Who says you can't use blunt needles in a graft?

[Adam_W]

I had to do hemo today in the centre because of PD leaking, and my nurse had all my supplies laid out for me when I got there, including my needles. She had inadvertently gotten blunt buttonhole needles instead of sharps, and I had other things on my mind, so I failed to notice either. So, I prepare my arm, and go to put my first needle in, and I start to push it in my graft, and "for some reason" it felt like I was trying to push the needle through concrete (gee, I wonder why that might be). You'd think I would have backed off and realized that I had a blunt needle, but I had the crazy thought that my graft was just extra hard from not being used for a while, so I keep pushing and pushing......and pushing.......and STILL pushing, and finally when I thought the needle was going to pop out the other side of my arm, it pushed through into the graft, I got a good back flash of blood, and it ended up working perfectly for the whole treatment. Only then I realized what I had just done. I guess I'm more stubborn and persistent then I thought, trying to push a BUTTONHOLE needle straight through a graft, AND SUCCEEDING! I may have just made "dialysis history" with that little move (at least until I have lots of people tell me "oh, I've done that 10 times". Fortunately, my graft seems to be ok, and I made it through the whole treatment without a single alarm. I don't exactly want to make a habit of it, though.

Adam   

[jbeany]

Umm, ouch!

[flip]

I hope you gave the nurse a good ass chewing.

[Adam_W]

Nah, it was just as much my fault because I should have checked the needle instead of continuing to force it in. Like I said, however, there was no problem. It didn't even hurt.

Adam