Angie...I am so sorry that you are having such a hard time with cannulation. It is hard to give advice without actually experiencing your fistula, however, if you KNOW there are certain areas of your fistula that are "problem" areas, DO NOT let anyone stick you there. They should be rotating sticks on your fistula anyway and using as much of it as humanly possible. To concentrate on only small areas, you get what you have...big areas with scar tissue that are impossible to easily stick. Plus you increase your chances of aneurysms. Also...are you leaving the emla cream on at least an hour prior to sticking?
Yes a full hour so that it is dumb. But even if it wasn't that doesn't effect how they stick me as I don't jump. But there is a huge area of scar tissue and they can only stick the beginning and the end before my elbow with out problems and they seem to want to stick me in the only straight part which keeps blowing