Access Flow Not Running Well

They tested my access flow again on Thursday. They are looking for a value greater than 400, but I tested at 288. The nurse said that I need to be seen by a vascular doctor and have my fistula looked at. I had an appointment with my vascular surgeon (the guy that built the fistula in my arm) during the middle of November. I moved it up to October 27. He should do an ultrasound on my arm in order to take a look at the fistula and see how it looks. I think that he will be looking for blockage or poor circulation. I still have a strong pulse in my fistula both at the surgical site and all the way up to my elbow. I am not really sure how I could tell if there was a problem or not, but apparently the access flow test is a good indicator that mine is not working correctly. Hopefully, the vascular surgeon will have some good news for me.

I woke up Saturday with an upset stomach. I did not really feel nauseated, but my stomach was certainly not happy. The nurse at dialysis gave me the name and phone number of a gastro-intestinal doctor that can check me out. I have been having some stomach problems for the last month or so, which isn't really that exciting to deal with on a day-to-day basis. I woke up at midnight on Sunday feeling nauseated, and did not get a good night's sleep. I missed church this morning, but I was feeling okay by 10:30, so we went to Sunday School. I had Jenny buy me some Pepto Bismal, but it looks like it contains aspirin, so I can't take it too often (since I am on a blood thinner at dialysis).

I start my new job Monday morning at MCI. It looks like my new insurance will pick up then (I was on COBRA this weekend). I will have to find a chance to talk to my new boss about what is going on with me medically so that he can move my work schedule up to 7a - 4p instead of 8a - 5p. Thanks for coming by to read. Sorry that I did not get a chance to update the blog after my Thursday treatment. Thanks for coming by.