just bumping this up, not sure if it was seen or not. I remember someone asking about the tape.
Queenie.
I see what you mean now gus (reply from another thread)…
If my surgeon saw me with something wrapped around my arm he would kill me!!! We are told not to have ANYTHING wrapped around our arms and not to wear clothing too tight.
When I got my fistula done, a nurse wrapped a bandage around it loosely so as to say dont do BP on this arm. Welllll…the surgeon came around and said to get it off quick smart, he didnt care how loose it was!
My main problem is with the tape while its on all night to secure the needles. As I only leave the gauze and tape on afterwards for a few hours.
I use the yukyband stuff too. I still itch but no where near as much as I do if I use micropore. I find the yukyband is more secure in holding the needles, as its quite strong.
Hmm, interesting, perhaps your fistula hasn’t matured yet? Maybe brand new fistulas are easy to lose, so its great that your Dr. really showed that he cared.
When I use the band its not tight at all, just enough to hold the gauze…
At least yukyband is working a bit for you… better than nothing… 
Oh its well matured dont worry about that!! Its quite large and has hardened. Ive had it for about a year and 3 or 4 months. Cant even remember when I got it done :roll:
I am pretty sure the surgeon would still disapprove of bandages around it. He even went as far as telling me what to do with my t-shirts that I wear to dialysis, so Im not rolling them up!! 
I just wear clothes that are lose, cant stand tight ones anyway. My fistula is my lifeline, so ill be doing as told!
I have an upper arm transposition and always have to remind staff that they aren’t to use a tourniquet. At first the nurses insisted on it and a polite argument ensued. One even brought over the nursing manual (ANNA rules) and insisted it was THE procedure for cannulating. The surgeon said no, not even when fully matured so that’s what I’m going by. Perhaps if someone doesn’t have a trans. it’s not as dangerous but a trans. is very close to surface. It’s not so much the tape but the adhesive on it that causes the problems. We were using regular bandaids on my access and things were fine; then they must’ve changed the adhesive and arm turned red and swollen and outline of bandaids remained even after removal. The nurse now uses SureSeals and there have been no more irritation. Lin.
Six of one and half a dozen of the other…
This is something you will hear many different approaches to. Generally, we are taught never to tape completely around the arm. Nephrologists don’t like to see tape all around the fistula. But then, sometimes a person can be an easy bleeder, and wrapping around is safer - as long as it’s not too tight.
Tourniquets… I use one on my upper arm fistula. Obviously, you’re not supposed to tighten it so much that you stop blood flow. Without a tourniquet to puff up the vein a little, there’s no way I would get those buttonholes in. It’s just too floppy up there.
Sure-Seals… I used them in-centre. My program doesn’t want home hemo patients to use them though.
Pierre
I use a torniquet as well. I thought everyone did? I dont see how you could get a cannula in a new fistula without one :?
I sometimes forget to tighten it, and funny enough the needles have gone in anyway.
Gus write:
The situation on my end is the same. Simply no tape all around the arm, but the do use clamps on patients who don’t want to hold. The staff ask them first for approval…
My understanding is that clamps should not be used, period. This is done due to understaffing. Stressed out staff don’t want to hold. They ask permission?- permission of gullible, uneducated patients who don’t know what the effects are to ruin their access?? Cmon… How does management justify blatant medical abuse such as this :evil:
I guess there are always exceptions. On the subject of clamps…
The very first person I ever saw cannulate himself was a guy in the chair across from me after I first started at the dialysis centre. I always watched in amazement as he did this. At the time, I never thought I could do this myself. He also cleared his own alarms, and he obviously had more knowledge than the average dialysis patient. But, this guy also used two clamps afterwards rather than hold with his fingers. It seemed to work fine for him. In more than a year, I never saw him bleed.
Pierre
What are clamps?
When patients don’t want to hold…a fistula clamp
Gus, could you please give us a bit more detail? Is it like a torniquet? I havent ever heard of these clamps.
It’s not a torniquet, its only used once treatment is over…needles out, compression. then clamps on…most patients don’t want to hold for a few minutes, instead they ask for clamps. Some patients who can’t hold for the reason of weak hands do use them for sure. For the most part they exist as staff don’t have time to be holding for patients, they’re too busy getting the next machine setup for the next patient coming in…
Clamps can cause problems with accesses. They’re used by nurses and/or technicians in dialysis who must get off one shift of patients and get to the next shift quickly. It makes it possible for nurses and/or techs to not have to sit with a patient and hold his/her sticks – time that could be well spent educating someone in my opinion and that might not make a clinic feel like an assembly line.
However, some people have limited hand mobility or their hands cramp while holding their sticks and they like to use a clamp. However, before using a clamp, I’d suggest that anyone considering doing so click on the link below and then click on the link to the Word document on clamps that has cautions:
http://www.fistulafirst.org/changetool8.htm
In the dialysis centres here, they have NO CLAMPS, ever. Like I said, I’ve only ever seen one patient use them, and he brought his own. Clamps are not reliable.
Pierre
Thanks for the picture I didnt see it before I replied. I would be too scared to use them incase they came off or something. My hands start to shake after 5 minutes of holding but what can you do.
The surgeon’s thougts on clamps and tourniquets (at least for me) was don’t use either. A transposition (especially mine) is extremely close to the surface, and that was done so they wouldn’t need a tourniquet. I was in my forties when I started dialysis and because of narrow veins didn’t have many options for an access so as it is I don’t really have the usual type so that being the case surgeon said if I wanted it to last a long time I shouldn’t use clamps, and should hold only one site at a time. We must consider (in regards to clamps and tourniquets) that there are pts. in center who might not be able to look forward to a long time on dialysis because of advanced age or other factors; they aren’t going to have to worry about having a functioning access in twenty years. They use clamps on some of the pts. where I go, but relatively few, and they are older persons who aren’t able to hold their sites. They use the spring loaded type of clamps illustrated. The first unit I was at allowed family to hold; this unit doesn’t allow that. I take good care of my access, because it takes good care of me; in fac†, I still do another thing that the surgeon and his staff recommended and that is warm soaks. I have a heating pad with a moist insert, but I would rather soak it in the tub or spa set at lower temperature, mine being set at 99. Lin.
Just wondering what “transposition” means? Is that where they do an operation to bring the vein closer to the surface? I have had that done too (called a superficialisation), but I still use a torniquet.