxide and takes it back to the lungs. My hemoglobin was very low when I first went into the hospital, making me anemic and needing a blood transfusion.
EKG: Electrocardiogram, a test that checks for problems in the electrical activity of the heart and comes out as a line graph on paper.
Davita: The most influential company working in the field of kidney disease, operating many dialysis clinics and other things.
UC Davis Medical Center: A medical division of the University of California, at Davis, the med center is in downtown Sacramento. This is where I did the transplant evaluation and where the transplant procedure will take place if I am eligible and am able to have a transplant.
Urea: A chemical compound produced when the body metabolizes protein. Urea levels can be tested to find kidney problems.
BUN: Blood urea nitrogen test is a measure of the amount of nitrogen in the blood in the form of urea. My BUN was very high at first because of the years of living with one kidney, and the lowering of the BUN was the major reason that caused the disequilibrium problem.
Disequilibrium: An imbalance of chemicals in the brain/body leading to a loss of steadiness, similar to vertigo. Also resulting in an inability to focus thoughts properly.
Phosphorus binder: A medicine in the form of a pill taken before a meal that goes into the bloodstream and latches onto phosphorus particles, allowing them to be taken out of the bloodstream easier.
Renal: dealing with kidneys
Nephrology: dealing with kidneys, a nephrologist is a kidney doctor.
Lidocaine: a numbing cream that I put over my fistula access up to 2 hours before a treatment that numbs the area where I'm stuck with needles.
There's many more but this should probably handle the basics for now.
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