This is for all of the picc line patients out there.
My daughter had hers put in on Tuesday. Right after the first infusion, she started having chest pain, pressure, and heart palpitaions.
They kept her for a while and monitored her. They called the picc line nurse back in and she said that the line was in perfect position.
They thought that she might be having some anxiety or her asthma might be flaring a bit.
Since coming home, she has had this same pain on and off. Mostly on. When she would cough, she said it was a stabbing pain.
The home health nurse had to come back out today to change the dressing because my daughter is apparently allergic or just sensitive to the dressing she had on.
The nurse thought that she should be re-evaluated and have an x-ray done because of the pain.
We ended up driving almost 3 hours back to the hospital. They did an x-ray, pulled the line about 3cm, took another x-ray, and sent us on our way.
She stabbing pain and heart palpitations stopped, but she still has this feeling of pressure in her chest.
Has anybody else ever experienced this?
Posted by scorpiogirl (Member # 31907) on :
Same thing happened to me. When I bent over, or lifted my arm, coughed or took a deep breath my chest would hurt! It was causing my hear to race/skip a beat as well. I told the nurse all this but they insisted the line was in a perfect place! Well... by the 3rd day it was still bad so they did another Xray and found that instead of stopping at the top of my right atrium the line went 2 inches too deep into my atrium!
It took another week for the pain/pressure to go away after that. Just keep an eye on it.
Posted by kidsgotlyme (Member # 23691) on :
That's what they were telling us too Scorpio. When they did the x-ray to check it, they didn't even say if it was in the right place or not. They just came in and moved it.
I guess it's not as rare as they say. I'm hoping that she will be feeling better when she wakes up today.
Thanks.
Posted by AZURE WISH (Member # 804) on :
I had one that was put in my heart(it is supposed to be near the heart not in it) my mom had to raise heck to get them to move it....cuz they argued it couldnt be causing problems. I felt a difference when they moved it.
did they xray it again after they moved it. if not than they really dont know where it is specifically in my opinion - which is only the opinion of a patient.
the other thing sometimes if the iv med it cold it can be irratating.
I would call her nursing company and/or dr if it continues. (sometimes it takes a mom to push the issue to get things straightened out - by the way i am grown i was just to sick to fend for myself...i am very lucky i have the mom i have)
just my opinion from my expereinces though.
Best wishes
Posted by mcaringella (Member # 24848) on :
I've had 3 picc lines and handled them all the time as a nurse in the ICU. Now that they've pulled it back, she should feel better; however if she's very sensitive to the position or if its right on the border of entering the atrium, the position of her arm can move the tip of the picc and it may agitate the the heart muscle ever so slightly. As a consequence, she may feel that flutter feeling, like her heart skipped a beat, etc. Monitor how quickly meds are given also. I remember receiving meds and it actually choked me. A few times during fluid boluses or i.v. abx, the fluid was going in faster than my heart and lungs to process it and I actually felt like I was drowning. This was because the fluid would back up in my lungs. When it happened in the hospital, the nurse blew it off as an anxiety attack (moron). In reality, she just needed to slow down the infusion. The more your daughter uses the picc, you both will become familiar with her specific tolerance and needs.
Whenever you question its position, always get a chest xray. It helps too, to take an accurate measurement in centimeters of the length of the line from the exit site down to the end of the line where you attach fluids. Keep note of the number as this will become the first clue if the picc has advanced or been pulled out accidentally.
Hang in there. And be very careful during dressing changes as its very easy to pull on the line. I allowed about a 1/2 cm of cushion room for it to change in length. Anything more, I'd address the issue.
Your daughter is very blessed to have a mom that's looking out for her. May God bless you!
Much love your way!
Posted by scorpiogirl (Member # 31907) on :
Hi, I had a chance to talk to the Radiologist (I'm having issues w/ my Hickman line, surprise surprise!) and I asked him why so many lines are inserted too deep??
He said it's difficult to get is it just right. When you are laying down it could be in a perfect place, but then you get up and you move around and you lift...etc so the line WILL move out of place. The best they can do is estimate and hope the line won't shift to much either way. So I said why not leave is way higher than the atrium? And he replied b/c too high up and the line won't work at all!! So clearly it's trickier than I thought.
Currently I'm fighting a nasty rash near my exist site. Doesn't seem to matter what we use for the dressing ANYTHING touching my skin I break out in these red pimples then pus. If we let the skin air out it heals w/in 3-4 days but the minute it's covered again, RASH!! I'm soo frustrated with this thing!! I'm a day away from pulling it out. Picc didn't work for me and now Hickman... I wonder if I'm destined to be poked every day. Posted by kidsgotlyme (Member # 23691) on :
Oh Scorpio, I'm so sorry about the rash. My daughter is having problems already with hers itching. They have changed her to a different dressing, but it's still itchy,
I'm so glad that you talked with the radiologist. The people that we have dealt with at the hospital have all acted like it's no big deal. Apparently, it's a bigger deal than they let on.
Since pulling the line back, she's feeling fine now. No more pressure or fluttering sensations. I'm so glad that we went on and got it taken care of. My husband, who acted like he was not concerned at all, couldn't sleep last night because of anxiety over the whole incident.
It freaked him out that something foreign was that close to her heart. He didn't want us to be worried so he just kept it all to himself. Such a good man he is!!
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
- by the way i am grown i was just to sick to fend for myself...i am very lucky i have the mom i have)![[Frown]](frown.gif)