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portacaths
- Thread starter charlie21
- Start date
Emily65Roses
New member
The only time he'd have to be more careful about his sports would be when the port is in use. As for it just being implanted, there's nothing to worry about once it's had time to heal.
My child has a portacath (age 11) that was placed approximately 1 year ago. Her surgeon stated no contact sports (i.e. football, hockey, etc.). Otherwise it has not restricted her the least bit - hers is placed underneath her left arm slightly below the armpit. She is still very athletic - she's a cheerleader (a flyer), swims, and plays softball. She will tell you that the portacath was the best decision we ever made - no more IV sticks, no more lab sticks, no more PICC lines that would take hours to get in place.
Emily65Roses
New member
No contact sports because of the port? Hmm... I never heard that. Did they say why?
HollyCatheryn
New member
I have had my port for 7 years (?) and haven't had any problems with it. I was never warned against contact sports. I love it. No more digging around for veins, no more infiltrations or blown veins. No burning from harsh antibiotics. I really put up a fight against getting one initially, but have loved it ever since. Mine is about 6 inches below the crease of my armpit. I love it there. I doesn't show when I'm swimming or in tank-tops or dresses. Because of the fat (from the breast) in that area, it really doesn't even show when it is accessed. My husband and I have both been taught and given the OK to flush my port at home and to do home IVs, dressing and needle changes. It is wonderful. It is good to know that there are quite a few options about where to place a port. It might not be as important to a boy for it to be out of sight, though. I don't know. I have only wonderful things to say about getting a port. I wish I had done it 10 years before I did! It would have saved so much grief!
I love my port as well. I'd agree with the comment made about placement - out of sight. Not a huge deal, but I get stares when I take off my shirt. Mine is in my chest between my nipple and shoulder. Because I don't have much body fat, it's about as visible as a grape wedged under the skin.
I, too have a few questions about ports....I don't have one yet, I have only had to go on IV antibiotics 5 times (the 1st was when I was 17). They are getting more regular, and I am anticipating the talk of a port coming up soon.
1. How often were you on IVs when you got your port (ie, once every year, every three months, etc.)
2. How was the surgery for getting the port placed...were you put under general anesthesia, was it an inpatient or outpatient procedure, and how long was recovery time (until you were back to normal activity?)
Thanks so much!!
1. How often were you on IVs when you got your port (ie, once every year, every three months, etc.)
2. How was the surgery for getting the port placed...were you put under general anesthesia, was it an inpatient or outpatient procedure, and how long was recovery time (until you were back to normal activity?)
Thanks so much!!
I am interested in knowing at what point the subject was brought up by the Dr. I had my first PICC in 1/2000 which is the first time I ever came home on IV antibiotics. I have "averaged" the need for a PICC every 18 months or so. I was devasted & overwhelmed with the fact that I had gotten to that "stage". I can forsee many more PICC lines in my future & with it the discussion &/or decision of a port. A question I have is how it affects the women during intimacy. Is it really that unnoticeable that it doesnt interfere? My husband loves to caress me & even when my weight is low it makes it difficult for me to enjoy that, not to mention having a PICC or possible port in.
My daughter's physician said no contact sports because there have been cases where a direct hard blow to the area can cause breakage of the port from the cath - it is not one piece. He also said he had a little girl that took a hit to her chest and the port literally pushed through the skin. He may have also told us no contact sports because my daughter is very thin and she does not have much fat padding over her port for protection.
Emily65Roses
New member
CheeryColleen,
1. I had only been on IVs a total of 3 times when my doc started port talk for me. But that was because I had a terrible time with PICCs. Not a single one would hold for the whole two weeks, because my arms wouldn't tolerate them. I got phlebitis every time.
2. The surgery wasn't bad. I was put under on what my mom calls IV twilight drugs, and that was it. I woke up, and within an hour or two, they let me go home. It was in the ambulatory surgery area.
All in all, really fairly easy, and way worth it in my opinion. If you have any port questions, feel free to ask me. I love mine, I've had it for 3 years, and I can access it myself. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
1. I had only been on IVs a total of 3 times when my doc started port talk for me. But that was because I had a terrible time with PICCs. Not a single one would hold for the whole two weeks, because my arms wouldn't tolerate them. I got phlebitis every time.
2. The surgery wasn't bad. I was put under on what my mom calls IV twilight drugs, and that was it. I woke up, and within an hour or two, they let me go home. It was in the ambulatory surgery area.
All in all, really fairly easy, and way worth it in my opinion. If you have any port questions, feel free to ask me. I love mine, I've had it for 3 years, and I can access it myself. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
Emmy65,
Thanks so much for answering my questions! I am so glad to hear you are able to do all the port stuff on your own -- I, too, would call myself "independant" <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> -- I do all the stuff with my lines...I have had PICC lines and mid lines...and I certainly would not want to give up being able to do the flushes and med changes on my own....
And it is soooo helpful to know that you prefer your port to getting a line put in everytime you need IVs. Knowing that will certainly help me when I need to get one -- right now it doesn't seem as scary!
When you flush it every month, and when you change meds during a course of antibiotics, is it a new stick every time? I know you said the size of the needle is smaller than an earring -- so would you say it doesn't hurt that much? Oh and does it bleed every time you stick it?
Thanks for all your help [when I wrote this I was counting on you to come through with answers!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ]
Thanks so much for answering my questions! I am so glad to hear you are able to do all the port stuff on your own -- I, too, would call myself "independant" <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> -- I do all the stuff with my lines...I have had PICC lines and mid lines...and I certainly would not want to give up being able to do the flushes and med changes on my own....
And it is soooo helpful to know that you prefer your port to getting a line put in everytime you need IVs. Knowing that will certainly help me when I need to get one -- right now it doesn't seem as scary!
When you flush it every month, and when you change meds during a course of antibiotics, is it a new stick every time? I know you said the size of the needle is smaller than an earring -- so would you say it doesn't hurt that much? Oh and does it bleed every time you stick it?
Thanks for all your help [when I wrote this I was counting on you to come through with answers!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ]
Emily65Roses
New member
You leave the needle in, like you'd leave the line in with an IV or PICC. It only needs to be changed every 7 days. So if you're on two weeks of IVs, you only need to stick yourself twice. It is indeed a very small needle (earrings are 18, and the port needles I use are 22, even smaller, they're very thin), and as long as you (or whoever) know what you're doing, it's pretty painless. There have been times where it's sucked pretty bad, but that's only in port standards. Any stick, no matter how painful, compared to a PICC, is a piece of cake. Either way, if you get it at an angle or something, sometimes it hurts more. There have also been times where I (or Mike) have gotten it so dead-on that I quite literally didn't even feel it (I know people say that all the time, but I usually think it's crap... this time I'm serious haha). The times it hurts more, it bleeds more. I think once or twice, it's even bruised a little bit. But it never bleeds like a stick in the arm for an IV or even just a blood draw. There's only about a half an inch of skin on top of the port, so it can only bleed so much. When they stick into veins and stuff, it bleeds more because the blood flow is right there. As for the port, when it gets stuck, the most you're going to get is a very small amount because it's not like an open vein or artery. Usually, though, if it's done well, I don't even bleed at all. I get a little red spot, but no actual bleeding.
Like I said, all in all, it's lovely. Don't get me wrong, when I first got mine, I hated it. It's under my left boob, so for the first 6 months or so, I couldn't wear my usual bras (I wear underwire). It hurt for a while, it took a few tries before I could access it myself (a boob is in my line of vision!), etc. But after it completely healed (it takes a little longer because it's a foreign body in there, and it confuses your tissue), I could wear my underwires again. And I learned how to get at it myself. The independance factor is even higher than it would be with a PICC. With a PICC, you're stuck with that line the whole time. You can do the meds yourself, but the line stays. After you get a port and learn how to stick yourself, you're in complete control. You can take it out to swim or shower whenever you feel like it. It has to be changed at least every 7 days, but it can be as often as you can handle. I've been on home IVs for a week and a half now, and I haven't seen a nurse once. It's lovely.
I'm like the port poster child, I really love mine. So any more questions, feel free to ask. Hehehe. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
Like I said, all in all, it's lovely. Don't get me wrong, when I first got mine, I hated it. It's under my left boob, so for the first 6 months or so, I couldn't wear my usual bras (I wear underwire). It hurt for a while, it took a few tries before I could access it myself (a boob is in my line of vision!), etc. But after it completely healed (it takes a little longer because it's a foreign body in there, and it confuses your tissue), I could wear my underwires again. And I learned how to get at it myself. The independance factor is even higher than it would be with a PICC. With a PICC, you're stuck with that line the whole time. You can do the meds yourself, but the line stays. After you get a port and learn how to stick yourself, you're in complete control. You can take it out to swim or shower whenever you feel like it. It has to be changed at least every 7 days, but it can be as often as you can handle. I've been on home IVs for a week and a half now, and I haven't seen a nurse once. It's lovely.
I'm like the port poster child, I really love mine. So any more questions, feel free to ask. Hehehe. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
OK I dont get tho whole thing. The "port" itself is under the skin & then there is the "needle" which needs to be changed & is what the IVs hook up to. The "needle" is not in all the time? If not how do you keep the port from clotting? The "needle" goes through the skin into the "Port" like putting an earring in? Please excuse me for my ignorance, but the only time I have seen a port is while a patient was using it via IV antibiotics in the hospital. I also have had no problem with PICC line placement or maintenance of it. The only "problem" is the extension that is attached so I can reach it to connect when its med time. That I tuck on a netting supplied by the IV team at my hospital , but all that tubing etc shoved into one spot is annoying especially when trying to sleep.
Yes the port is underneath the skin and sort of looks like the end of a stethoscope with a tubing connected to it. You only place the needle into the port when you do your monthly flush or if you are on medications; it can also be used for labwork. We flush my daughter's port once a month with a very high concentration of Heparin. This keeps the port from clotting off between times that it has to be used. Some people do have problems with their ports clotting off (we haven't - "knock on wood") and there are special medications (urokinase, streptokinase) that can be used to help declot the line. My daughter got to the point where she was receiving IV meds 4 times a year because of sinus infections. PICC line was always so painful and sometimes they were not successful getting one in place on the first attempt. She has scar tissue from many years of very strong antibiotics that literally were eating away at her veins. So we felt it was time to give her veins a rest and get a port. She has been very happy with it and says she wished her doctor would have done it a long time ago & she does not understand why she had to suffer for many years with needle sticks. But, her doctor explained to her that he considered this a last resort because it is surgery & there are risks.
HollyCatheryn
New member
I am allergic to heparin, so I flush with saline. I still only flush once a month and have never had a clotting problem. My port is 8 years old. I miscounted, when I posted earlier.It workes kind of like an electrical outlet, Melissa, in that the outlet is always there, but you don't always have things plugged in. There is a plastic sort of "hub" which is slightly or very visible (depending on how much body fat you have and in what area it is placed). The hub is where the needle stick actually goes in. A line of tubing is run (during the initial placement surgery) from the hub to the sub-clavian artery. You don't see the line or feel it. The skin over the port slowly loses sensetivity over time. I have axperienced much the same as what Emily posted above about pain and bleeding. If you are worried about visibility, I recommend placing your port (since you're a woman) directly below your arm-pit at about the same level as your nipple. There is some breast tissue there and it helps to hide the port even when your weight is low. Also, your arm covers it much of the time. I've never had anyone just notice mine. Even my husband does not notice it most of the time. When it is accessed it is a little more noticeable clothed and definietly noticeable (just like any IV site) when nude. I'm happy to answer more questions. Mine was done under general anesthesia. The recovery wasn't as bad with the one under my arm as with my first (which was under my boob in a similar place to what Emily describes). The first time they had to tunnel under quite a bit of muscle in order to run the line from the hub to the artery. That was what was most painful, not the actual incisions. Those heal pretty quickly. The place where my port used to be is not noticeable now, unless I point it out.
Thanks for the input. I think for now I will stick with PICC lines. At my hospital they now use an ultrasound to look at potential sites before proceding & then use it to actually guide the wire. It makes it so much easier. The only problems I ever had was during my first line because I was so afraid of doing something to it that I never used my arm which didnt allow normal blood floor & it stuck to my vein when it was removed.
Are portacaths permanent, if not then how often are they replaced? My son is the one with CF and fortunately hasn't needed IV treatment, but I would like to know more. I have a digestive disease and have been hospitalized too many times to count. My veins are destroyed! It usually takes 5 or more attempts to get an IV and then it only lasts for about 24 hours. I have had them in my fingers, forearms, hands, feet etc.. They have never attempted a picc line, not that I can remember, what is it? where does it go? I have had two central lines, they were temporary and actually stitched in three places on my chest. I was wide awake when they put it in and it hurt like hell! A surgical intern put it in (he had never put one in before) and he messed up. It scratched my clavicle and bounced off my lung, oww! Once it was in I loved it. I like the idea of a portacath, especially if it is permanent and I'd love to hear more. Sorry about rambling. Thanks.
Emily65Roses
New member
They are semi-permanent. They last for years, if taken care of correctly and you have enough luck for it not to get infected. Mine was placed 3 years ago, and is still doing fine. I've heard of them lasting as long as like 10 years. I'm sure there have been some that have lasted even longer. There's no real limit on time, though. As long as they stay clean and not infected... and as long as you can still push meds with no trouble, and no leaking, the port can stay.
PICC lines are generally placed in the elbow, and then they fish the line up your arm, around your shoulder, and into your heart. They are meant to last weeks or months, from my understanding. They never worked on me, and never lasted. But some people swear by them. I was always wide awake for the placement, but they would put numbing cream (Emla) on it beforehand, and so I didn't feel most of the pain. PICC stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter. Any more questions, feel free to ask. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
PICC lines are generally placed in the elbow, and then they fish the line up your arm, around your shoulder, and into your heart. They are meant to last weeks or months, from my understanding. They never worked on me, and never lasted. But some people swear by them. I was always wide awake for the placement, but they would put numbing cream (Emla) on it beforehand, and so I didn't feel most of the pain. PICC stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter. Any more questions, feel free to ask. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">