After 8 months of IV Rocephin treatment, my Picc line was removed this AM. Yea!!!!
I have been showing significant gains in the past two months and its time to start weaning off the abx.
Here are some tips I learned from having my picc:
1) A good cover I found for showering is by XeroSox. www.xerosox.com Works great for quick showers and dips in the pool, while holding arm overhead for most of the time. Does not work well submerged in a bath tub or hot tub. They are tight when you put them on- I used baby powder to help it slide on and that was a godsend.
2) I liked to cover my picc with these socks called Ovation Zocks- (google them) which I just snipped the end off of. They were great for the summertime- light, stayed in place, gave excellent coverage compared to regular socks, tube bandaging, etc. Plus the patterns are fun- might as well have some joy in your day while fighting the nasty buggers right? Sorry the patterns probably don't apply to the men out there.
3) When I increased my Omega 3 dosage to 2g/day, my insertion site bled a bit more. When I decreased the dosage, the bleeding stopped.
4) When I took Transfer Factor to help with my WBC count, it caused an immune reaction and pus came out of my picc insertion site. Scary....and I was able to get dressing changed same day and this was the only time it happened.
5) If my arm got itchy around the dressing, I carefully sprayed a light coating of Benedryl spray around the dressing- this helped.
6) I found my arm liked it best if my stat lock was changed every two weeks instead of every week. If changed each week (for me) my insertion site bled more.
7) I also needed to keep my stat lock very close to its original position and not let it "wander" too much. One time, a nurse moved it over about an inch and the line just pulled on the hole all the time and I bled like a stuck pig.
8) I have just learned that you are apparently not supposed to take blood via your picc line, although this is how my nurse did it each week. Oops.
9) If my arm got a little warm or swollen, I iced it. If it got twitchy and tight, I applied light heat.
10) Despite initially being careful with my picc, most of time I forgot it was there. As I got better, I was able to do full pilates classes, ride my horse, and muck stalls with no issues.
Good luck to everyone out there with their lines and treatment. I know I was lucky to get an 8 month run in with no issues. I hope this helps!!!
I have kept the line and now I am wondering if I should have some sort of ceremony and bury it in the backyard or whether I should string it on the Christmas tree
MB
Posted by cactus (Member # 7347) on :
quote:Originally posted by mbdq: I have kept the line and now I am wondering if I should have some sort of ceremony and bury it in the backyard or whether I should string it on the Christmas tree
MB
I vote for stringing it!
My artist partner is doing a sculpture using a lot of my extra supplies - sounds like you need a good art project too!
Posted by momlyme (Member # 27775) on :
Bury it!
Thanks for the tips & the laughs!
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
I am curious as to whether you took tindamax while on rocephin? And if so, could you share your dosing schedule.
Thanks.
Bea Seibert
Posted by ktkdommer (Member # 29020) on :
MB: Thanks for taking the time to write out all the informative PICC line details. I learned that when a PICC line cracks it has to be replaced. No fun!
Posted by Needing Hope (Member # 28067) on :
Thank you for posting this. I was so terrified to get a PICC line, and reading your post helped ease my mind, especially #10.
I've had my PICC for 16 months now, and after the first month, I, like you, got used to it. Some things I learned:
You can change the dressing yourself. We originally had home health care, but my insurance denied it, so my Dr.'s office taught my husband and I how to do it. I can't do it by myself, and the first half a dozen times, I shook from fear of doing something wrong. Now, we can almost do it in our sleep.
There are different types of tegaderms available. The original ones we were using were terribly painful to remove, and itched like crazy. The ones we use now are much more comfortable, and easier to remove.
Band nets (the cloth sleeve that keeps it protected) are washable!! If I had figured this out sooner, we would have saved hundreds of dollars! I put it in a lingerie bag and wash and dry them with the rest of my clothes, and they're good to go. They do need to be replaced after awhile, but it's a long while.
You can buy all the supplies you need individually. We were buying dressing change kits for each dressing change, and we only used like 3 items out of it. By ordering just what we needed, we cut our cost in half.
Posted by ladycakes (Member # 12619) on :
I learned that I'm way tougher than I thought I was.
I learned all sorts of responses to "what happened to your arm?" My usual was, "photographer fight club," but I told a few folks that I had fought the law.
I learned that there are much better options for showering than taping it up with saran wrap.
I learned that PICC covers are really easy to sew, and stretch jersey makes for a nice one. In situations where I didn't want folks bumping me in a crowd, I'd use that tape that athletic trainers use - it looks medical, so people give you a bit more space.
I learned that you can do all sorts of things with a PICC line in, even though they kind of tell you not to. I worked at a vet clinic and lifted big dogs, went zip lining, flew to Europe, actually did a lot of traveling, went to concerts, continued working... I kind of did whatever I wanted to.
I learned that my friends were not as weirded out by it as I thought they'd be. We spent a week together on vacation, and they'd sit around and play Xbox while I did my drip.
Probably most importantly, I learned that I respond a lot better to IV antibiotics than regular orals. I saw so much more improvement on them, and for all of my worrying about it, it was absolutely the right thing to do for me.
Posted by Pony (Member # 32559) on :
Thanks for all the comments guys and gals!
This is very helpful for someone who is about to go through this process!!! Posted by BBinme (Member # 34131) on :
QUOTE 8)" I have just learned that you are apparently not supposed to take blood via your picc line, although this is how my nurse did it each week. Oops."
i was just wondering how did you find this out, they draw blood from mine every 2 weeks, i never heard that before, thanks
Posted by dbpei (Member # 33574) on :
I know this is an old post, but I was told they are going to be drawing blood from my picc line tomorrow and I hope this is okay to do!
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
As far as I know, it's fine to take blood via the PICC, as long as you change the cap on the line after (blood gets caught in the cap because of how the caps are designed).
Posted by Notti (Member # 43843) on :
Drawing blood from a PICC-line is fine, as long as the the line is flushed with saline first and the first 10 millilitres of blood that are drawn are disposed of. The first blood from the line isn't pure.
After the blood draw the line should be flushed with saline again and, if desired, 'locked' with heparin. So before and after every use, whether it be antibiotics, other medication, blood, or whatever, the line has to be flushed.
The cap (MicroClave or Bionector) should be replaced only once a week.
Posted by dbpei (Member # 33574) on :
Thanks for this info. This will be my first full week of having the PICC line in so hopefully my nurse will know the correct protocol.
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