Holding after dialysis

[JeanieSpokane]

I had a marathon holding session today - two HOURS!  My fistula is fine - thrums like a bastard - I can't even sleep on my left side because it buzzes through my pillow.  An ultrasound showed it is flowing marvelously.  I've cut down my heparin to 2,000 bolus, no maintenance.  It is driving me absolutely nuts.  Give me the days of my catheter - which i used for nearly two years!!! 

[del]

Oh my goodness!!  That is a long time!!!  Hubby does nocturnal home hemo - uses a bolus of 2000 heparin and a 1.4 every hour.  He usually only holds for les than 5 minutes.  2 hours is WAY too long!!

[Desert Dancer]

Holy Mackerel!    Two HOURS??? No wonder you long for your catheter. I do nocturnal - 2,000 bolus and 1.2 per hour - and I am down to holding for 1 or 2 minutes. Do they have any clue why you have to hold so long?

[gkcoley]

did they do a venagram? ive always heard increased bleeding is i sign of an impending clot off, mine would bleed for 3-4 hours in the weeks before it clotted...might wanna ask the center about that.  Dont mean to scare you and hope this helps

[keefbeer]

"did they do a venagram? ive always heard increased bleeding is i sign of an impending clot off, mine would bleed for 3-4 hours in the weeks before it clotted...might wanna ask the center about that.  Don't mean to scare you and hope this helps"


This is great advice, my holding time was slowly but surely getting longer, up to 90 min.  A fistula-gram should the fistula was closing off so the Doctor went a head and got out his balloons on a wire and carried out a fistulaplasty.
My holding time is now less than 10 minutes and that's with a flow of 3200 and 14 gauge needles

[sullidog]

I agree, even if it does flow good that holding time tells there's something about to go wrong.

[Rerun]

Good to hear from you Jeanie!  Yeah, there is too much pressure.  Do you know what your v and a pressures are when your are on the machine?  Holding more than 10 minutes   Too long. 

How is the button hole procedure going?

[Whamo]

Two hours sounds easy to me, but I'm on a 4 hours hemo program.  I get that part about your fistula pulsing and keeping you awake.  That can drive you nuts.

[JeanieSpokane]

Thanks, all.  Whamo - it's not my dialysis time (3.5 hours) - it is the time I sit there at the end and hold my site until it stops bleeding.  Actually - I think I found the problem.  My center wasn't cooperating and letting me have the same tech each time even though there was one available.  The techs have been really having trouble getting the blunts in the buttonholes, more often than not pegging the phantom hole one of them drilled.  I now have the same tech continuously and she used the touch cannulation method (holding the tubing behind the wings) and it glides right in.  I am hoping that after a few times, my tissue will shrink and the holding time (after dialysis) will lessen to normal.  If not, I'll see my fistula surgeon for the fistulagram.