mediport

Dee,
I'm sorry for your pain, try to keep ahead of it. Enjoy your 'week off', eat cookies, be strong. Post when you can. Think of us all being with you when you start chemo.

Gentle hugs,

Sue

jessiesmom1 said:

Mediport
Congratulations on getting your mediport put in. I just got mine removed. Having a port was, for me, an excellent decision. With 16 total rounds of chemo and bloodwork before each one, I do not think I could have tolerated an arm poke that many times. The first week it was in it felt kind of strange but did not really hurt. After that I really did not notice it all that much. It bothered me mentally to have that raised bump under my skin that I could feel so I had it removed about 3 months after my chemo ended.

The first few times the port was accessed for chemo it did hurt when the needle pierced my skin. After that, not much at all. Some people continue to have pain at the moment the needle goes in so if that turns out to be you, you can ask your oncologist for a prescription for Emla cream. It is a lidocaine cream that you smear on over the port area and it numbs the skin. I got the prescription but ended up not needing to use it.

Merry Xmas and I hope your first treatments go well. Please let us know.

mediport
I was really glad for my port also, since I also had 16 chemo treatments. It was so much easier being hooked up to my chemo with the port & any time blood work was needed they could access the port instead of poking my arm. The Emla cream is also great - when I remembered to put it on half an hr. before they accessed the port. The Emla cream numbs the skin so I did'nt feel a thing when they put the needle in the port. I definately recommend the port & the Emla cream. The cream comes in a fairly large tube & I am finished with chemo now (Dec. 15, 2010 was my last chemo!!!). There is a lot left in the tube - so I plan to save the rest of my tube in case any of my children need an I.V. or blood work or whatever. It would sure help with the fear of needles for frightened children!

The port did feel funny the first weeks, but it hasn't bothered me any since then. It's really handy to have blood work done through the port, so I won't be in a hurry to get it taken out. I am legal guardian for my mother-in-law (she has Alzheimers) & had a port put in for her when she broke her thigh bone about 2 yrs ago. She is in a nursing home, so the nurse on duty flushes the port once a month. It hasn't given her any problems & is sure handy when she is in the hospital (she's always dehydrated since she won't drink much). The dr. said the port could be left in permanently since we've had a really hard time starting I.V.'s on her, then she just pulls the I.V. in her arm out!

I've been reading a lot of the discussions on here & really appreciate all the info. It really helps hearing of others experiences & knowing that others are out there going through the same things I am. Thanks so much to everyone who shares on here! Cyndi

The only time I really felt
The only time I really felt any pain from the insertion of my port was my own doing. 3 or maybe 4 days after insetion I was giving riding lessons to a couple of little girls. Well my school horse is quite large (Hubby had put her up at the start) and the girls 6 and 7, at the end of the lesson I always help the girls down and not thinking I just reached up and grabbed her - OUCH is mild! I also rode 3 days after insertiion (had to agree to ride the mellow fellow to keep peace in the family). I did get out of doing chores for 2 weeks though.

I had my first chemo the day after port insertion and it wasn't bad at all. The CCI had numbing spray they used and it wasn't bad at all. Where my flushes are done now doesn't have any, so I have EMLA cream (generic) and it works even better than the spray. (My port has been in Aug 25, 09 and there are no plans on removing it anytime soon. I'm IBC so not the best potential and TO ME [and all my DR's] it only makes sense to leave it in just IN CASE it's needed in the future, so every 4 weeks I go in and get it flushed.)

Surgeon told me that blood draws can be done via port but so far none have been done that way. I have great veins so not a big deal to me.