I know they keep telling me.. ya know if you had a port it would be easier for your iv... My response.. easier for whom?? I get a Tysabri treatment once a month, I do not want this stuck in my upper chest. Talked with my neurologist about this, he said it is strickly up to me, and i am only getting poked once a month, maybe consider getting one if you were getting iv's consistantly. So no I am not getting one, at least at this point.

And believe me when I tell you that i have had my fair share of iv's. I was getting steroid treatments (1 everyother) week when I was on tysabri and they pulled it off the marked for a over a year. I have to have a 24 gauge iv needle because my veins where getting bad. But now that i only get one iv a month my veins are getting better.

a port eliminates the stick into a vein, but they have to stick the port device. the doc can give you numbing cream to apply about 30 minutes before hand - or the nurses can use a freezing spray.

my neuro and the infusion nurses told me some folks get a treatment the same day as the port surgery? i think i would have needed to hurt someone!!! for me, recovery took a good month before the port site became comfortable again!!!

lynn

Getting a port or direct line in was the worst experience of my life. After having been in the hospital for a month, they discover that I no longer have any available veins, so they need to put in a direct line.

I was told if the doctors came up to my room, I could go home for the weekend and see my family. Unfortunately, the doctors didn't come up until Sunday afternoon so I had to stay the entire weekend. When the doctor came he told me he was going to stick a tube into my chest that would connect to a vein going into my heart. When he did it, he didn't put enough freezing into the area and it was excruciating. Also, while he put it in, blood shot across the room, soaking my bed and splattering the wall across the room. He then stitched the tubes that were coming out of my chest onto my shoulder so they wouldn't flop around too much. The doctor then took an X-ray to make sure he had positioned the tube properly inside of me. Big surprise... he didn't, so he had to cut the stitches on my shoulder, reposition it and then stitch it back onto my shoulder.

I would just encourage you to drink a lot of water on the days leading up to your infusion so your veins aren't collapsed... or have them knock you out before they do it.

When they took it out though, I didn't feel anything even without freezing

smathie2,

you were in the hospital for your port? and why the extra chest tube?

lynn

I was hospitalized just before I was diagnosed with MS... I had severe cognitive deficits, I had nystagmus, and I couldn't walk at all among other problems. I had been stuck with needles several times a day until they finally decided steroids weren't going to work for me. So then I had to go for plasmaforesis (plasma exchange). For this they were going to put two IV's in, one in each arm, so in one arm the new clean plasma would go in and the bad old plasma would go out the other arm. I'd already had so many different IVs at this point that they didn't work this time.

I had to have a line put into my chest to allow for the plasma exchange. The plasma exchange worked fantastically, I was suddenly able to think, see and walk within 5 days. However I would never ever have another line put in. It was a horribly traumatizing event.

gotcha,,,not at all pleasant!

thank you all for your answers regarding the port. I am still not sure what I will chose at this time. I have had two of my last infusion settings spent with nurses poking and poking out of frustration, due to my veins not cooperating. I do drink plenty of water for two days before I go in, including the day of the infusion...and yet, I still seem to have rebellious veins! I have had the nurses call in extra nurses due to the trouble they are having with my veins.
I end up with extra bruising due to the "fun" experience...so, I am seriously considering getting the port put in.
But, now, after reading some of the experiences here, I am a bit more concerned about the possibility!
Thank you for all of your imputs!
Sherizi