Digging with the fill needle

travelgirl · 01-14-2008, 03:08 PM

I went and had a fill on Friday. My surgeon's office doesn't do fills under fluoro. At least, none of mine have been done that way as yet. Anyway, I go in for my fill, and he hit the edge of my port on the first try. Instead of withdrawing and sticking me again, he starts digging around with the freaking needle. I asked him specifically not to do that, but now, I'm holding a crunch while he's trying to hit the damn port, and I am holding my breath. After a couple of minutes of this, I asked if he could give it a rest, he's killing me at this point, even with the lidocane injection. He finally pulled out the needle, and waited while I caught my breath. Hit it on the first try the second time, no sweat. Now, that really ticked me off, why couldn't he have just done that to begin with? I told him next time, there will be no digging, lest he wants to be punched in the face by a fat chick.

Friday night, I couldn't sleep because I had this big bruised swollen bump around my port area. It's very ugly still, and still swollen a bit, but at least I could sleep last night.

Just wanted to vent! I feel better now.

**Wheetsin** · 01-14-2008, 03:19 PM

Something like this happened to me once. I needed am emergency unfill, and the only surgeon with the clinic who was in was new and had never done a fill/unfill before. Like usual I requested NO lidocaine. My surgeon gets it on the first try, no fluoro needed. This guy -- it took probably 10 minutes. And when he first missed it, instead of pulling the needle out and trying again, he was doing this combination of pushing on my abdomen from the right, and pulling it from the left, like he was trying to manhandle the needle into the port - hard enought that he was starting to sweat from the effort. He kept saying "That should be it... I dont understand..." and kept not getting anywhere. The nurse must have seen it in my eyes, because she kept telling him what to look her to know when he has it in the port.

That was the only time a fill/unfill has bruised me, and the only time it has hurt (since I started requesting no lidocaine - first lidocaine fill hurt like a bitch). And the only time that for the next 4 days, I felt like I had been kicked.

travelgirl · 01-14-2008, 03:24 PM

Same here, he kept pushing harder to the side, like that's going to help. The thing is, he's a PA, and he's done ALL of my fills, and this is the first time that he hasn't hit it on the first try, so I was just teasing him when I said no digging. And it does feel very much like I've been kicked in the stomach.

make33 · 01-14-2008, 03:28 PM

When I was going for my first fill, Wheetsin, I had read about your experience with lidocaine and already decided it was "none for me, thank you!".

Luckily, my surgeon doesn't use it----BUT he said to me "This is going to hurt!!!!!"

At least I have a very truthful surgeon!!

That first one wasn't too bad, but for my second, I lifted my head off the table (told him I thought I had a 'hernia' which turned out to be my port!) and it popped right up to him--one swell foop and he was done!!

From now on, I vow to lift my head up to expose it for him!!!

**Wheetsin** · 01-14-2008, 03:32 PM

I have unintentionally created many no-lidocaine converts and followers. :) (My surgeon now only uses it if you request it, and he doesn't tell the new patients it's an option).

jennibee · 01-14-2008, 09:02 PM

I went in for my first fill under flouro (the dr. always does the first like this) He had a whole lot of trouble and mentioned that perhaps my port may be flipping around a little bit. After a couple of sticks he was able to give me a pretty good fill and I was on my merry way. Keeping my trouble with the first fill in mind I thought it would be to my advantage to remind the dr. and his nurse about my "tricky" port when I went in for my second fill two weeks ago. It must have fallen on deaf ears because they seem totally annoyed that they weren't able to stick me and send my packing. They had me do half sit-ups, leg lifts, and hold my breath to tighten up my stomach. I was physically exhausted by the time they decided to give up on filling me in the office. I was scheduled for a fill under flouro a few days later. I had a similar if not worse experience this time, that was a week ago and I am still bearing the bruises and needle marks from it. Somehow he even managed to get the needle stuck in me (I mean quite literally stuck in me, like leaning back in his chair, tugging on the needle to get it out stuck) it was bent when it finally popped out. So anyway now I am headed in for port revision surgery tomorrow at 11:00 am. I'm not sure what the problem with the port is anyway he never explained it to me, just said "we need to fix this" I guess that's how it has to be though, I need a fill pretty bad (I can eat any and everything I want) and I REFUSE to ever go through another fill like the last two I've suffered over.