Does anyone here have a port for IVIG? I think I’m going to be forced to have one put in because after 9 months of treatment my arms are a mess. What is involved in having it out in? How long after that can you have an infusion? How much care does the patient have to give the port? Can you take a shower with it in?
Thanks for any information you can give me.
Sandy
Sandy,
I have had a port for over a year now after 4 years without one. You will love it. I got my first infusion through it the afternoon after it was installed. There is no special care involved. The nurse will flush it prior to and after use. The will be maintained this at your infusion time.
I’ve been asking since August, to have one put in. The doctor said the home nurse needs to request it and the home nurse won’t. So I become a human pin cushion every month for 5 days. I’m going to ask the doctor again in 2 weeks but, it shouldn’t be this hard, to make me comfortable.
I suggest you request a different RN or speak w: her supervisor or her supervisor’s supervisor.
Gee, this really is something your MD should hsne through his office !!! in my opinion and experience…
My infusion nurse is very good. The problems aren’t her fault. The first nurse I had hurt me so much that I asked for a change, and I’ve been happy with her. But I bruise very easily, and the bruises take forever to fade, so it’s hard sometimes for her to find a good vein on a badly bruised arm. Usually she gets the needle in on the first try, but sometimes, as it did this morning, it comes out of the vein after a while, regardless of how well she tapes it. It seems to push loose when the pump automatically increases the infusion speed. Then everything has to come out and another spot has to be found. I’ve been resistant to a port out of fear of infection, but I’ve changed my mind. I want one ASAP.
I haven’t been told that the nurse has to request it. It’s up to my doctor. He’ll give me a referral to a surgeon. My nurse will be very happy if I have a port put in, because she hates the way this process hurts me sometimes. She gives infusions of various types and has several patients with ports.
Why don’t you talk to a supervisor at your infusion service?
After 4 years of infusions every 14 days the nursing staff suggested strongly that I get a port. After it was in for 4 days it was accessed within the next 6 days it went sepsis. 6 days in the hospital and ten more at home with a picnic line and a 24/7 pump. I won’t ever have one put in again. My neurologist doesn’t like them and feels they have a higher risk of infection. Veins don’t show on the surface as readily but I always remind the two or three pokes is better than the infection that nearly killed me.
Nursing staff will learn to find views by touch or there is equipment available to them. You should seldom have bruising if at all and a better facility will have better staff that are able to find veins. I traded up and found a very good facility with good staff.
When I have blood drawn they almost always hit it first time. If your staff deals with patients that 95 % that have ports they will need to bone up on regular IVs. It’s your choice don’t let anyone tell you which way. For me I regret getting one. I don’t have one now and the staff has to be careful but they do a good job and I want them to be careful.
Infusion pumps do not automatically increase speed on their own . The IV needle is also threaded into a Vein and not just the tip. It is excercised before the pump is connected so that it will be a secure connection. I would ask them to explain the procedure and look it up on the internet. Could you imagine a surgery where a doctor is dealing with increasing and decreasing blood pressures having to wait for a nurse to vet a secure iv connection. I practice my finger position on my guitar with the iv site being just above the knuckles. It never creates a problem. I think someone is trying to excuse poor effort to get your IV. Also the adhesive used over the infusion site is about 2” x 2 “ and takes allot to remove it it’s not just tape. I would call BS.
I don’t have a staff. I have one nurse, with more thirty years of experience, who comes to my house once a week. She has both longterm patients and temporary patients, people who are recovering from serious illness, and most of them get vein sticks. I have thin, fragile skin and have bruised easily all my life. Anytime a needle is stuck in me for any reason I bruise. I know anout the danger of infection with a port, but almost any procedure carries the risk of an infection. I had a PIC line once for six weeks and didn’t get an infection, so I’m hopeful that I will be infection free with a port.
The pump I have is preset to change speeds at specified intervals. It beeps when it changes speed so the nurse will know. Speeds on older pumps have to be changed manually, but this is an automatic pump. It is set to change speeds at the intervals recommended by the infusion fluid manufacturer.
Of course my nurse inserts the entire needle into my vein. With 40 years of experience, she knows how to put a needle into a vein. And I try to keep my arm still during the infusion. Even so, the needle has pushed out of the vein more than once. You are making a lot of negative and false assumptiona based on zero knowledge of my nurse and my situation.
Thank you for actually answering my question with practical information.
Sorry that I have offended you pumps beep to indicate it’s time to increase the rate. Dr prescribe the rates dependent on your bodies ability to handled the fluid product. Manufactures have suggested rates but to high can cause major side effects. I’m sure you forty year experienced nurse is a perfect fit for you. In 6 years I have been at five different facilities and my neurologist was the director of neurology for Good Samaritian Hospital in LA.
So I am happy for you and apologize if you were offended. I have also had nurses with 20 years that have blown up veins and slapped my arm and told me they were just leaving their mark. Then I found a better facility and people that use new and better butterfly kits to insert the needle. Some older nurses just can’t get comfortable with change. Good luck.
I have the infusions at home. I don’t even know who her supervisor is.
Pam
You are welcome. You will find the port to be comfortable and not a problem. The only maintenance is once a month it has to ‘serviced’ and that is done when it is accessed prior to and after an infusion. I go 2 days in a row every 3 weeks for my infusion and have been since 2012. I didn’t answer one of you questions as I was in a hurry as I was called to lunch. You can shower as always. The infusion center gives me Lidocane cream to put on the area over my port prior to being accessed. It’s a good idea to put it on about an hour before. Leave it on thick and put a bandage or Glad Press and Seal over it so it won’t get absorbed in your clothing. This will numb the area and you won’t even feel the stab of the needle.
I encourage you to seriously consider a port. If it doesn’t work for you for some unknown reason, it can be removed just as easy as it was installed. Mine is a ‘Smart Port’ by AngioDynamics (AngioDynamics.com) that sits just below the skin. It is a little larger than a nickel, has a membrane over the top to seal when the needle is removed, and a small tube that goes straight to a vein in my neck. Very convenient.
It’s okay to contact me if you have any more questions.
Skip
I’m going to make sure this port gets done. I can’t keep dong this, just because my nurse is old school. I will have my doc referme to someone who can place it.
Pam
Link to Smart Port: http://www.angiodynamics.com/products/smart-port-ct/vascular
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My RN was an intensive care nurse for 25 years before she decided she wanted a job with better hours and less stress. She’s very carefu, very knowledgeable, and very concerned about my comfort.
My pump is preset. My nurse explained it to me. It changes speeds automatically and beeps once when it does.
The needle coming loose probably has more to do with the strtucture of my veins than anything else. This was a bad problem with the first nurse I had but has happened only a couple of times with my current nurse, who seems better able to deal with “difficult”veins. Every nurse who has ever stuck a needle in me for a blood draw has complained about my difficult veins and has had to stick me at least twice.
This is the kind of information, and the kind of tips, I was looking for. And thanks for the link to the info about different types of ports. This is all new to me, and I like to gather as much information as I can beforeI have anything done. I’m definitely going to have a port put in if my doctor approves it. I’ll probably be coming back to you with more questions. Thanks so much!
Good! Your nurse shouldn’t have any say in it.
The infusion service I use gave me a list of names and numbers in case I had any problems, and when I had my first infusion the nursing supervisor came to the house as well as the nurse, just to answer my questions and explain procedures to me. She was the one I talked to when I was unhappy with the first nurse, and I felt more comfortable about it because I had met her personally. I guess not every infusion service is so hands-on, and that’s unfortunate.