I've been liberated

[Adam_W]

I'm no longer a slave to the permacath! I had it taken out today. It hurts a little right now because the lidocain is startingto wear off, but it feels SOOOOOO good to have that thing out.

Adam

[Hawkeye]

 

[AlasdairUK]

I know the feeling. I was so happy to have the piece of plastic removed from my chest.I know I now have a large vein in my arm as a replacement to the plastic tube, but at least it is all me. It really helped me to feel normal again.

[stauffenberg]

The debate between the permcath and the fistula will go on forever, it seems.  I never had any other dialysis access than a permcath, and I was quite happy with that situation.  Advantages of the permcath over a fistula include: 1) you may have an aritificial tube in your body, but your body is not itself disfigured; 2) the permcath allows free motion of both your arms during dialysis; 3) there is absolutely no pain on being connected to and disconnected from the dialysis machine; 4) my permcath had to be replaced only three times over nine years of dialysis because of infections, and there was no worry about fistulas gradually wearing out or malfunctioning from the start; 5) there was no recirculation problem possible; 6) I never had to endure the pain of a fistulagram; 7) I never had to endure the pain and inconvenience of surgery to build, repair, or reconstruct a fistula; there was no waiting time between establishing and being able to use the type of access I had; 9) my pump speed was uniformly excellent from start to finish, at 450 rpm, with no changes such as are common with fistuals.

[jbeany]

Good for you, Adam!
 

[okarol]

Yahoo! 

[goofynina]

Ohhhh i remember the day they took mine out and i was able shower again    I can just imagine how great you must feel,  I'm so happy for you 

[Sluff]

  I'm happy for you Adam.

[kitkatz]

I must have stood in the shower for an hour when I got mine out!  I hope your access works well for years!

[BigSky]

Good for you

[LightLizard]

yeah, congrats. it is a relief to get that thing out, finally.
actually, all of the methods of dialysis have their advantages and disadvantages, really.
the permcath takes some getting used to, and it does have it's limitations.
my belly tube keeps me from going swimming, which isn't a real big deal for me, but it is summer now, and i would enjoy a dip in the local pool.
i was quite surprised when my permcath came out. the doc almost had to put his feet on my chest to get it to let go. if i had have known it was that stable, i could have swung from a trapeze with it. but i was so cautious when i had it in. it makes you feel real vulnerable.

[Adam_W]

i was quite surprised when my permcath came out. the doc almost had to put his feet on my chest to get it to let go. if i had have known it was that stable, i could have swung from a trapeze with it. but i was so cautious when i had it in. it makes you feel real vulnerable.

Yeah, mine was stuck in there pretty tight. My suture had started to come loose, and I was being VERY cautious so it wouldn't fall out, but the cuff was holding it in so tight it felt like I could have hung an engine block off of it.

[keefer51]

Yes Adam that is the best feeling. Mine was hell coming out too they had to cut allot of skin that grew around it. But now i can swim!!!!!!!!

[Joe Paul]

Congratulations! Now you can go swimming if you like 

[KT0930]

  I've been through it twice, so I know exactly how you feel! The second time I got it out was also the day they released me to take showers after getting my PD cath. I must have taken 3 showers in the first 24 hours!!!