Needle Pain

Discussions for Patients, Family, and Friends HD For Patients
1

Hi all,

I do daily nocturnal 7 hours, 6 nights a week. I’ve been using buttonholes for about 3 years now. To start with, for almost a year, there was no pain at all while cannulating and during the treatment too. Slowly however, a little pain started during cannulation. For this, I started injecting a little 2% lignocaine just before cannulation. This helped.

However, a few months back, I would have pain in the middle of treatment. I would wake up and try to press the area around the cannulation sites, fold around the area and then go back to sleep. The pain wasn’t unbearable. But it was there and it bothered me a lot. I was advised to create another pair of buttonholes. I did. This helped too for a while. But a few weeks back, I began having pain every now and then.

I still use lignocaine. So, during cannulation there is almost no pain. But once in 2 or 3 days, during the treatment, I wake up with pain. After a while, I do manage to go back to sleep. But this bothers me since the whole idea of using the buttonhole method is not to have pain.

I thought maybe same site cannulation is not working for me. So, a couple of days back, I started using sharp needles and thought of giving the step ladder method a shot. The first night was great. No pain at all. Last night, however, the pain was back.

I am really at a loss as to what to do. While sleeping, I tend to turn to the side my fistula is (its in the upper left arm). Could this cause the pain?

And I cannot go to any doctor here in India because no one has even heard of the buttonhole method!

Please help me! Any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks
Kamal

2

Hi Folks

Hi Kamal

I do nocturnal also and have been since 4 of 06… Pain management has been one of the hardest parts to overcome… You should talk with your Dr to see if not demand a change in time on dialysis.

My center and I have a understanding that if I need to back off , I can back off… As long I tell them and write it down on flow sheet… The Key to dialysis is you!!! The Tx should not be causing you more pain, than the fact you have no kidney function. .

My buttonholes ,my shoulders, both arms still induce pain to wake me at half way into TX… When I get the money I’m going to a good chair and try nocturnal in a chair. I want to see if that helps with my shoulder and back pain. Are you the one who got another fistula put in for that reason??

Best To You
Bob O’Brien

3

Thanks Bob! No, I’m not the one.

Kamal

4

This sounds to me more like what I have, I suspect you could be experiencing tendinitis/carpal tunnel syndrome? Long term dialysis and the fistula can awfully cause nerve damage, pain ranges from shoulders to hands. After a few years it starts mild then progresses after many years on dialysis. My Doctor mentioned to me once, after doing home dialysis many unusual occurences may happen and the research we’re all in is beginning to show not just the good things but also the bad things. The problem can be solved with carpal release surgery and fisula maintenance. Hope you solve your problem…Luck!

[quote=kamalshah20;17641]Hi all,

I do daily nocturnal 7 hours, 6 nights a week. I’ve been using buttonholes for about 3 years now. To start with, for almost a year, there was no pain at all while cannulating and during the treatment too. Slowly however, a little pain started during cannulation. For this, I started injecting a little 2% lignocaine just before cannulation. This helped.

However, a few months back, I would have pain in the middle of treatment. I would wake up and try to press the area around the cannulation sites, fold around the area and then go back to sleep. The pain wasn’t unbearable. But it was there and it bothered me a lot. I was advised to create another pair of buttonholes. I did. This helped too for a while. But a few weeks back, I began having pain every now and then.

I still use lignocaine. So, during cannulation there is almost no pain. But once in 2 or 3 days, during the treatment, I wake up with pain. After a while, I do manage to go back to sleep. But this bothers me since the whole idea of using the buttonhole method is not to have pain.

I thought maybe same site cannulation is not working for me. So, a couple of days back, I started using sharp needles and thought of giving the step ladder method a shot. The first night was great. No pain at all. Last night, however, the pain was back.

I am really at a loss as to what to do. While sleeping, I tend to turn to the side my fistula is (its in the upper left arm). Could this cause the pain?

And I cannot go to any doctor here in India because no one has even heard of the buttonhole method!

Please help me! Any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks
Kamal
http://kamaldshah.com[/quote]