Intro

[lantzali]

Hello everyone,

I'm Ali, caregiver to my husband who will be starting in-center hemo on Saturday. We've been dealing with his worsening kidneys for about 8 years now but it's still upsetting and overwhelming to finally be at this point. We were hoping to do PD at home but after lots of tinkering with his catheter, it's been decided that it just won't work for him.

So, our plan is to go through training for home hemo. But for now, he'll be doing it in-center as he's terrified of needles and has been known to faint at the sight of them. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions and I'm looking forward to learning through others' experiences.

[Rerun]

Welcome Ali, I'm so glad you found us.  Do "you" want to perform home dialysis?  Do "you" want to stick him.  You can learn, but  I hate needles too.  I do just fine in center.  I'm just saying if you don't think you can stick him then he may need to stay in center until YOU are comfortable with the process.

WELCOME - Rerun, Admin     

[lantzali]

Yes, I'll be the one sticking him. My hope is, later on down the road, once he gets used to it all, he'll want to learn for himself. When he was diagnosed with diabetes, I gave him his insulin and he wanted no part of it. But, after a few years, he wanted to learn and now does it every day by himself. He still can't deal with any other needles but it's progress.

Thanks for the welcome!

[kickingandscreaming]

Welcome.  It IS a challenging transition--from deteriorating kidneys to dialysis.  Many of us on this forum have made just this transition and lived to tell the tale.  So will you and your husband.  I wish you both good luck.

[Michael Murphy]

My advise to needle phobic patients is don't look.  Bring something to read or watch and just ignore the whole damn thing.  It's not like your participation is going to be needed.  The other thing I learned is the fear and apprehension is much worse than the actual procedure.  It may help to be present to distract him. Good Luck. I hope it goes well, and welcome to the site.

[cassandra]

Welcome to the site Ali

   


Take care and luck and strength to the both of you, Cas

[Charlie B53]

I too am a Needle-Phobic.  I used to pass out from most any shot in the arm at the Dr's office.  I've overcome that to a certain extent.  I haven't passed out in maybe 30 years now.  But I still have a serious problem when it comes time for a IV to be stuck into me.

6 months after starting PD I was pronounced Diabetic.  It was difficult, but I have managed to stick my finger and test, AND I have also managed to give myself my insulin.

It's amazing how we manage to do some of those things we once thought we could NEVER do!  We do what we must to survive.

Infection caused my switch to Hemo.  This Perma Cath is GREAT!  I love it!  NO NEEDLES!   But Dr tells me I cannot keep it forever, so I gave in and had an access done.  Fortunate for me (maybe)  it is taking it's own sweet time to mature.  Dr has already done the balloon thing in my arm to help the fistula grow, it ain't growing near fast enough so Dr will soon be cutting into the arm and tying off a bunch of veins that are diverting flow.  Closing those off will force all flow to go the path he wants and hopefully then the fistula will fatten up well enough to form a nice fat target for the needles.

A big fat fistula should make a far easier target than the scared veins I usually have.  I may just grow brave enough to learn how to stick it myself. 

Just not today.


Glad to have you both join our Dialysis Family.  You will find yourselves in great company here at IHD.

[iolaire]

@lantzali welcome to the group, its a great resource and support group.  Despite the name of the site many people do quiet well on dialysis and learn to live around the challenges thrown at them.  Dialysis is a big time drain but its a very amazing technology that's fairly well developed now.  We are very lucky to have a mechanical organ replacement.
 

My advise to needle phobic patients is don't look. 

I'm fine with needles, but I did find myself staring out the window when getting stuck (I was lucky to have a chair that was right at the window).  Its easier not looking at the stick unless something starts to go wrong and then I'd pay very close attention.  At the end of my dialysis time I was kicking myself for not learning to self-cannulate upfront, it would have been best even with me remaining in center.

A big fat fistula should make a far easier target than the scared veins I usually have.  I may just grow brave enough to learn how to stick it myself. 

I second this, having a big fat fistula has worked for me very well.  The only time I was infiltrated is when I asked them to move up into another area of my arm to give my fistula's aneurism area a break, that was a much smaller vein so of course it had some issues and that time I was infiltrated about 3 times because of various problems after the first infiltration.

[justagirl2325]

Hi Ali

I am also a caregiver to my diabetic husband on dialysis.  We do home hemo and I'm the one who does the needles.  It's difficult to learn but worth it for the freedom of scheduling dialysis around your life instead of your life around dialysis.

[smartcookie]

   I am so glad you found us!  It sounds like you guys are on the right path and will do well on dialysis!  I look forward to reading your posts!

[Michael Murphy]

I will also chime in that as your fistula grows the whole process gets easier.

[OldKritter]

welcome