Anyone have a medi-port or portacath?

[classicsredone]

I'm waiting for approval for IVIG treatment, and I have horrible veins. Nurses look at me and shake their heads. I'm nursing an infection right now after a nurse poked me several times and didn't use the best procedure. I was too knocked out on percocet in the ER to ask for another nurse to take a try at the IV, though normally I would. Every nurse I've spoken with has said that a port would be a good idea, and they all said they prefer the portacath/mediport. I let my neurologist know that I'd like one, and they've referred me out to talk to a surgeon about it.

If you have a port, do you like it? Is it worth it? How was the healing process for you?

 

[maple]

Lunachick had to get cancer treatments and I remember her talking about a port. Maybe you could ask her about hers. I do remember her and coyotemagic talking about ports being a good thing. So try asking those two ladies...I bet they would be of great help.

Hope you get to feeling better soon.



hugs,
gretch

 

[AhBee01]

My dad had to get one, he didn't want to do it, but after awhile it just had to get done, his was in the chest area, and he never complained about it after it healed. He needed it for IVIG, and Plasmapheresis. He had CIPD. I think after it was all said and done he was glad he did it. He got tired of being poked so much! Not sure what kind he got, they just called it the port.

 

[gryeyes]

I had a porta-cath implanted in my left chest area when I was undergoing chemotherapy and LOVED the thing. It was intended for infusions, but the Cancer Center nurses would access it for blood draws, too. If not used regularly it had to be flushed periodically, but then I went on dense dose chemo and was accessed regularly enough. It was removed in the brief interval after chemo ended and before I began my radiation treatments.

 

[TriciaHowe]

I agree that if you are a hard stick this may be the best option for you. My FIL was on long term antibiotics and just recently had his removed. He had 3 different ones over the course of several months (his was a picc line though). My dad and MIL had caths for chemo and they were a godsend. I am a nurse and have flushed tons of them and they are so wonderful for people who need long term IV treatment.
Good luck with it either way!

 

[classicsredone]

I haven't heard anything but good things, even from people that have had the rare infections. I think this will be a good thing for me. The usual protocol is something like every 3-5 days of treatment every 4 weeks or so. I read about accessing the port to flush and I think I could actually do it if I had to. I've done my own injections when I was low on B12, and for migraines. Different, I know, but the nurses have said it is really easy to access aside from the extra precautions with cleaning the skin.

Thank you!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I had a porta-cath for about a year for chemotherapy. It doesn't really hurt going in or coming out and it healed very quickly after it was removed. The scar is very small. As was mentioned previously, if you have small veins, it would be very helpful. Having said all that, I hated having it in me because it was a constant reminder and I really didn't like having it accessed. Accessing it didn't hurt, it just felt weird. It was a happy day when it was removed!

 

[dewey]

Mine was implanted in my chest after a PICC line vein failure from chemo created an emergency situation. It took around an hour in the operating room to implant it. The surgery for the type I had implanted usually requires it being done under anesthesia but there was no time for that. I would suggest anesthesia for the surgery. I think both types have pros & cons. With a picc line you won't have to get stuck with a needle every time, but you have to deal with tubes and they have their own issues. With an implanted chest port you will have to get poked through the chest each time with a nail-looking thick needle, but there's no external lines to deal with. The surface skin is numbed with a spray before the big nail poke but it's still nail-like going in and not pleasant. A chest port is not for anyone with an aversion to needles. The surgery bruised my chest and neck and the site was sore for a couple of months while healing. The site was always dressed so you never forget it's there, but you get used to it being there after a while when it quits hurting. My chemo rounds were inpatient, but in between hospital stays it got flushed with heparin several times a week in the doc offices. It did end up having to be removed sooner than planned because of blockage. I think it was convenient for a number of things when experienced nurses accessed it, but a lot of nurses will not be good at accessing it because they do not do it often like the specialty nurses. As far as comfort, side sleepers would probably be happiest with it if it's implanted on the opposite side they sleep on, and also for women, if it's placed to avoid the bra straps rubbing it. Pets were retrained (quickly

) to avoid the port area. The chest scar from it is a little over an inch long and has round poke scars all around it, and the neck vein incision scar is a little under an inch long.

 

[classicsredone]

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I can see how that could bother you, especially with cancer. It is a constant reminder that you are sick. /

 

[classicsredone]

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Is side sleeping a big issue? I read that it might pinch off the line. I can't sleep on my back because of the rigidity in my neck, so I alternate sides when I sleep.