Goodness , that sounds ugly, but necessary for folks with your type vein structure. There are a lot very VERY smart folks on here that have really had a good of it - I bet they will drop in a help out with the question.

Sorry, but I have no experience with a port as yet, but do understand their usefulness.
Hoping the weather is good where you are and better here today
Peace
Bluedogs2.

you mean like a pic line? I had one of those 12 years ago before the RA when I was very active for months and months. I could not keep it in. it kept working its way out do to my activity level. it's invasive from all perspectives but totally necessary to someone in need of daily and immediate weekly iv therapy that has a mess of collapsed veins.

isn't remicaide like once every 2 to 3 months? (I am not up on remicaide so excuse me if I have the timing wrong)

can you switch your biologic from remicaide to another and go on self injections?

Ros

My aunt has had a port for years. She has lymphoma and has chemo about every three months. She's fought the cancer for 13 years now. The doctor gave her 1 to 10 years. Strong lady. Anyway, as to the port. She says once she got used to it that it never bothered her again. She has had to have it removed and replaced a few times but I guess that is fairly normal.

Sheri thoughts for your aunt

Kelly - --i was just looking at kelly's profile and she is working full time and looks healthy maybe in remission from ra? and when I was in those shoes I had a hard time with the limitation of the pic line for 4 months and actually worked out the entire line 3 times due to my healthy physical movement (gym, walking, kids, yadda yadda) . my infusions were daily at that time. i think they put in like 4 pic lines over 4 months.

but maybe a port is different.

My mom has a port. She had (technically still has) lymphoma. She has been free of new tumors for a couple of years, but has to keep the port in and get it flushed every 3 months. She hates it.

I would work to find ankle veins/hand veins before doing the port.

My dad had a port implanted in his upper chest when he first contracted lymphoma in 2007. He got it because his veins were so small and so deep, they had many problems taking blood, giving infusions, etc. His port helped him enormously and never bothered him once it healed. He had to have it flushed every 3 months, no big deal, done in the doctor's office. He is now lymphoma-free 5 years and is scheduled to have it removed. He and my mother are actually disappointed that they want to remove it because it makes blood tests so easy for him. Dad is 83 now. He certainly doesn't need them digging around to try to get to a vein. Best of luck to you, craftyKelly!

Hi, I'm a nurse and worked on weds cancer floor for a few years. All the kids had lines or ports. If their talking about a port, it'd be placed under your skin in your chest and you'd not have any limitations as far as activity including swimming. The only issue you'd need to watch out for is an infection in the port. Good luck and sounds like it may be a good solution for you

Thank you everyone for your comments.

Ros13- to answer your questions, a port goes under the skin. Remicade is different for everyone, but I am currently getting the infusion every 6 weeks. That seems to be what works best for me. By no means is it perfect, though.

I have not updated my profile in a long time (I need to do so), but I had to quit my full-time teaching job due to RA. I just could not keep up and I was getting flares all the time. I was also getting sick every time the kids got sick. I even got shingles this last year from a student who had chicken pox. Anyways, I am still working now, because I have to have insurance. I am in a less demanding job and it seems to be working out better for me. I am no where near remission, but I have been doing better than in the past. I still get a flare at least once every 6 weeks if not more. Currently, my hands swell, become stiff, and my knuckles turn red EVERY night. I could go on and on what hurts every day, but I'm sure you all know how that is. I have an appointment this week to discuss all of this with my doctor. Oh! I have been on humira and enbrel before. Didn't work for me. Remicade has been the best so far. I'm not ready to try something new yet. I hope I answered all your questions.

Again, thanks for all your responses! I appreciate it!

Kelly,

Like Hawkeye, I administered chemotherapy when I first started nursing. Unfortunately for chemo patients, this medication causes severe problems finding veins to draw blood so we know if the patient's CBC and electrolytes are holding up and, as stated, it provides a challenge to initiate IV therapy.

This actually provided the opportunity for me to become very, very good at inserting IV's but that is beside the point.

Once a patient becomes difficult to provide the needed therapy, a central line is considered. There are many different kinds but the theory is sound in all of them. Whereever they originate, the neck, femoral vein in the groin area (not utilized long term - too much of an infection risk), anywhere in the arm, or in the chest, the PICC line, Power PICC line, double lumen or triple lumen, tunneled catheter, or an Implanted Port, they are all considered 'Central Lines'.

The main point is that all Central Lines are inserted in large veins and the line is threaded to a vein close to the heart.

With this in mind, cleanliness and proper care are a must because if the line becomes infected, the end of it is near the heart so becoming septic is one of the problems to watch out for.

Kelly: For you, the good news is that a Port is inserted under your skin in your chest normally on your left side. You would not have a single piece of equipment outside of your body. Therefore, no one will know you have this device and the chance for infection is very small.

The nurse accessing the port cleans the area on your chest well and, using sterile technique, holds two sides of the port and inserts a port-a-cath needle. Once the infusion is completed, your nurse will flush the port with Normal Saline followed by a flush of Heparin. The Heparin will keep clots from forming in your line. The maintenance needed from the patient with a Port is minimal.

Best regards Kelly,
TheWino

Buddha cat- thank you for the suggestions. I have tried all but squeezing a ball before had. I will give it a try.

The wino- (by the way, love your name! Makes me smile) I really appreciate your post. Not only did you give me facts, but I can tell you are very kind.

For me, I'm not concerned about people or me seeing it. I felt more uneasy about the catheter being close to my heart. I have been doing a lot of research and it seems many people find it helpful. I go to my rheumatologist in the morning. I am looking forward to his opinion as well.