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Port Placement Options
- Thread starter Emily65Roses
- Start date
lovingBenandCambree
New member
My Drs. have been talking to me about a port and I am really closed off to it. How does everyone else feel about it?
Hey as far as where to get a port i had mine placed up right under my left collar bone. Yea it stuk out a little and people were like what is that a hicky? LOL i luved it, its part of my cf. I never want to hide my cf or anything about it so for me it was a was to teach people about cf. Now i just got my port out last aug and i had mine for 8 years so they can go as long as you can take care of them. I heard that they average life span is about 5 years but mine made it 8 and i was thirilled!!!! I luved it!
lovingBenandCambree
New member
Well it is certainly not that I try to hide my CF. I am not ashamed. My close mindedness to it is mostly due to the fact that I don't want something sticking out of me all of the time. And I have had blood clots with picks and had to go on blood thinners, this is scary since I have had severe hemoptisis. So having something foreign in my body continuously I can't see as a good thing. Any suggestions?
Hi there,
I too just had my first port placed in my right upper chest in May. I was very much against it at first but now that i have its just another part of my daily living with CF. I get it flushed once a mth. It sticks out a little but when ppl question me about it i just tell them the truth. Its like when i was diagnosed with diabetes that was a big thing for me to handle. The thoughts of giving myself insulin shots was just way too much. And that too became just part of my every day life!
I say go for it as it saves you from getting stuck all the time. I had no more veins for PICC lines.
Wish you the best of health!
Take care,
denise
I too just had my first port placed in my right upper chest in May. I was very much against it at first but now that i have its just another part of my daily living with CF. I get it flushed once a mth. It sticks out a little but when ppl question me about it i just tell them the truth. Its like when i was diagnosed with diabetes that was a big thing for me to handle. The thoughts of giving myself insulin shots was just way too much. And that too became just part of my every day life!
I say go for it as it saves you from getting stuck all the time. I had no more veins for PICC lines.
Wish you the best of health!
Take care,
denise
hey loving benand cambree,
i am so sorry if i can across as saying anything towards you about being ashamed or hiding ur Cf i totally did not mena it to come out like that, i am sorry. Yes it was a little weird to have something in ur body at all times that wasnt put their by God. But after awhile you get used to it. And i know what your talking about on the blood clot parts, i am a factor 5 light so i sort of have the issuse also. Mine was under my collar bone but i hear so many girls putting them right under their brest. it also depends on how far down under the collar bone they put it. See mine was father down and it really didnt stick out muh at all. I have a friend whos is higher up and hers sticks out more. If you havnt seen pictures of people with one i would be more then glad to send you some pics of me with my port in and eve some pic of what a port looks like. I saved mine when they took it out, lol it was like a part of me i couldnt just let them throw it away. Then maybe you could get an idea of if you think it would stick out to much in a certain area.
Alisha 23w/Cf living life to the fullest
i am so sorry if i can across as saying anything towards you about being ashamed or hiding ur Cf i totally did not mena it to come out like that, i am sorry. Yes it was a little weird to have something in ur body at all times that wasnt put their by God. But after awhile you get used to it. And i know what your talking about on the blood clot parts, i am a factor 5 light so i sort of have the issuse also. Mine was under my collar bone but i hear so many girls putting them right under their brest. it also depends on how far down under the collar bone they put it. See mine was father down and it really didnt stick out muh at all. I have a friend whos is higher up and hers sticks out more. If you havnt seen pictures of people with one i would be more then glad to send you some pics of me with my port in and eve some pic of what a port looks like. I saved mine when they took it out, lol it was like a part of me i couldnt just let them throw it away. Then maybe you could get an idea of if you think it would stick out to much in a certain area.
Alisha 23w/Cf living life to the fullest
Old Topic... I know.
I'm getting my new port next week and will have it placed in my upper arm.
One thing I forgot to ask my nurse after scheduling the surgery-- for those of you with arm ports, can blood be drawn from them?
Thanks.
-Melanie.
aka rotandroll
CF/CFRD/and other crap
I'm getting my new port next week and will have it placed in my upper arm.
One thing I forgot to ask my nurse after scheduling the surgery-- for those of you with arm ports, can blood be drawn from them?
Thanks.
-Melanie.
aka rotandroll
CF/CFRD/and other crap
blindhearted
New member
Melanie,
Blood can be drawn from there, but its not really recommended. Specially in people with CF for a few reasons: 1. It is said to cut down the life of the port and increase wear on it. (told by my adult surgeon) 2. It can alter medicine levels. (told by my first surgeon - pediatric)
My last surgeon said back in March when I got my second port not to draw blood from it. My first port last 7 yr and blood was drawn from it once, even though I told them not to because I knew of the possiblity of level alteration (i was on IV tobramycin (sp?) and levels are extremely important). And sure enough the levels came back through the roof...so I got stuck anyway. I hoped I could draw blood, that was the main reason I got my first port, but they told me after the surgery that I couldnt. But overall I'm glad I have a port...blood drawing or not.
Blood can be drawn from there, but its not really recommended. Specially in people with CF for a few reasons: 1. It is said to cut down the life of the port and increase wear on it. (told by my adult surgeon) 2. It can alter medicine levels. (told by my first surgeon - pediatric)
My last surgeon said back in March when I got my second port not to draw blood from it. My first port last 7 yr and blood was drawn from it once, even though I told them not to because I knew of the possiblity of level alteration (i was on IV tobramycin (sp?) and levels are extremely important). And sure enough the levels came back through the roof...so I got stuck anyway. I hoped I could draw blood, that was the main reason I got my first port, but they told me after the surgery that I couldnt. But overall I'm glad I have a port...blood drawing or not.
Hey, Danyell. Thanks for responding. Are you referring specifically to your arm port, which you were advised to avoid drawing blood from, or just a port in general?
I think that different CF clinics deal with specific topics differently, and I have used both of my ports in the past to draw blood from. That is the more prominent reason I have a port-- simply because the veins in my arms are too damaged (i.e. collapsed, scarred, they roll easily, are very small, etc) to draw blood from. I can no longer, and have not been able to for almost 8 years, recieve PICC lines because of the poor state of my veins. Obviously I do not have Tobra levels or clotting factor labs drawn from my port, but everything else always is.
I was just wondering if a port located in the arm works just the same as one located elsewhere, when it comes to blood return.
Thanks.
-Melanie
aka rotandroll
I think that different CF clinics deal with specific topics differently, and I have used both of my ports in the past to draw blood from. That is the more prominent reason I have a port-- simply because the veins in my arms are too damaged (i.e. collapsed, scarred, they roll easily, are very small, etc) to draw blood from. I can no longer, and have not been able to for almost 8 years, recieve PICC lines because of the poor state of my veins. Obviously I do not have Tobra levels or clotting factor labs drawn from my port, but everything else always is.
I was just wondering if a port located in the arm works just the same as one located elsewhere, when it comes to blood return.
Thanks.
-Melanie
aka rotandroll
Emily65Roses
New member
I was advised somewhere (I forget where) not to draw blood from the port because it shortens the lifespan of the port. Not just arm ports, but ports in general. But I don't necessarily know how true that is. It's just what I remember being told.
blindhearted
New member
I dont have an arm port. My port is located under my left breast in my chest. My veins are in the same state urs are...roll, small, scarred, play hide and seek, but was still advised not to draw blood due to the fact it cuts the life of the port and causes a higher risk of clotting.
My daughter's had her port going on 3 years now and we've never been told not to draw blood from it (except for medication levels). When we talked to the surgeon prior to placement he said blood draws were fine and would not affect how long the port lasted. Did discourage us from getting port in her arm though because he said that it is more difficult to get blood from this area. So hers is in her chest and we've not had any problems with it.
Connie
Connie