Clot, damm you…CLOT!

I had a good sleep last night. I haven’t exactly had any problems sleeping at night, but I often wake up not feeling rested enough. By default, my dialysis machine is set to 8 hours, but this time I set it to 8 hours and 25 minutes. That extra 25 minutes really does mean the difference between rested and unrested to me.

I woke up quite a few times near the end of my treatment to look at my machine. Based on the times left on my machine when I woke up, I seemed to wake up every 15-20 minutes. When there was 10 minutes left, I decided that it was time to disconnect.

I disconnected, stripped my machine, and took my needles out. I sat there for the usual 10 minutes or so, holding my sites, waiting for them to clot. My arterial clotted just as it should, but my venous was a bit more fussy, so I held it some more.

After 5 more minutes, I checked again. I stared at the site for about 3 seconds when it started to bleed again, so I put my tightly rolled gauze back on it. Geez. I really have to go to the washroom. Will this bleeding ever end?

After another 4-5 minutes, I checked again. Still bleeding! What’s going on? At this point, i decided that I was tired of waiting. With much finesse and strategy involved, I used my chin to hold the site as I grabbed my tourniquet and positioned it over the gauze. I tightened it slightly (not too tight) so that it was holding the gauze. I then carefully got up, use the washroom, brushed my teeth, and washed my face. It was at that point that my father brought me breakfast. I figured that after all that I had just done, my venous should definitely have clotted by now. I very carefully took the tourniquet off and looked at the site. FINALLY.

I gently placed a bandage on my site and kept my eyes on it while I ate. It didn’t bleed again.

Anyhow, that was the most exciting thing I did today. Haha. I stayed in bed and chilled.

🙂