Does anyone have a portacath?

Hi everyone

Just wanted to know if anyone has a portacath that they use for chelation.
We have noticed over the years that having the desferal going through it irritates the area but also it gets infected more.
Now to ease the port I go subcut except when due for a transfusion. That's when my port is accessed and the desferal goes that way for the week.

hi cherie

yes, i have a port.

its my second. the first they explant after 3 or 4 years,
because of an infect....
this one i have since 4 or 5 years.
and i try to make only chelation with it...
no transfusions or anything else....
and its helpfully....
i came down from over 13.000 ferritin to last week
3.855
i think its the best way to fight such a strong battle like
mine (i mean the high ferritin-level)
my doc and me think now about continu with exjade...
but i didnt explane my port if its possible.
                                                     panos

This is my third port. My first one kept gettin infected and was two months away from being 10 years old. My second port was only a month old and this one is about 7 to 8 years old.
My port is used for transfusions as my veins are no good. But I love having my port it makes it so much easier.
My ferritins aren't great they are in the 4,000 but I keep trying. At the moment my daily dose is 4gram a day. One day hopefully I can get low results like you
I can't get exjade at the moment as the govt would subsidise it so I keep going with my port and subcuts.
Does your port cause you grief with the desferal?

Here's a link to the old MSN Groups - Port Vs Needles

http://groups.msn.com/ThalassemiaPatientsandFriends/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=1515&LastModified=4675487081142849608
   

this was posted almost 4 years ago.
Nothing has changed, but I'm up to Port # 5.
Left Leg this time, around the groin area
Just call me ET

EXTRA TESTICAL

can anybuddy tell me wat is this  ....?.
is this a sort of needle ...?
or something like a cut in skin to infuse desferal ??..
does it make any difficulty in taking bath ?....
n how does it get infected ?....


nothing more to ask

Yes,

Ports have to be implanted by minor surgery. It then provides an access point to which you can insert needles painlessly.

It requires some maintenance in terms of flushing it so that blood does not clot in it and bacteria does not start to cultivate and eventually enter the body.

It's not suitable for hot climates as sweat may infect it (unless you keep cool and clean)

Here's a link to the old MSN Groups - Port Vs Needles

http://groups.msn.com/ThalassemiaPatientsandFriends/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=1515&LastModified=4675487081142849608
   

this was posted almost 4 years ago.
Nothing has changed, but I'm up to Port # 5.
Left Leg this time, around the groin area
Just call me ET

EXTRA TESTICAL

ET  I like that.
I was told that I couldn't have mine placed further than my chest as they needed to attach to the ribcage.
I'm so envious as that would make it so much easier for me as I access my port myself. I have to use a mirror to locate the center.

ET kills me.    I can't wait to finally meet him in Singapore. We've been cracking each other up for years and it's going to be great to finally meet my bro. And as far as this thread, Aston Dialo is the voice of experience x 5. AD, hopefully you won't land on this port when you wipe out on your bike. Ouch! That had to hurt.

I found that the area on the side of the rib cage is more sensitive..
You felt the needle piercing the skin everytime - without fail.
But with the other ports, after having a mark on the skin (ie a Bull's eye) bit like X marks the spot from the number of needlesticks, you can't feel the piercing of the skin from the needle.

(But there's always emla cream you could use, which is a local anaesthetic cream which numbs the skin)

http://www1.astrazeneca-us.com/pi/EMLA.pdf

http://www.skinsite.com/info_emla_cream.htm

 http://www.smiths-medical.com/catalog/implantable-ports/

http://www.cookmedical.com/di/content/mmedia/FM-753.pdf

http://www.cookmedical.com/di/content/mmedia/FM-1270-L.pdf

Looking forward to Singapore too Big Bro

 

 

I Lost count..
It's actually my 6th one...

Hmmm Sixth Sense

I use the emla cream only when my site is tender. 
I must say that I'm now much happier with my port as I am the main accessor and only two nurses administer it when there are problems. It has been 20 years since I got my first port and I have less problems with it now. Some of my issues with the port was new nurses learning how to access the port. They were pretty hard on my ribcage when it came time to take out the needle and I didn't like some of their techniques. I was always scare of getting infections.
I have been doing my own port now for 14 years and have only had two infections and both caused by pnemonia so as long as I keep on top of my health issues and access by protocol, I shouldn't have any problems.
I do love my port though, it's much better than being pricked in the veins at each transfusion.

Yeah, I was always reluctant in letting a nurse without any experience to needle my port, or de-needling my port.
If the sterile procedure is followed in needling a port, then the risk of getting an infection is lowered.
I remember going to the ER for one of my kidney stone episodes, and they wanted to get some bloods taken.
I told the Dr (must've been a med student) that I had a port for access.
He said, oh, ok cool.
He came back with a 19G needle and a 20mL syringe, and some large alcohol swabs.
I said you idiot, you needle my port with that, and you'll never hear the end of this.
I said, to access my port, it's gotta be done in a sterile procedure.

Hey Cherieann, What brand do you use?
he he he
Mine's a Vital-Port (Cook Vascular Incorporated)
They tend to use a 22G x 3/4" Gripper
But they don’t always have 3/4" so they have to use the next size up = 1”, which sticks out a mile.

Yeah I've a few horror stories too and l've had a nurse come out at me with a normal needle and syringe. That was after I got into a heated discussion with an emergency nurse explaining that I have a port and no they can't have my veins, they are reserved for my crossmatches. In the end I let her.
Needless to say she kept missing my veins, a couple of veins collasped,  and I had bruises over both arms. The next morning I made my specialist write a letter that explains me and that they have to call a haematology nurse if I come into emergency to access my port.


Good question about my port. What I can remember is that its base is made from titanium and that it is a single barrel venous access port. I've used the gripper needle too but prefer the .9mm x 13mm (20g). The other size is like you say sticks out a mile and the gripper needle tends to pull on my skin over the week period. The nurses say that my port jumps out says hello when I lie down.
It says hello even if I'm standing.
You've probably have got the latest port on the market. 

The Med student was actually serious about accessing my port with the 19G needle & 20ml syringe.
Are you on Warfarin?
My port is about a year old now...

thanx