My experience this week with my catheter

[TynyWonder]

This is my story........

Wednesday while at dialysis, my catheter came out TWO freaking inches!!!  I could not tell any difference & never looked down because I was dozing in & out.   How it came to my attention was the dietitian came by to discuss my labs with me & SHE is the one who told me I had blood all over my shirt!  Of course, I started freaking out as this has never happened to me before.   I told her, "tell somebody!"  She did tell the head nurse that was there for that day & she just nonchalantly said, "OK, I'll be over there in a minute" and boy, did she ever take her sweet a** time!  She took me off the machine & got the bleeding to stop somehow and then she finally called the doctor & he of course, told her I needed to go to the hospital.   My Aunt came & got me & we sat in the ER for 5 hours and they did nothing but took blood & started an IV and then at 9:30 that night, they put me in a room.  It took the doctors the rest of the night & most of Thursday to decide what to do with me.   Well, they finally decided to replace the catheter but due to the fact, that I am on 2 different blood thinners for a clotting factor, they had to stop me from taking the blood thinners & then to thicken my blood, they gave me a shot of vitamin K AND 2 bags of plasma.    They had to thicken my blood enough to be able to have the surgery.

The worse part for me was, that each time they did something to thicken my blood, they would have to draw blood to check see if my blood was getting thicker and since I am a dialysis patient, they were having MAJOR trouble getting blood from me!  I have SEVEN bruises on my right arm (the only arm they can use) from where they were trying to get just ONE tube and also 2 other bad bruises from having to do another IV while I was in surgery as the first one failed. 

Also, another gripe I have is like I said, the dietitian is the one who noticed all the blood and there were FIVE other staff members in there who never even noticed!   Now, that to me is scary!!!   I could not help but think that what if me or any other patient's blood pressure had dropped & they would have passed out, who would have noticed?    Yeah, I know the machine may have alerted them but I have also seen this very thing happen to patient & their machine DID NOT go off, luckily in his case someone did happen to see the poor guy looking "out of it".   Needless to say, I did tell my neph about how no one seen this happening to me & he told me twice that he would say something & when I told the dietitian today what he said, she said, "and he will say something to them too".   So, I hope he does & I will ask him next week when he makes his round if he in fact, did say something to his staff.   

So, now I have a new catheter and in ALOT of pain, but thank GOD for pain meds!      Oh, the doctor did tell me that the reason that my catheter may have come out was because there is a "cuff" on the cath & it somehow slipped out and also I had had that catheter in, since  March '07 so, it was kind of old but still, don't you think out of FIVE staff members somebody should have seen it?   

Thanks for listening to me 

[Sluff]

What a scary ordeal. ...

[okarol]

I hope they didn't notice because it had just come out before the dietitian noticed. It can be partially out but you wouldn't notice until the back pressure of hooking you up pushed it out.
I am sorry you had to experience that - it sounds frightening. Luckily you weren't alseep with a blanket over you. Maybe no one would have noticed until you had a pool of blood under your chair, too late to do anything!

 

[Lori1851]

Oh My Gosh!!!!
My son's  also came out but because of a new nurse pulled on it!!!!!!! Dustin also had to have his replaced and needless to say that nurse was not at his center anymore. I was the one to call his Neph and tell him!!!!!!! Dustin was also sent to the hospital. I think they need to be more careful. Dustin had his 1st one for quite sometime and never had any trouble. I hope you will be having a better day and pain free.

Lori/Indiana(mom to Dustin R.I.P.)

[pelagia]

You have every right to rant! How scary.  I hope you have smooth sailing with the new catheter. 

[alrightstill]

Ohhhhhhhhh man.  I hear more and more about this happening!

Back when I used to go incenter I was just sitting watching TV and all of a sudden my machine started alarming like crazy.  Like I normally used to do .. I'd mute it myself and call a tech over.. so I go to mute it.. look down and the clamps for the cath are like.. by my hip!!  There was no blood or nothing!!  I have no idea how it slipped out cuz like I said, I was just sitting there the whole time - it was also a cath I had in for about a year and a half.   

Anyway - there was still a bit of the cath in me, so they carefully took me off the machine and told me to go to have it replaced.. but to be careful as to not let the rest come out so that they could just tunnel in a new one.   Well, I went a day or two with that cathter hanging like that.. it was partially my fault cuz I wanted a certain radiologist to put it in and refused anyone else.   So I'm laying on the table.. after going so long with being careful as to not pull the rest of this thing out - and a nurse comes in and starts scrubbing hard as hell with bedadine.. and what do you know?  It slipped right out.     Her jaw dropped and needless to say when the doc came in he ripper her a new one and told her to leave.  I was so pisssed - I mean, I coulda went swimming in those 48 hours without the cath!!  Grrr.

Anyway - glad to hear you got a new one put in.  And yeah - those pain meds are lovely.   

[monrein]

What a nightmare TW.  I'm always paranoid about catheters and used to measure the bit hanging out every day just to  be sure.  I'm so glad you're OK but so sorry you've had this ordeal. 

[RCA]

Oh, the doctor did tell me that the reason that my catheter may have come out was because there is a "cuff" on the cath & it somehow slipped out and also I had had that catheter in, since  March '07 so, it was kind of old but still, don't you think out of FIVE staff members somebody should have seen it?   

Don't most catheters have 2 cuffs?  And..."old" because it has been used for 1 1/2 years?  How long should catheters last?  I hope more than 1 1/2 years! 

[TynyWonder]

Don't most catheters have 2 cuffs?  And..."old" because it has been used for 1 1/2 years?  How long should catheters last?  I hope more than 1 1/2 years! 

I don't really know for sure but I don't think a catheters have a certain "life span"........someone else may be able to answer this question???  Anyone know? 

[monrein]

I think RCA may be talking about a PD catheter, while TynyWonder is talking about a permacath for hemodialysis??? Different catheters, different purposes and different life spans. 

[RCA]

Thanks monrein...I was thinking of PD catheter : ) 

[G-Ma]

Tyny...so glad you are doing better....by the way, how is your new fistula doing?  now that you have a new cath, your fistula is probably almost ready to use too hmm?  Mine is doing great since the rotor rooter job.  Hope you are up and around soon so you don't miss the fall colors outside.
Ann

[TynyWonder]

G-Ma,

My graft is doing OK but kinda has an infection not a bad one tho; therefore, that is why I think the surgeon put off using it just yet.    Yeah, I am doing rather well despite that freaking surgery!        This fall weather, oh, I love the fall weather & I just told my Aunt tonight that I like wearing fall/winter clothes so I can hide my "battle scars", ya know?

[jbeany]

   This fall weather, oh, I love the fall weather & I just told my Aunt tonight that I like wearing fall/winter clothes so I can hide my "battle scars", ya know?

I hear that!  Turtleneck sweaters are great at covering parathyroid surgery scars.

[TynyWonder]

   This fall weather, oh, I love the fall weather & I just told my Aunt tonight that I like wearing fall/winter clothes so I can hide my "battle scars", ya know?

I hear that!  Turtleneck sweaters are great at covering parathyroid surgery scars.

We need a ^5 (high 5) face/pic but yeah, jbeany I agree!

[paris]

What a scary experience!  I hope things are getting better and you can enjoy this lovely fall season.    

[drinkboy]

It's scary how those types of things can happen and when they do, you'd like to see some urgency in the response.  As we know, it doesn't always happen unfortunately.  I am glad the infection is not serious and you are doing better.  Stay positive!!

[TynyWonder]

Thanks drinkboy and to everyone else who wished me well!    I am doing much better thanks!

[devon]

I'm glad you seem to be on the other side of this, Tiny! 

What a terrible ordeal!

The RANT button was made for you in this case, I believe!

-Devon

[TynyWonder]

  Devon!