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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / December 2005Help with PORT?
I'm hoping someone can tell me the upside and downside of having a port put in. I get remicade every 6 weeks and my veins have gotten so bad that it's agony to be poked so many times even by an ER nurse. Does it have to be in your uper chest area or can be put in on the underside of the arm? If any of you have had this procedure - would sure like to hear from you pros and cons. Thanks K > I'm hoping someone can tell me the upside and downside of having a port > put in. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Thanks > K Upper chest has less infection risk, IIRC. A port, as opposed to a catheter, allows the skin to be intact (aside from when they're accessing it for your infusion) which massively reduces the infection risk. The port will remove the need for them to access your veins, unless you're having frequent blood tests (twice weekly or so), in which case they might not want to overuse the skin above the port, I don't know. I have a tri-lumen catheter in my upper chest. It's far better than my veins considering I was having at least one transfusion per week, two blood tests per week, and 24 hour infusions two out of every three days! However, it's an external thing that almost always has to be removed within four weeks due to infection because it spans the skin. My experience with microbiology at university has enabled me to know how to keep it going (it's been in since April), but only because I never ever deviate from the care and cleaning requirements and I am extremely dedicated to its preservation. Nobody in the medical field here can believe how long I've kept it going given the infection risk of these devices and my lack of immune cells plus immunosuppression medication. For you a port is the only way to go for the longevity you need. Keep your veins good for emergencies and the future. Cheers, Ari  Signaturespammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor: http://www.abmdr.org.au/ http://www.marrow.org/ I have had a port for about seven months now. I previously had a picc line but it became infected and was not particularly convenient. I had a port to administer my chemo infusions and also for the monthly blood test. I love it, it is in my upper chest, but, I was told it could be put other places. There are still some procedures that require an IV and for that procedure they usually call in the special IV Team to do it since my 23 years of Prednisone has left me with very bad veins. I was told my port can stay in place for years as long as it is flushed regularly once a month with saline and heparin and it does not develop an infection. You are hardly aware that it is there. You can feel it through your skin, a little larger than a quarter. I say go for it. Don Whitely >> I'm hoping someone can tell me the upside and downside of having a >> port put in. [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Ari My Mother received chemo, off and on for three years and that port was truly a blessing! No probing for that tiny little vein, barely could feel the stick when the port was accessed - truly, a good choice to make. There should be no "down" side as long as there's no infection and that's an individual thing, I expect. Good luck and may God Bless, Hiker >I have had a port for about seven months now. I previously had a picc line >but it became infected and was not particularly convenient. [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] >> >> Ari Me, too. The only real discomfort I felt was when they "accessed" after it was installed, but that only lasted for a short time. It certainly was a lot easier than having my veins get stuck. I had cryptococcal sinusitis in 1990, and at that time, it was treated with daily 2 hour IV for six weeks. I could do it at home, which was very nice. I believe they have pills now for the condition. They believed, at that time, that it was caused by taking prednisone for poison ivy and sinus infections, so I can't take the prednisone pills. Loujean >I have had a port for about seven months now. I previously had a picc >line but it became infected and was not particularly convenient. [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] >> >> Ari > Me, too. The only real discomfort I felt was when they "accessed" > after it was installed, but that only lasted for a short time. It [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Loujean Cryptococcal infections are not uncommon in immunocompromised/immunosuppressed patients. HIV patients need to take care to make sure they get emergency care if they show the symptoms of cryptococcal meningitis. It's treated, either accutely or prophylactically, with Diflucan (fluconazol). We think I may have started to get this infection during a period of time where we tried to remove the Diflucan from my drug regimen and I became extremely ill (from more than just this infection, if it indeed was cryptococcus). Corticosteroids, such as prednisone, predispose people to fungal infections. The pills did NOT cause the infection, they made you vulnerable to it. Thrush (candida) infections are often a problem with mid to high dose corticosteroid treatments. You probably can take prednisone as long as you take a daily Diflucan 200mg tablet. Even the 100mg variety might be sufficient. I find I need the 200mg type for safety. Ari >>I have had a port for about seven months now. I previously had a picc >>line but it became infected and was not particularly convenient. [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] >>> >>>Ari Signaturespammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor: http://www.abmdr.org.au/ http://www.marrow.org/
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