Taking Matters into Your Own Hands
By Judy Weintraub
Judy Weintraub had been on dialysis since 1975. Her fistula was created several months later and was still being used when this essay was preserved. Judy cannulated her own fistula.
I stick my own needles. We have all heard our access called our lifeline. Guess what? It is. And you protect a lifeline the best way you can. It is the most precious thing you have. It allows you to get the dialysis you need to keep living your life. The most common reason for hospitalization of dialysis patients is access problems. Much of this can be preventable.
I was sixteen years old and on dialysis for several months when my second fistula was having problems. The veins were small, clots kept forming, and my veins were often infiltrated. I endured many days of missed needles resulting in a swollen and painful arm. There were tough days when I was stuck six to eight times before I could begin treatment.
I proposed another solution: "I'll do it." I knew I had to figure out a way to live a life with dialysis, and that meant drastically reducing the needle anxiety. Slowly, I began taking it on. First, by holding my sites at the end, then by giving myself the lidocaine shots before the needles. Finally, with the guidance and support of two deeply caring nurses, Addie and Pricilla, I learned to insert my own needles.
By the following year, I was going ahead with plans to move from New York to Southern California to attend UCLA. Without the knowledge that I could insert my own needles, I doubt that I would have had the confidence to move. Traveling suddenly seemed possible. I am currently on hemodialysis, and my fistula has been buzzing along since 1976.
Please realize that it is rare that anyone will suggest that you learn to stick your needles. If you are interested, raise the issue yourself and work with your most trusted nurse or technician to make it happen. Protect your access the best way you can.
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