Gus's Buttonhole Cannulation

[Gustine]

Lynda Ball from ANNA,.... correct?

[TheChicagoTeam]

Great website!!! Have you heard of Lynda Ball?

[TheChicagoTeam]

First off, I like the background music, sounds like one of the Wii games. Good visual aid. I'd like to commend you for taking care of your fistula, how old is it? 30 years is amazing! Was it ever revised or declotted at one point? One quick question, are you using disposable tweezers or do you disinfect it every time? Thanks and I wish you all the best in home dialysis.

[Gustine]

@TheChicagoTeam The fistula is nearly 30yrs now... it has gone through revisions due to the ballooning but never has clotted... at the moment am not using tweezers, I use blunt needles with built-in scab removers... you can find these videos at my other website at DailyHemoDOTorg ... each time I dialyze I do clean,disenfect...

THANKS FOR VISITING...

[toastieee1]

Thank you for the video. I understand the button hole method better now. I am almost finish with my dialysis technician program. I am excited to care for people. I am currently and have been a nursing assistant for a long time. I am ready to care for people in a different way. Good luck and I hope you continue to do well.

[del2nedb]

Great video with one major flaw! Unless you washed your hands for a minimum of 3 minutes before starting the procedure you should have had gloves on. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for an infection.

[Gustine]

@del2nedb With nearly 30 years with the same fistula theres no flaw, no errors...training and experience is the key to success. There are some reckless people out there who will not wash up nor use anything to disinfect before inserting needles, now thats dangerous. I 've know someone who would pick his scabs with a toothpick!! That guy lost his fistula... Thanks for your post.,..

[BaronBaanus]

@del2nedb Gus already outlined why what you have said as the major flaw isnt actually correct. His arm was prepared and swabbed/whiped with anticeptic/anti bacterial solution and he utilised asceptic technique.

[chaosopher23]

That's what you get for selling them on the black market! (just kidding, hope everything goes well for ya. Cheers!)

[adanacro]

Cool video,thanks for putting it up.

It inspired me to put my own needles in at our community hemo clinic.

[Gustine]

@adanacro Glad this video helped you, taking control of your life will free your mind and allow you to even go further by taking dialysis home. Ask your clinic and Dr about home dialysis.

[ser1ren2nity3]

first and foremost... you should be wearing gloves...

[Gustine]

@ser1ren2nity3 If your doing it self not necessarily as long you wash hands and use anti-septics... however, if your the caretaker, the one inserting the needles definately yes...caretaker needs to touch alot of things...

[meltingsnow17]

wow! thanks for posting this. I'm a student nurse and its helped me understand the whole process a little better. saw some stuff like this when I was on placement in the community and it really intrigued me.

Hope you are doing well :)

[Gustine]

@meltingsnow17 Doing well, still doing dialysis at home... thanks for the post... you cna also follow me on twitter/dailyhemo

[angieskidney]

Gus, on KidneyKorner people are talking about Buttonhole and cannulation again and I mentioned you and looked for your video again. Would you like to come to KidneyKorner and post a little about Buttonhole and link to your blog? You are very informed in this area more than I am since I never got as far as self cannulating.

Will you be making any new vids on how to establish buttonholes in the first place at all? Advice? Thx.

[Gustine]

Hi Angie, good to see you again. Hope your kidney is doing well. Try meeting me on YAHOO IM ..we'll sepak more there. Thanks

[Gustine]

@angieskidney Thanks for contacting me on Skype, I want to update my video blog site with a better links directory section and certianly will repay you back with linkback, just been quite busy with those SL tenants, hehe

[AlianzaconDios2009]

G8 video thank you for your continued support in uploading these videos they are very educational for those of us whom do not understand it completely..God Bless...

[WildwestGames]

Great video, I think its nice that patients have that option to do home dialysis.

[TheHarbinger23]

When I first saw your video, I was really shocked to find that i can't believe I do this stuff for a living. I'm a dialysis technician, and I take care of people like this every day, but watching this video at home, I have to say that I don't think much about work when I get home. I'm glad I saw this video because it's hard to really understand that patients go home and have real lives. I'm glad you put this video up for everyone to see, and I hope you're doing well with home hemo.

[Gustine]

Thanks for stopping by here, but did you know that 3x per week dialysis is too little to keep alive for many years? To be able to feel good and eat better dialysis patients need more than 3x per week dialysis... dialysis is painful and kinda like a lifetime torturebut what matters the most is that we feel better and hope government will allow wide-spread home dialysis.

[Gustine]

I was actually 12 years old when I started doing self-sticks...the real reason was I got tired from staff doing bad sticks and worst the infiltrations, so I decided to take control doing it. In matter of fact its alot better cuz you can feel where the needle is going, so that will really save your fistula from failing, its your life-line! Thanks for the tape tip......you should be brave and record a video of yourself self cannulating, show all the world that you really can...

[darkrai900]

hey i,m a 14 year old boy who has been on dialysis for most of my life since i was 2 and i keep chikening out to stick my self what helped u first stik ur self.

and there is a much bettter medical tape u could use to hold ur needles down.

well thats it if u can reply plz replyto my account page up here on youtube thx. =)

[gladtidings4all]

hello there I saw your video I am a LPN dialysis nurse from USA for 20 yrs. And I was reading from your comments that you do dialysis 5x week and was thinking wouldn't all those needle insertions cause scar damage to access site,causing the skin to get thin, and noticed that you cannulate yourself in almost the same site, which is really not good for the life of your access. I also had a brother and grandmother on hemodialysis too. just wondering about your access care.

[Gustine]

Hi and welcome!

actually, I am doing 6x per week for about 2.5 hours daily. The needling method as stated in video is called "ButtonHole" so there is no scarring at all. On the contrary it saves the fistula, simply there's no sharp needles used. In Google search Davita Buttonhole and you will find further information about it.

[TheHarbinger23]

Wow, I work in a buttonhole clinic, where like 50 of our 75 patients with fistulas have buttonholes. It's kind of funny seeing that there are dialysis employees out there that have never heard of it.

[neutrogenaz]

Thanks for sharing ...Thanks

[kinchion]

what about cramps and low blood pressure

[Gustine]

Daily-Short dialysis which is 6x a week has less stress on the body than doing incenter 3x per week. Doing 6x per week is way more gentle than the incenter 3x per week. Currently, I am averaging only .5 of fluid to take off...Before, at center I was taking up to 4Kg to take off!! So as you can see 4Kg is quite a ride, which in turn causes cramps and low blood pressure. Daily-Short and Nocturnal doesn't do that...

Thanks for your reply

[fshfearme]

GREAT video thought. Keep edjucating.

[Gustine]

Make a home video of your Nxstage setup. We want to see it! Thanks...

[fshfearme]

Ive been doing homehemo for a year now on the nxstage machine. Its awsome. I only have one sugestion and that is to were gloves. you guys need to prevent infection. Usem and change em ofton.

[Gustine]

Hey thats cool, can you make a home video of your setup and upload to Youtube?

My care partner does use gloves. There's been debates about whether patients who insert their own needles really don't need the gloves. Personally, I think my care partner needs the gloves more than I do. Though I do wash my hands and use anti-septic hand lotions like Purell. Thanks for your suggestions!

[xXxBartenderxXx]

Wow!! it feels Good Xp

[Gustine]

You betcha! There's no place like home. Its great to be at home and caring for myself and hope other people can learn that home dialysis is just as safe as incenter dialysis but with an added benefit.... much more freedom at home.

[angieskidney]

A guy who sat beside me in dialysis used to do the buttonhole technique and encouraged me to go that route. My fistula was to wobbly to be stable enough for me to self cannulate. After 7 months even the dialysis staff gave up on my arm. The first fistula didn't even last past 10 days. When you have a good one it is good to use buttonhole to keep it working longer! Good vid! Thx for uploading this Gus! :)

[Gustine]

Hi Angie, great to hear from you again. Btw, do you still have your kidney transplant?

Thanks for posting....

[aminakoyum]

Hi

Instead of picking the scab, can you insert those needles above or below the scab so you won't stick yourself in the same place again and again?

[Gustine]

This is buttonhole method, you suppose to use the same tunnel over and over. the scab is to be taken out...flipped off.

[aminakoyum]

Thank you

[krisjill08]

Hi gus. My prayers are with you. My 12 year old son just had his 2nd Kidney transplant. He was on dialysis also, hemo and peritoneal.Your very strong. god bless

[billsurf76]

Gus you are a hero, thanks for sahring you made us with and appreciate some of the things we get for granded, wish you all the best. God bless you

[onixmaj]

my brother's friend also has kidney problem and he may also go through a dialysis...I pray the Lord that all of you has this kind of illness will be blessed and fully be healed.

[vamp666babe]

Makes us feel like doctors doesnt it. :D

[lovepeacenappiness23]

I wish all of you better health. I too was patient,but I was blessed with a trnsplnt. I nevr heard of those kind of needles. Take care

[HTown45Xog]

wow

[longbeachlt]

its a hard life my mom had this done 3 times a week and i go with her to dialysis every time sincei take care of her but with the help from christ jesus we get it done .

[helenrose70]

Thanks for sharing your great video with us. I am a dialysis nurse in the UK and we have just started using buttonhole cannulation at our unit.

[joqueza]

just got here by surfing on youtube but all i can say you're a true warrior and I hope medicine to invent better devices to help even more your daily life with dialysis...

[cesarb323]

i'm on dialysis too, great videos Gus.

[carrington57]

Hi Gus like the video but not sure about the way you remove scabs, i use Emla cream(under a tegladerm dressing) which i put on a few hors earlier, this softens the scabs and they come off very eaily

[Gustine]

Interesting, I should try that. Though my clinic didn't train us to use Emla cream I will ask about it. I have tried soaking with alcohol with those 2x2 pads that come with my supplies, thanks for stopping by!

[vett86]

Oh my gosh...you are amazing! To watch this makes me really appreciate my life even more. I have survived cancer twice and haven't gone through what you have to go trough every day.I love this video...I shall pass this onto everyone we know.And say hey...we know this guy! And he made his own video also...This is a 5 star. take care: Miss Mary

[aminakoyum]

gus, do you have to pick the scaps, can u do without picking picking them? and how many techniques are there for dialysis, one way is buttonhole technique like youve said. let me know.

[Gustine]

Buttonhole scabs need to be removed....you can't leave them there or else they may clog the buttonhole needles....as far as other methods well, as far as I know the fistula is the preffered access type and also there are people using cathetors, access which is placed on the chest....

[aminakoyum]

No, I meant other techniques to stick those needles. One technique is buttonhole technique like you did, what other techniques are there to cannulate those needles to AVF or AVF? Thanks

[Gustine]

Currently, for home dialysis daily-short or Nocturnal the preffered method is using the fistula access with buttonholes, but some people are not fortunate to have a fistula so they use PermaCath, while others still use sharp needles....as far as other unique methods I have not seen that yet...

[pollardea1]

Hi amazing video, I am a dialysis nurse in the uk and we are looking at using buttonhole technique, this is the first time i have seen it.

[Gustine]

Buttonhole technique is quite impressive, hardly or no pain at all! Some incenter clinics are already using it or about to start offering it. For incetenter clinics already offering it I applaud them, it really is a BIG step on preparing patients on how to self-cannulate without pain and from there they'd be more willing to do home dialysis. Thanks for visiting!

[BlackWellsJohn]

Hey, I have a brother who is on dialysis in the clinic and I can't believe my eyes that you can do this at home! That machine is so small! Thanks for sharing this with us. I find what your doing is something very speci al and I think not many people would do anyhting like this! You quite have the guts to confront all of this public exposure!

[carolinamorenodk]

I think the video was more educational than gruesome. I look kind of weird at first, but I think is very cool that you want to show people new ways of home dialysis. take care!