Arterial Collapsing?

[Jess21]

Does anyone else have the problem of their arterial collapsing while using the AV fistula?  I was 3 hours into tretment, I moved my wrist an inch an the machine beeped. Nothing unusual.  But then about 5 minutes later it went off, and continued going off every minute or less.  The tech said it looked like a kink was somewhere, but there wasn't any.  She checked my needles.  She asked if I had ever had the problem of my arterial collapsing, and I hadn't.  She thought then maybe there was a clot in the machine then.  About 5 minutes after than I started feeling throbbing about 2 inches below my arterial, the machine would beep/stop, the throbbing would stop, machine starts, it starts.  I told the tech, who told the nurse, who told her to stop my treatment before I infiltrated.
Is this normal at all?  The tech was trying my buttonhole for her second time today, and she went too deep first.  Could it have just been delayed reaction to that?  Going too deep didn't really didn't hurt, and the pain was to the left of that. She thought maybe it was from the needle rubbing?

[Sluff]

I don't know if this has happened before for anyone but I am sorry it happened to you. 

[BigSky]

I have heard of it happening when blood pump speed is too much for the fistula to handle.  Do you have veins draining off the fistula before your needle sticks?

[Jess21]

They just stick the needles in and go.  They did an access test eariler in the treatment and the flow rate was over 1000.  400 is passing, and I think it was 1200 last time.  But yea she would turn down the speed and turn it back up everytime.

[G-Ma]

I had this problem with arterial and some with veinous......one of the Nephrologists who was a Medical Professor asked me to show him how I cannulate and how I hold my arm after....he then told me to make sure the fistula was lower then my heart during cannulating and try to keep it lower during dialysis as if it is even with the heart or level it will empty back to the heart and flatten....well guys...I changed how I was cannulating and changed the level I keep my arm and no more problems...this also made self cannulating easier.  I just takes talking to the right person as they all have different ideas, like we all do too.
Ann

[Jess21]

well on friday my arterial started collapsing about 10 minutes into my treatment..  they kept moving the tape, then the nurse and another tech ended up moving the needle...the second move it OKed the pressures until the end of my treatment.  I noticed a bumb between my two sites before treatment Friday, but since it wasn't painful they said just to do warm compress on it.  So I did Fri and Sat, and it went down, so they said keep doing it.  Now yesterday I had no problems at all the machine didn't beep once...could it have just been the bump causing the problems?!?

[nursewratchet]

Sounds like the needle was hitting the wall of the vein.  Common, especially starting a buttonhole.  The needle can hit the wall, and it "sucks" into itself due to pressure.  Remember, the arterial is pulling blood away from the body.  If it's against a wall, it's like holding the vaccum to your hand, nothing will go through, and it will collapse the vein.  Not dangerous, unless it's not readjusted, then can infiltrate.  The alarm notifies them to readjust the needle. 

[Jess21]

Yes I know it sucks the blood out..but even when they would move the needles it wouldn't fix the problem.
I had a fistulagram last Friday, turns out I had 4 clots, 2 of them being in the arterial.  Now the arterial works great!  Venous, now that's another story.  It's worse.