Maintaining Your Health

For the first 3 to 6 months after your dialysis access surgery, you will have multiple follow-up visits with the dialysis access team. Gradually, however, you will see the team less often. You will become even more responsible for maintaining your own health, so it is very important that you:

• Take all of your medications exactly as they were prescribed.
• Do not miss any of your scheduled follow-up visits.
• Do not miss any of your scheduled laboratory tests.
• Be on watch for complications or problems.
• Know the signs of rejection and infection, and report any of these signs to the dialysis access coordinator right away.
• Exercise regularly.
• Eat nutritious foods.
• Monitor your weight once or twice a week for large gains or losses.

Your Doctors

As you begin to see the dialysis access team less often, many of your healthcare visits will be to your primary care physician, nephrologists and/or your dialysis clinic.

Your Primary Care Doctor

For regular checkups and common medical problems such as a cold or the flu, you will see your primary care doctor. Let your doctor know that you have had dialysis access surgery. Check with your doctor to be sure any medication he or she prescribes will not interfere with any medication you are taking following your access surgery.