you know that bad feeling i had about my port surgery???

[kybert]

yeah well looks like i had every right to feel that way! chances are, well, im 99.9% sure, that it is going to have to be moved. its been put far too low. although it doesnt seem to be too much fat where it is right now and is actually under the 2cm limit, the port just refuses to show up properly. i know the nurses, with their oh so great skill [not], are going to have REAL hard time trying to find it. another problem which no one really thought about, not even me, is that when i lie on my right hand side my boob kinda, uh, flops all to the right side. in other words, it all goes onto my port! so the thickness ends up being way too much! if it were to be accessed and i lied on my right hand side the needle would either pop out or at worst snap off! i actually thought about this, but i was only thinking about being in an upright position. it never crossed my mind that the same thing happens when i lie on my side. i dont think the 'pocket' the port sits in will react too kindly to having such movement happen either.

i realise its not really that much of a big deal to have it moved. everything is in place and all that is needed is a very quick op and an existing cut will probably be used which is ok. if another cut has to be made im sure i can live with that. i mean hey i already have 5 of em so like 1 more is going to matter. but it just annoys me that this didnt cross my mind and that i had to get the port placed to actually find this out. im so annoyed in fact that i cant even get to sleep. i just want to punch my pillows lol.

 

[littlemisssilly]

Hey Kylie,

I swear I remember you said that you were from Brisbane (??). Well, I'm from Sydney and my point is... it's 4am down here.. are you another night owl like me? Or is it because of the port?

I'm up because I'm still studying and because I'm a huge night owl!! Anyways, I'm off to get some sleep before the sun comes up! Goodnight <img src="i/expressions/moon.gif" border="0">

 

[littlemisssilly]

Kylie,
You poor thing it is your port! I'm sorry, I just read your post properly.... Oops.. I think I'm delirious from all the lack of sleep !

Goodnight (again.. and this time I mean it!) <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif" border="0">

 

[kybert]

im from perth. i guess 2 am is still night owl hours though lol.

 

[anonymous]

Just a question, do you have to have a general anesthetic to have your port put in or moved? Or can you get it done with a local?

 

[teknogeek1300]

Don't know anything about ports, but that sounds miserable <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">. I hope they get this taken care of!

 

[Emily65Roses]

Yikes Kylie you seem to have the worst luck with ports. Blech.

 

[Scarlett81]

I am SO sorry hon- that totally sucks. I hope you can have it fixed without it being a huge deal-fast and easy.
Just another thing you gotta do-just get it over with.
Sorry!!

 

[anonymous]

Hi, I'm 19 and I've had two ports. The first one they put in was really high up, I could touch it with my chin when I looked down. The surgeon didnt even listen to me when he asked me where I would like it placed. Anyways, I was really angry and he said he wouldnt move it, but I didnt want it to be so noticible, I couldnt wear tanktops or a bathing suit without it being really obvious and I just didnt like that. We found another surgeon who said he could move it lower and it worked, I had no problems at all...the previous surgeon had said my breasts would grow and the tissue would get in the way but it didnt, I had that port for 3 yrs.
This year I got a new one bc of a leak and they ended up moving it even lower than the last one I had. You cant see it poking out from under my skin at all, I like it that way and I admit, its a little wiggly but as long as the nurse, or whoever accesses my port, holds it still, there's no problem. I've had it accessed multiple times since I got it and NEVER have I had a problem. I can't imagine yours being lower than mine.

 

[kybert]

em im starting to think i have a port curse. i already have a pudding curse! no joke!

i get a general for mine anon. i guess i could handle having a local just to have it moved but i have issues regarding catheters being moved so its best if im knocked right out and dont know whats going on.

to other anon, mine is low but not very low. by the sounds of things it would probably be in a similar place to yours. standing up or lying on my back, it actually looks like the perfect spot. but when i lie on my side its like eeek! what id give to not have big boobs! does yours do that too and does it affect the needle? or do you get a longer needle in to compensate??? i was thinking maybe i could just get a longer needle in and just put up with it sticking out when i am upright. i was also thinking just then that perhaps i could get my hands on some good sturdy bra that will stop them from doing this. i will be sure to have a real long discussion to the surgeon about this. shes full of ideas so perhaps she has a solution!

 

[anonymous]

Hi Kyllie, hope things work out for you. It will all be over and done with soon enough.
Although i feel for you, i have never been knocked out and the thoughtof it horrifies me. I had a ceasearian for the birth of my daughter, but had a spinal block which meant iwas awake for the surgery which was very scary.
Then when my daughter was born ans diagnosed with CF, they had to do a bronch 12mnths later and i was so scared for her, because she was knocked out. When she awoke she was not herself for about 4-5 day's, that was so scary.
Best of luck, and keep us posted.

Eli

 

[jenhum]

Kylie- where exactly is it? I had my first one placed when I was 14 and it was at the top of my left boob. My boobs grew quite a bit in high school and the port ended up being pretty deep. I just always had to tell them to use a 1.5 inch needle. It looks kind of scary, but it doesn't hurt any worse than the 3/4 inch ones. If I lay on my back my right boob definitely covers it up even more, but I never had a problem with it while it was accessed. I finally had to get that first port replaced about 3 years ago, and they were able to put it in the same place but a little closer to the surface. So now I can use the regular needles, but my boob still flops up and makes it deeper when I'm laying down. Just make sure you are sitting or standing when they are accessing you for the first time and it should be fine (if it is the same as mine was!).

 

[kybert]

same spot as yours by the sonuds of things jen. its on the boob but in the top half. its good to know that a longer needle will fix my problem, thanks!

 

[kybert]

i saw the surgeon today and everything is sorted now. so relieved! she said that having bits of fat flop everywhere shouldnt interfere when accessed. she does alot of gastric banding surgeries and they have to use a port to blow up the gastric banding. as youd imagine these patients are overweight and she said their fat doesnt pull the needle out or anything when they move *phew*. but, if i did have problems when its accessed, she said she can easily go through the same cut she made and put it above the cut instead of below. so now its just a matter of finding out what happens when i go on iv's! i also found a bra that stops the flop haha.

 

[shauna]

I'm glad to hear that it seems like it will work out Kylie!! And good to hear you got a bra lol! I hope once you get it accessed it ends up being fine...mine's in a similar position to yours i think but i dont have the big boobs problem. from the sounds of it a longer needle should do the trick- i hope so!!

just a question to you- you're from perth?? i'm from melbourne but thinking of moving to perth just for a change (not permanent maybe 6 months to a year depending how much i like it). what is the hospital/dr's/team etc like there??

thanks! (and sorry for taking over your post with all the questions!)

 

[kybert]

the care is fine as long as you have a mild case! otherwise its terrible. the staff do as much as they can but we only have 1 cf doc and he has over 150 patients so we are all fighting for his time. its crazy. we also dont have a real clinic at the moment. it should be finished in a few months. currently we are all jammed in a tiny corridor and we have to do pft's on a 20 yr old machine in this particular corridor. so as you can imagine the patients are all in each others faces, its one big germ fest. as for the actual hospital, its terrible. its very dirty, old, dull and falling apart. not the best place you want to be if you are trying to get better. im always scared im going to catch something, its THAT bad.

and it wont get any better either. the government denies that there is a problem. its one thing to admit there is a problem and do nothing about it but its another to outright deny it. its pretty much a guarantee that nothing will be fixed.

 

[shauna]

oh really? damn. because i've been in and out of hospital so often this year i dont really want to go until i'm feeling a lot better, especially if the situation is that bad. thanks for that though. i'll think about it!

 

[anonymous]

Hey, I'm the girl with the port that really low. I'm about a C-cup and my boob definitely flops over my port when im on my sides. It doesnt seem to bother the needle at all though. They actually use the smallest one to access my port or otherwise it pokes out too much. I've recently had to go to a new hospital and when I told them I used the smaller needle, they were surprised it worked and that if even poked out a bit. To give you an idea of how low it is...if you took a ruler and held it straight across starting at the armpit, it would be a little lower than that line.

 

[kybert]

yup thats definately the same place mine is. so what exactly happens to the needle and your boob when you do lie on your side? does it bend with the skin or does it actually stop the skin from moving?? also, what happens when you lift your arm up. this would happen to anyone with a port on their chest but my port moves up with the muscle when i lift my arm up, but the skin doesnt move with it. what happens to the needle if the skin wont move with the port??

 

[anonymous]

I havent really noticed if it moves with the skin or not whenever I lay down...I dont notice it. But now that I think about it, it actually prob. just moves with the skin but the needle doesnt bend or anything. If I move my arm up though I notice it moves with my skin, moves up like if i stretch. When they access it, it moves around so they have to be sure to hold it between their fingers to prevent it from wiggling around. While its accessed though, it hasnt prevented me from doing anything I'd do on a normal day, it doesnt hurt when I lie on my side...it might, now since you just got it put in, but after it heals...you may feel a tiny bit of pressure, but its just like the weight of a watch on your arm; while its accessed.