I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Home Dialysis - NxStage Users => Topic started by: tyefly on June 06, 2009, 06:07:30 PM
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Ok I am wondering if a person can us the nxstage machine at home when you are using a chest catheder .... Can I be thought to hook up my self.......with the catheder....... how is that catheder working does it have some big problems....I am thinking that I am going to have to have a chest catheder put in before I get my fistula or before it will be ready to us....... I dont want to go to the in center stuff for a long time.....
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When my husband and I trained on NxStage, the couple training with us at the same time had a permcath (well, the husband did, at least -- he was the one on dialysis). Will had been using permcaths for about two years in-center (I think he said he had had three or four different caths). My husband (who had been on dialysis much, much longer and had a fistula) told Will he should consider getting a more permanent access, but Will said he was going to stick with the permcath because he was on "the list" and he just knew it wouldn't be long before he got a call. Marvin didn't say anything (he's been on the list a long, long time), but he and I both thought to ourselves, "Yeah, right. The wait is long, but you'll have to find that out on your own." Six weeks later, Will got a kidney/pancreas transplant.
Will and his wife had no problems using the permcath. Except for the masks (which Marvin and I wore, too, out of courtesy to Will because we trained in a small, small room), the lack of needles, and no wait time at the end (to stop bleeding), Marvin and Will's training and experience with NxStage was pretty much the same.
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We asked eagerly about home dialysis back in August (there is a DaVita At Home next door to the regular clinic) and were told that they absolutely, positively did not accept those with catheters. No home dialysis without a fistula.
And we've just been dealing with the fistula hijinx since then. We're scheduled to start training on July 13 - hopefully the fistula will be ready to use again by then.
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You can do it on a catheter, but you will need a partner to hook you up. When you have afistula, you can just have anotherr person around.
Get your fistula sooner rather than later, and hopefully you can avoid the catheter.
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At the clinic where Marvin trained (Wilmington, NC), we were told that a partner was absolutely, positively required. The fistula was optional -- as they accept permcath accesses, too. I guess each place is different.
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When my fistula stopped working, and my graft was inserted, I had to use a cathetar while waiting for it to heal. I do home hemo on NxStage, and actually found that using a cathetar was much easier. I didn't get as great of a clearance as I do with the fistula or graft, but hooking up was actually quicker and less stressful than using the needles. My clinic had no problem with me using the cathetar, they just supplied different supplies. I didn't need needles, but I needed cap replacements and different cleansers, and masks were a necessity instead of an option. Also, I found it much eaier to hook up myself using the cathetar. I don't understand why it would be more necessary to have a partner with a cathetar than with needles. I would actually think it would be the other way around.
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I am using a permacath while my fistula heals.