Dear Diary: I Videographed My Cannulation

This is my second attempt to video my arm cannulation (needle insertion). It is not painful this time though but the last time is was not as pleasant when the new nurse is the one that pricked my poor unsightly arm. The nightmare never seem to cease as I am always scared by when it is time to get stuck by one of the largest needles in medicine.

My concern is not only if it would be painful but also if it would get a botched job and the skin would bulge. It means that the blood goes out from the arteriovenous vein and into the surrounding tissue. When that happens it is painful. Sometimes you can feel the pain after a day and then it will get hard because the blood would soon coagulate inside for which you will have to wait for it to heal.

Botched cannulation jobs rarely happens though but painful ones you get once in a while but generally it is still okay. The only ones that get pricking problems are the patients with diabetes because they have such a flimsy, thin, and weak veins which are small and not maturing when they make an arteriovenous fistula creation so if they can afford it they go for an embedded access below their skin which is an artificial vein where they would get pricked in turn if a normal arteriovenous fistula creation is not possible.