Hi,
After almost two years of chemo and five different cocktails I finally decided to get a port inserted. Why did it take me so long you may ask.
Well, I have to say because I really didn't understand what a port was. Yes, I was asked more than once "have I thought about getting a port". But not once in nearly two years did anyone actually explain to me what it was. Sure, I had seen many people at the infusion center with tubes hanging out of their chests and thought that was it - end of story. Maybe I was in denial that I was actually sick and was hoping that each cocktail I tried was going to be the one to put me into remission.
Well, after my veins finally said "no more," I finally had it done last week. I have to say the surgeon did a nice job and you can hardly see it. But it hasn't been accessed yet. What do I need to know about that??
Also did anyone else end up with a frozen shoulder after the procedure of having the port inserted? I couldn't move my left arm for two days and the third day got slightly better. On the 4th day, I could drive the car again but I'm still in pain!
If it's not one thing, it's another.
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Re: Frozen shoulder after port insertion
I had a port put in when I was diagnosed in January 2011 and it has served me well. I plan on keeping it for a long time.
Mary
Mary
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Maryhosier
Re: Frozen shoulder after port insertion
Hi Aussiegirl,
My husband's shoulder was also extremely painful for about a week after his port was put in. He was not given any prescription painkillers, and regular Tylenol (acetaminophen / paracetamol) barely helped his pain. It did get better but he was pretty miserable at first. In hindsight, we should have asked for a prescription once we knew how much pain he was having.
I hope you you start feeling less pain soon. The port will be well worth it when your medical providers start to use it for lab draws and/or chemo!
Best wishes,
Chris M.
My husband's shoulder was also extremely painful for about a week after his port was put in. He was not given any prescription painkillers, and regular Tylenol (acetaminophen / paracetamol) barely helped his pain. It did get better but he was pretty miserable at first. In hindsight, we should have asked for a prescription once we knew how much pain he was having.
I hope you you start feeling less pain soon. The port will be well worth it when your medical providers start to use it for lab draws and/or chemo!
Best wishes,
Chris M.
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Chris M
Re: Frozen shoulder after port insertion
I think your pain will lessen over the next couple of weeks. Be sure to have some EMLA (lidocaine and prilocaine) or lidocaine cream to put over your port entry each time it is used (half an hour to an hour ahead of time). Be generous with it – like you're frosting a cupcake – and place some sort of covering on top so your clothes aren't stained. This helps tremendously with removing the "sting" of having the needle inserted.
My port was my best friend. It had to be removed last January after six years because blood could no longer be accessed for blood work. If I need to have intravenous chemo again, I will definitely have another port inserted.
My port was my best friend. It had to be removed last January after six years because blood could no longer be accessed for blood work. If I need to have intravenous chemo again, I will definitely have another port inserted.
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Yellow Rose
Re: Frozen shoulder after port insertion
I've had a medi-port since Jan 2015, and I love it.
It is true that I was VERY sore for about a week, maybe two, after insertion. The soreness was the entire area - neck, chest, shoulder. It was bad enough to limit my activities and make it difficult to sleep. It gradually got better and better. It took about a month to approximate "normal" again. Now, many months later, I don't notice it at all.
Since the area was SO sore, the first couple of time it was accessed were QUITE painful. EMLA, the skin numbing cream, would only do so much for that, because it wasn't the skin prick that was so painful. It was the pressure required to get the needle to go through the top layer of the port, pushing on the underlying bruise. It stopped being painful like that after about a week or two.
Now, it's almost nothing when it's accessed. The skin prick is tiny, way better than IV insertion. I think this may have to do with the fact that I have no anxiety about whether or not the nurse will "get it" like I would with a regular IV insertion. I know to expect one tiny prick, and then it's over. I don't even use EMLA because I find the dressing over the EMLA more irritating to my skin than the prick from the needle.
Now I do everything through the port, even simple blood draws. My arms thank me for it.
It is true that I was VERY sore for about a week, maybe two, after insertion. The soreness was the entire area - neck, chest, shoulder. It was bad enough to limit my activities and make it difficult to sleep. It gradually got better and better. It took about a month to approximate "normal" again. Now, many months later, I don't notice it at all.
Since the area was SO sore, the first couple of time it was accessed were QUITE painful. EMLA, the skin numbing cream, would only do so much for that, because it wasn't the skin prick that was so painful. It was the pressure required to get the needle to go through the top layer of the port, pushing on the underlying bruise. It stopped being painful like that after about a week or two.
Now, it's almost nothing when it's accessed. The skin prick is tiny, way better than IV insertion. I think this may have to do with the fact that I have no anxiety about whether or not the nurse will "get it" like I would with a regular IV insertion. I know to expect one tiny prick, and then it's over. I don't even use EMLA because I find the dressing over the EMLA more irritating to my skin than the prick from the needle.
Now I do everything through the port, even simple blood draws. My arms thank me for it.
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Tracy J - Name: Tracy Jalbuena
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 42
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