Hi,

I was just wondering has anyone ever tried to do a self fill? I mean just take a syringe some saline and fill yourselves? What would the risks be?

Hi,

I was just wondering has anyone ever tried to do a self fill? I mean just take a syringe some saline and fill yourselves? What would the risks be?

"I went in for my 6 month check up and 2nd fill and found my port has evidently flipped. My doctor stuck me 13 times -- I counted the holes when I got home! (And that sounds worse than it really was!) -- and bent 4 needles. He could get a good grip on the port (unlike the first fill when there was still so much fat over it he could only HOPE he was hitting the right spot!), but couldn't get a needle in.

So, just waiting for approval from the insurance co. and am tenatively scheduled for 2/10. He intends to relocate the port more towards my sternum where it's a little firmer territory than how squishy it is down by my navel. "

THE ABOVE IS POSTED HERE UNDER FLIPPED PORTS

As I read the postings yesterday-I thought of the flipped ports I had read about.

And also thought of my second fill~ under floriscope~having to be stuck 4-5 times and the bending of the needle.The PAIN!! I almost got dressed and walked out.!

They numbed me this time and had NO problem accessing-but there is still an awful lot of pressure required to access it. And I am sore the next two days or more.

The Physicians creedo is"First do no harm"~and attempting self fills can potentially do a LOT of harm.

Be safe.....there will be a way .

Swantime, omnipaque is just a thicker solution that they can fill your band with. Most doctors in the U.S. don't use it. This solution, being thicker than saline, takes longer to seep out than regular saline. It is also non toxic so it is just an alternative to saline. If I had my druthers, I would opt for omnipaque, but where I live doctors refuse to use it. I think because they are worried they won't make as much money because there might be less fills because of it.

I have an RN do my fills, at her home. She does her own fills, and has no trouble. Now I don't know if it matters that she works in L&D and probably has many years of experience under her belt, as the band is different than anything else. I just know that she has never experienced any trouble. The doctor came to her home town to personally teach her how to do the fills. I believe that he brought her an instructional video, and probably did a fill or two and had her watch, but it wasn't more than that. I know if I could do it, I would. But that is me .... and usually, I end up doing exactly the opposite of what I SHOULD do. Now I am assuming, and ONLY assuming, that because she is an RN, that the needles she uses, she probably gets at the hospital where she works.:shades_smile:

huber needles are available in the hospital,,,,as you said she was taught by a physician,,,,i acces ports all the time with huber needles,,,,where i work now, you can only access them if you have had the training and are certified,,,,where i used to work certification was not a requirement but being taught how to do it was,,,,i accessed the port of an 11 year old cancer patient for 2 solid weeks and kept having trouble,,,the child would cry and i finally told the mother that i would not do this anymore,,i could not take that kid crying,,,my nerves were shot,,,,she didnt want another nurse to do it so she went to her md and told him to take it out and put in a groshung which is a catheter on the outside,,,,well, when they went in to remove the port they found that it was faulty,,,my point here is, i really dont think that just anyone should access a port,,,there could be things that you run into that you dont understand,,,,access the port in itself is not hard,,,its what you dont know that can hurt you,,,,i read a thread on this site about a girl who somehow accessed her own port without anyone knowing,,,she then removed saline when she wanted to eat and put it back in,,blah blah blah,,,be serious,,,if you are not a trained professional you really shouldnt be doing it,,,but to each his own,,,,i know nurses that will not access ports because they dont have a lot of experience with them,,,they know that unforseen things can happen,,,but again, to each his own,,,,

I wouldn't attempt to access the port without medical background. As an onocology nurse with 4 years experience accessing both chest wall ports AND peritoneal ports (for peritoneal chemotherapy), I wouldn't hesitate to access my own port. As long as I could feel it and the diaphragm without difficulty.

However, I would *never* tell someone else that it's okay to do. Without knowledge of the anatomy of a port and the correct method and materials...it's just too risky.

And remember...you may be SOL if you access your own port and something goes wrong. Insurance and doctors may not want to touch you if you've been doing something you shouldn't. It would be considered "non compliance".

Just something to think about.

My port is very visable and easy to find center ,no need for flouro, and for a doc. in an ecconomically depressed area such as south Mississippi to charge $1500 is just mind boggling.also there are no fill docs in the area. If I cant find the proper huber needle I am going to use a fine tip needle.

GOOD LUCK to you let me know how it goes. Could someone buy needles from a pharmacy without prescription?

Anyone who does their own fills, or lets someone who is not qualified to do fills to work on them if a fool.

Yes you can buy needles and sterile saline or sodium chloride without a perscription but, the only problem is finding a source for the proper huber style needles ,it can be done, it just takes reserch.

I'm an RN have done lots of ports the Huber needle is much stronger than the normal fine tip I have had to access a port once that way sure could bend or break a needle my thoughts are if you dont do this for a living you are foolish to do on your own even if you do work with ports I would not do my own. now if I had a real good peer I may ask them but the min you mess with your own then you void any resp. of the doc so you may be on you own

Hess

My doc is out of the loop already since I live 800 miles away and it has been 2 yrs since last fill. I used to be a para medic and my wife is in her clinicals as an rn now but since my port is so visabel I dont see any problem with self fill .I would probably be more apt to take it slow and get it right than if I had to go to the doc each time anyway. I have had to stitch myself up a few times and that is a lot more invasive than a saline inj.

I thought about the same because my doctor charges 250$ per fill but there are too many down sides and I would not stick myself on purpuse.

Sticking yourself with a 22 gauge huber needle is little or no difference than giving yourself daily insulin injections or b-12 shots.

this all sounds very interesting... can yall update me if yall found the needles or tried the fill? thanks

No need to ask the surgeon, I found a supply of huber needles and saline and since my port is highly visible it was a peice of cake. the important part is knowing how much your port holds and how much you currently have in it.best thing i have done since being banded.