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Upcoming Port Placement on 3/13
This Friday I am going to be going to the hospital to get a double port placed. The port will be used for nutrition purposes to help me get more nutrients and energy into my body during the day. This is called (TPN or PPN). Doctors are hoping that I will only need the IV nutrition for a short amount of time until they can figure out a plan to get part of my intestines or stomach functioning a little better.
The surgery will be complicated because of my vascular anatomy and I have been worried about pain after the surgery and managing of the pain. This is always something that is a concern for me because my body has been hyper-sensitive to pain with all the surgeries and procedures I have been going through lately. My doctors are really good about it usually but it is still something that is on my mind.
How do you manage post op pain? Does the hospital usually keep you for pain management for a few days or is this something that you are allowed to manage on your own at home?
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6 Replies
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Brittany, be prepared that there will be some pain and discomfort and it might take a few weeks for the discomfort to ease up on you. It also might sting a bit like a paper cut around the site. I’m just mentioning this so you know that it is normal. But of course discuss the pain with your team so they can monitor what is normal and what isn’t. For my son heat is what helped him the most. Not directly on the skin but on top of his shirt he would use the heated corn bags or electrical heating pads. He would also have me rub his back a lot and for some reason that helped. The hospital will administer pain meds as needed but once you are home that might just tell you to take ibuprofen. I will be thinking of you and praying.
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@colleensteele Thank you so much! I have a pacemaker in the left side of my chest and remember the discomfort that it caused with movement for a few weeks so I am expecting something kind of similar to that since it is going to be placed in about the same spot (just the opposite side of my chest)Like I said one of my fears is about the pain but I know my team will help me manage things.
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Good luck Brittany and I hope it all goes well for you. I am sure it will be fine. I have a Hickman and the first one I had put in was leaking (that did hurt) and it had to be replaced. My Doctor did a good job with pain control. At first I was given to much diladidued (not sure how it’s spelled), I felt to medicated. Then before coming home they put me on Fentanyl patches ( very low dose, 12.5) that I switch every 3 days. And wow it’s been so much better! I am actually feeling better for the first time in a long time. So just ask for more or less medicine that you feel the most comfortable with. And it does take a few weeks for the redness and inflammation around the site to go down. Also it doesn’t interfere with my Pacemaker at all. So you should be fine with that also. Stay strong!
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Brittany, I don’t think the port placement should be as painful as the pacemaker was. However, ask to have the ports accessed while you’re still under anesthesia or you’re numbed. They may do that always now, but when I was accessing ports we learned to ask them to do it along with the placement procedure because it does hurt a lot if you do it right after the port is placed. The port will probably make your life a lot easier especially if you’ve been losing easy vascular access. Good luck!
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Hi Brittney. I cannot really add much more than Colleen, Shannon and Sarah have shared with you. I just want to wish you the very best through this. It really sounds very hopeful that this will be right for you. I know you are strong and will not hesitate to speak up if you need more/less or different pain meds to make you more comfortable. Sending you lots of very positive energy, gentle hugs and love.
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I hope your procedure goes well. When I had a port placed it made such a difference. IV access is sooo much easier. I was glad I had it done. Everyone’s pain tolerance is difference. Your healthcare team need to know how you are doing and should help you manage the discomfort. My pain post procedure was minimal and I hope you have the same experience. You are in my thoughts. Best wishes gayle
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