Day two - EMLA update

[tiredandthirsty]

yesterday was my day two of dialysis.  day 1 was not as bad as i had expected.  and i was hoping day 2 would be similar.  this time i was better prepared, a blanket, all my stuff that i didn't take with me the first day and above all THE EMLA CREAM.  so i put the cream at 2:30 PM, exactly an hour before my time to get stuck and headed out.  when i got there, the same usual stuff.  weigh in, go to the room and get settled.  this time it was a different nurse because the first nurse went on a vacation to disneyland!  this one stuck me with the needle and no blood came out!!! and she started pushing and pulling on it.  i was about to knock her out. the EMLA cream, i felt, did lessen the pain but i did feel the pushing and pulling and re-poking.  then she got another nurse and she did something called a wet stick.  with a syringe and saline water.  and blood started flowing easily.  those two sticks didn't feel as bad as the first day.  so i believe the EMLA cream DEFINITELY helped.  no doubt.

once all was sorted out, i got on the computer and worked most of the time with one hand on my computer.  i didn't take any snacks with me and i didn't feel hungry at all during the entire treatment.  maybe because of the ascites, i always feel full in my stomach so i normally don't eat much.  it's only during when i get paracentesis done and my stomach empties out, i am hungry as a horse and i eat like one as well.  but once the stomach starts filling up again, the appetite goes with it.  i took a bottle of water with me, but the clinic is kept cool so i didn't feel like drinking at all.  not one sip. 

for entertainment, i basically watched "Kitchen Nightmares" on youtube.  Gordon Ramsay is awesome :-).  i think taking work with me is the best way to pass time quickly.  i will continue to do that because i think you can only watch TV for so long.  they do have a decent number of channels at the clinic.  not just the local channels.  so there is a bit of variety available in terms of entertainment. 

so overall, apart from the initial sticking incident, the second day went smoother than the first.  all thanks to EMLA i believe.  i will provide more updates as possible.  feel free to ask me anything you wish.  take care and may God be with you all at all times. 

[Cordelia]

I read so much of this Emla cream on this site. Is this cream available in Canada?

Hope the cream continues to help you, it sounds like a great thing to have! Is it something the unit supplies for you or do you have to buy it yourself?

[tiredandthirsty]

EMLA cream is not the silver bullet i would just like to say that.  there will be a little sting. but i believe it did lessen some of the pain for me no doubt about that. 

i am  not sure if it is available in Canada or not.  it should be available online but i'd be scared to buy meds online.  who knows who is legit and what website is fraudulent? 

for me, i had an appointment with my nephrologist the day after the my first session.  and i told him needles hurt.  help  and he wrote me a prescription for it.  i just bought it at my local pharmacy CVS, near my house.  my clinic does not have any kind of numbing stuff.  no lidocaine shots, no creams nothing.  you have to provide your own. 

[willowtreewren]

T&T,

We used the Lidocaine (EMLA) for a couple years doing home hemo, and then my husband just said to forget it. He got so the sticks didn't bother him too much, but then he had an excellent nurse..... hee, hee.

 

I'm glad the second treatment went well. Beware of those nurses who don't know exactly what they are doing. They might infiltrate your fistula and that hurts like Hello!

Take care.

Aleta

[tiredandthirsty]

yes i got a feeling after yesterday the right nurse can make a huge difference.  i will go back to the first nurse when she comes back from vacation. 

[Riki]

I read so much of this Emla cream on this site. Is this cream available in Canada?

Hope the cream continues to help you, it sounds like a great thing to have! Is it something the unit supplies for you or do you have to buy it yourself?

Someone may have answered this already.. I didn't read past your post.. *G*

Yes, Emla is available in Canada! And thank God for that. I swear by the stuff.

I buy my Emla cream at Sobey's.  You get it from the pharmacist.  The small tubes are 5mls and cost around $10.  The larger tubes are 30mls and cost around $50.  If you use it modestly, you can make it last a long time.  I can usually make the smaller tube last about a month.

You'll need something to cover it, since you don't rub the cream in.  The smaller tubes have 2 small tegaderm in the box, but I also buy mine separately at the pharmacy for 39 cents each.

I find that without Emla, the needle actually burns going in, but with it, I only feel the pressure of it going through the skin.  After 2 years of using my fistula, I can go without the Emla, but I prefer not to.

And the best thing about it is, it's kept behind the counter, but you don't need a prescription for it

[Sax-O-Trix]

You need a prescription for EMLA in the United States...

[Cordelia]

I read so much of this Emla cream on this site. Is this cream available in Canada?

Hope the cream continues to help you, it sounds like a great thing to have! Is it something the unit supplies for you or do you have to buy it yourself?

Someone may have answered this already.. I didn't read past your post.. *G*

Yes, Emla is available in Canada! And thank God for that. I swear by the stuff.

I buy my Emla cream at Sobey's.  You get it from the pharmacist.  The small tubes are 5mls and cost around $10.  The larger tubes are 30mls and cost around $50.  If you use it modestly, you can make it last a long time.  I can usually make the smaller tube last about a month.

You'll need something to cover it, since you don't rub the cream in.  The smaller tubes have 2 small tegaderm in the box, but I also buy mine separately at the pharmacy for 39 cents each.

I find that without Emla, the needle actually burns going in, but with it, I only feel the pressure of it going through the skin.  After 2 years of using my fistula, I can go without the Emla, but I prefer not to.

And the best thing about it is, it's kept behind the counter, but you don't need a prescription for it

Ricki, thank you SO much for the info!!!! I'm gonna have to get some! LOL LOL Thank you!!!!!              

[Cordelia]

One question though:    How effective is it when they wipe down your arm and disinfect it when they are about to needle you? Or, do you put it on after ?  Do they have to wait a few minutes before putting the needle in to allow the cream to take effect?

The reason I ask this is becasuse they wipe down my arm everytime. It doesn't make any sense to apply it at home before getting to the unit because they'll just wipe it off anyways         

[amanda100wilson]

It takes about an hour for it to soak in.  Even though they clean yourarm, the effects are still working.

[tiredandthirsty]

Cordelia:  they did wipe my arm with alcohol swab, but i had put the cream on an hour before.  so i guess it had already settled in.  the direction says apply it an hour before the procedure.  that's the worst part.  you have to remember to do this and walk around with it for an hour for it to take effect. 

[deniferfer]

I'm on PD but I use EMLA before I do my monthly blood work or if they have to start a IV on me. I'm extremely pain sensitive and can't stand being stuck!(I know I'm a big baby). I have found the cream helps me so much and allows me not to feel anything!  I LOVE IT!!!!

[Cordelia]

You people here are awesome, I feel so relieved reading your answers, I'm so happy to hear this that it will still work even when they wipe the arm. I had no idea, I am so grateful to all of you telling me that, thank YOU all so much! I will have to get some!! I was so worried having the arm swabbed would defeat the purpose but you all relieved my mind! reading your personal experiences!!!!            

[Restorer]

I have the Lidocaine+Prilocaine cream, but it works the same as the EMLA cream. It soaks in over the hour or two that you have it on and covered. When you get to dialysis, you take off the plastic/dressing and wash off the cream. It stays numb for another hour after that. I feel no pain at all with the lower needle. The upper needle can hurt a bit as it goes further in.

I spread on the cream thick enough that I can't see my skin, about twice as wide as my fistula (that is, covering my fistula, plus 50% that width on each side past my fistula), and an inch above and below the highest and lowest stick marks. I don't know yet if that's too much - I guess I'll see if I run out before I can refill the prescription! Then I wrap plain kitchen plastic wrap around my arm, not tightly, and tape the ends. If there are things I need to do that morning before dialysis, I use a large Tegaderm instead because it stays on better and doesn't get in the way.