Ow, ow, ow.

It's Friday, my fistula revision surgery was midday Tuesday.  My head is feeling better, I'm not as woozy anymore, although I am still getting a little dizzy.  My arm is hurting like crazy though.  Dialysis is working fine.  There have been no issues related to the procedure with that, so that's good.  I was able to look at the incision when the nurse at dialysis changed the bandage.  It's really scary looking.  The vascular surgeon is really good at what he does, but definitely not so good at making it look decent afterwards. I'll have another big scar to go along with the one I already have from the original fistula surgery.  At the moment, there  are 7 very large staples holding the incision together as it heals. Certainly not a pretty sight.  I have a checkup with the doctor Monday morning.  Let's hope my arm starts feeling a bit better by then.

Post Fistula Op

I made it through the surgery well. I can't really tell a difference in my arm yet since it's all bandaged up, we'll see. The doctor didn't have to put in the central line catheter so that makes me very happy. Those are about the most uncomfortable thing ever, not to mention the fact you can't take a shower with one.  Still feeling woozy from the after effects of the anesthesia and meds. Glad that it's all over now though.

Adventures

There are many different types of adventures. This week and the past few weeks have brought a few different adventures to the table. Last week I got to take a bus and 2 trains down to Los Angeles to stay with a friend of mine and see her graduate from UCLA. This was the first time I had been away for more than a day trip since all this kidney nonsense reared its ugly head.  I had a great weekend and it certainly helped me relax and give me some breathing room. Thanks Traci, and congratulations!

The day after I returned from LA,  I had an appointment with the vascular doctor to checkup on my fistula. He was concerned with how it looked in my shoulder area so he scheduled a procedure to be done that Wednesday. I went the Access Center early Wednesday, had my vitals checked and then went into a different type of operating room I suppose you could say. It had the standard table and equipment but there were windows to the outside surrounding the room, giving it a very bright feeling. A short time later, they told me it was finished. They had giving me a local anesthetic on my arm, shot some dye up into it and took pictures of it. The official name of the procedure was an arteriogram, it's basically the same thing as an angiogram but for the fistula.  The doctor told me that he didn't see any blockages or issues at all so that was great. 


The doctor did want me to have a procedure at the hospital to remove some of the extra blood vessels that have grown quite huge around my fistula since I have such good blood flow.  I have that tomorrow morning and I'm kinda nervous.  I have to be asleep for it, so I know it won't bother me while it's happening, but it just sounds like a very painful operation to go through afterwards.  We'll see. The doctor also said that he could make the fistula look "pretty" but I would have to have a central line catheter in my shoulder again for 2 to 3 weeks. No thank you! I've gotten through the fistula looking like it does for this long, I can handle it.  So here we go tomorrow.


Oh, if that wasn't enough, I'm taking a class over the summer to get it out of the way. Of course this week would be the week that's jampacked with stuff with class. Great.