I’ve certainly never been known for making the smartest decisions😅 luckily the first day wasn’t too bad! All the drugs were still in my system! Going to class the next was definitely harder, but once I’m convinced I need to do something, it takes a lot for me to not do it! And hey, that’s what good friends are for! I definitely couldn’t have done it without them or my amazing professors!

I actually have all of the dates written down, but keep in mind this was just my experience and my city’s hospital system!! So I had my appointment with my primary on March 2nd, that’s when she put in the referral. They called me in a week, on March 9th and we scheduled it for March 14th. It was less than two weeks from the referral to the day of surgery! I think a lot of vascular offices are super quick with it, but my doctor did tell me that it might take two weeks for them to call me. My vascular office called me while I was in class and asked how soon I needed it scheduled. If I had needed it immediately (like for immediate cancer treatment or likewise) they could have done it the next day (Friday the 10th), but they said it would be easier to wait until Monday. I had too many classes that day, so I asked for Tuesday! I believe they called me again the day before to go over surgery instructions! I hope this helps! I didn’t realise how fast the process was going to be for me, I’m not sure if it’s that way for everyone though. Let me know if you have any other questions!!

@@caimacler Ok- that would be nice if it would be the same for me. I was started on TPN on October 5th, 2023. I have a PICC line right now. It’s already my second one bc the first stopped working. Now the picc line I have is getting super positional again and wouldn’t pull blood at my last infusion appointment. My nurse has been encouraging me to ask my doctor about a port. And at this point I am worried my current PICC isn’t going to last much longer. I can tell it’s hard to push saline and won’t pull blood most of the time when I flush it. My appointment with my PCP is this coming Tuesday. I am really nervous about asking about it. I’m not sure how long I am going to be on TPN but I’m sure it’s going to be months longer until anything can permanently be fixed. I also receive IVIG every month and will be for the rest of my life. So that would be another good reason to have one. Thank you so much for the information and your video of your experience. As I said- I really hope mine experience works out similarly and quickly. But first I’ve have to get my doctor to agree with it.. I’m not very good at advocating for myself.

@@caimacler also kinda worried about timing bc I think at my hospital they might use general surgery team for ports.. and I would assume that may extend things. However if I am having issue with my PICC then some kind of intervention will need to happen sooner rather than later bc they say you shouldn’t keep a PICC that won’t pull blood if your treatment will be for longer than a week or two.

That sounds like a really awful situation to be in. I hope everything has been working out for you! You’ll have to let me know how it goes/went!!

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