dmc
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5102
posted
I had one for four months...not that bad. It goes in arm. Picc was put in at the hospital as outpatient. They numbed my arm so I didn't feel anything nor see anything with the "drape" (tent like thing).
We talked about dogs & dog training while the surgeon did it.
First couple days arm hurts as if you strained/overworked muscle. You can't lift or do much with that arm. Need to keep it dry.
You need to make sure you do not have a blood clotting disorder. Your doc should order blood test to check for any.
I have what is called Factor 5 Liedum. A genetic trait...my blood clots (makes fibrin) I say too fast. I had to do Lovenox shots while on the IV. That was the only hassle I had.
The home/health nurse came first day tou teach and infuse the abx. Then they come once a week to check & change dressing.
Best wishes during your IV treatment.
Posts: 2675 | From ct, usa | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
Had PICC line back in 2005. Had it put in at the LLMD's office and the Nurse had a very rough time with it.
Her rough time became my rough time..not very comfortable at all but I suppose in the right hands it is fine.
Arm sore for a few days.
BIG TIP - Make sure the home health nurse or whoever will be doing your weekly cleanings actually comes every week.
My Nurse skipped not one but two weeks and I ended up with a really bad infection in the line. When I flushed the line I pushed all the toxins through my system and came very close to septic shock.
I had to be rushed to the hospital because within 5 minutes of flushing my line I got the rigors and a spiked fever to 103...So scary.. They pulled the line at the hospital.
During the time it was in I really did not notice it much - you do get use to it! Best of luck TG
Posts: 376 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jun 2009
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posted
I got my PICC in late September. A radiologist performed the procedure, and it was fine. Vaguely disconcerting when I could feel the tube moving up my arm, but not painful.
It was sore for a couple of days, but not too bad. Mostly it just felt weird whenever I thought about it being there.
The home health nurse was covered by my insurance for one month (because we all know that 28 days of IV abx will "cure" Lyme--ha ha ha). So after the first dressing change, she taught my husband how to do it.
She supervised my husband after that, so we were sure we knew what we were doing once the insurance stopped paying. The dressing changes are pretty easy.
The main drawbacks so far have been having to wrap my arm in plastic wrap while showering (Glad Press 'N Seal works wonders), and remembering to take it easy lifting heavy stuff.
I really want to get back to doing yoga, but I'm not sure that I should be supporting so much weight on my arms with the PICC in.
Also I have to be careful with sweating. One night I had awful night sweats and the dressing started peeling off--we had to change it the next morning.
Still, it's been remarkably easy to deal with so far. (Knock on wood.) IV abx are making a difference for me, and I can also do glutathione IVs at home now (way cheaper than going somewhere to get them done).
Posts: 398 | From By the Salish Sea | Registered: Dec 2008
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Not a bad experience-some rather exciting moments-like when I pulled the end off the extension and was splattering blood all over the couch-forgot about the clamp.
Called infusion company at midnight and they came to change the extension since there was no way I could do the morning infusion without a new one.
I had the same line for 8 months with no infection-but it was tough to pull out because of the fibrin issue. I took 81mg aspirin every day to prevent blood clotting.
Posts: 365 | From Sylvania | Registered: Aug 2008
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I had one for 3 months. The good news was, it finally kicked my leg pain and got my fatigue down to a manageable level.
First attempt, the nurse tried to just put it in at the doctor's office. Apparently, I have some sad old lady veins. She tried twice on each arm, and it just wasn't doing it. Ouch.
So I went back up to the hospital, with the fluoroscopy and all (and the Lidocaine - I LOVE Lidocaine). I watched them put it in, because I'm a weirdo. After the shots, didn't feel a thing.
It hurt later, I found a heating pad worked really well. I went to work the next day and was okay (vet tech).
After maybe a month, my line sprung a leak. I ended up having to get it pulled, and replaced in my other arm.
I'd have to set aside about an hour a day to do my treatment. The drip only took half an hour, but getting everything set up took me a bit. Not hard to do at all. The nurse came once a week to change my dressing, and every other week she drew blood.
Probably the biggest pain was showering. I'd have to wrap it, and try to keep it out of the water, plus washing my hair one handed proved to be kind of difficult. Also, I had it over the summer, so I couldn't easily cover it with sweaters. I didn't want to freak out the people I worked with, so I had the surgical netting they gave me to hold the extensions down to my arm, and then kind of loosely wrapped an Ace bandage on top of that. So that was an every morning thing.
I got much better, much faster on the IV though than I did on oral abx. Definitely worth whatever inconvenience I had from it.
Posts: 306 | From Brownsville, PA | Registered: Jul 2007
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