Partial February Labs

I realized today that I have not sent out any of my lab reports in February. I know, many of you do not care, but I feel like it is an important part of what I am going through, so I will keep sharing them. Unfortunately, I did not receive my full report this month, so you get an abbreviated version of the labs.

• Albumin: 4.5 (Goal is 3.8 – 4.5)


• eKdrt/V: 1.37 (Goal is greater than or equal to 1.2)


• Potassium: 4.4 (Goal is 3.5 to 6)


• Corrected Calcium: 9.1 (Goal is 8.4 to 9.5)


• Phosphorus: 5.5 (Goal is 3.5 to 5.5)


• Hemoglobin 12.7 (Goal is 11 to 12)


• Average Fluid Weight Gain: 1.53 kg or 2.2% (Goal is 3 – 5% of dry weight)

Overall, I was marked: ACCEPTABLE and even got a smiley face sticker at the top of my sheet. This sheet is a page of graphs that the dietitian passes out every month that shows you your progress over the past six months. It is a simple way for her to show you how you are doing and for you to quickly see your progress.

I personally still like the full lab report. I am going to have to try and ask again (today) for my report. It was not available in my file Tuesday. It should have my URR and BUN listed, as well as my Creatinine, which will help me glance at my kidney function. I have been wondering about it as I had to use the bathroom a bunch on Tuesday and then hardly at all on Wednesday.

Well, today’s report is short, but I guess that could be good or bad (depends on how you look at it). I will continue to monitor my situation and let you know if I hear anything. I have heard some of my potential donors have already sent back their applications. When I learn something, then you will learn something!

Thanks for coming by.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Well, I have not updated my blog in a while, so I think I am going to make myself do it. I have been quite busy at work this week (which is great). They have me working more on the stuff I enjoy doing rather than the data entry that got me in the door. I am enjoying my job more and more each day, and that is always nice when you do not have to be motivated to go to work.

The site where my catheter was removed has almost completely stopped hurting. It only bothers me now if I run into it with something. The shower does not hurt, and there are only two steri-strips left on it. They stick to the wound to hold it closed until you heal. They put them on my abdomen when I had my staples removed this summer. They stayed on about two weeks. I expect that these will be on about one more week.

I have an appointment with my endocrinologist on Monday. I am hoping that he will have looked at my lab results and decided that I am not doing badly. I hope that my thyroiditis will not require any further medications. I am still working with the cardiologist to try and fix my blood pressure. She has changed my hypertension medications every two weeks for the last six. She doubled my Diovan, then she added Norvasc, and this week she doubled my Toprol XL. Hopefully this last change will fix me so that I can know what I need to have prescribed.

Dialysis continues to go well. My fistula is working great (still). They should take another flow rate test next week to get a comparative reading. I don’t foresee any problems. I still have a strong thrill, and that’s a good thing. The thrill, for those of you who don’t know, is the feeling of blood rushing through the fistula. It is always supposed to be very easy to feel. Mine always has been strong, and now I can feel it in my elbow.

I am still having problems with my stomach. When I eat right after dialysis, I feel hot and sick for about 30 minutes. But, if I don’t eat, I feel hungry. So, which is better? Also, I get pain in my jaw for about a minute when I first start eating, but only right after dialysis. I have another appointment with the GI doctor next month, so I will ask her my stomach questions again.
You can continue to pray for my health and for the kidney donation process. I do not know when I should hear anything, but I am sure they will tell me when they are ready.

Thanks for reading!

414 Flow Rate

Last night at dialysis was the quarterly test of access flow rates. The technician told me that they do the testing on a regular basis, and since I am using the large needles now, they can go ahead and test me. If you remember, I had to get a fistula revision and a perm-cath because my flow rate was under 400 back in October. So, the test was all important for me. When it was finished, the technician told me that I was running at 414, which was great news. I also found out that the highest flow rate she had ever seen was 2000. That information suddenly changed my thinking. I had thought that maybe 500 was the top, so 350 was not so bad. But, if you can have a flow rate over 2000, then my paltry 350 was pathetic. Now that I am over 400, I hope that my fistula will continue to develop for as long as I am on dialysis.

I have to go to the hospital in about an hour to have my perm-cath removed. So, after two months, I will not have tubes hanging out of my chest! I am sure that having it removed won’t be the most pleasant thing I do all day, but I imagine that it won’t be worse than having the neck catheter inserted or removed. So, if you read this before 11am Friday, then know that I am on my way to feeling like a normal person again. If you read it after 11, then I am probably back at work sans-catheter. And, if you are reading this on Saturday morning, then I am enjoying a long, hot shower, so don’t call and bother me, lol.

There is not really too much more going on. I have one more treatment (Saturday) when I will be recording my blood pressure. I am on Diovan, Toprol XL, and Norvasc, at the moment. I will send another two weeks worth of BP data to my cardiologist on Monday, and we will see what she wants to do from there. My pressure has been down more often, but I still see it in the 150s from time to time. I don’t want it to drop too low, so the medication is a delicate balancing act.

Thanks for reading!