PICC Lines

[Guest guest]

Hi,

On 11/15/01 GuthrieMartha @Hotmail .com asks:

Hey Everyone,

I had some questions about these things and was wondering if you could help

me out.

1) Where do they insert the line and how?

2) Is it painful while in?

3) What is the " desensitizing " done for sometimes?

thanks!

I'm way behind trying to keep up with my email (as usual), but scrolled thru &

did not notice anyone answering Martha's questions on this remailer, so I

will respond now.

In my case, the PICC line was intalled about 2 " to 3 " below the elbow fold,

in other words, between the elbow & the wrist, but much nearer to the elbow,

on the inside of the arm.

It was done by an IV nurse in my doctor's office, hospital setting not

necessary.

I was advised by another personal friend, who also is an IV nurse, to take a

small dose of Valium or the equivalent both the night before & approx an hour

before the insertion, as a help with the insertion, because it helps relax

you & helps to prevent venous spasm, which can make the IV nurses' job either

difficult or impossible. Severe venous spasm can make installation of the

PICC line impossible. Anyway, I followed these instructions, and the

insertion was truly easy & painless. I remember feeling scared beforehand,

but I was in the hands of a very competent nurse, and it all went without any

problems at all.

Another thing that my IV nurse-friend advised me to do is to get the PICC

line inserted in the dominant arm, as the dominent arm gets more regular use &

this extends the amount of time the PICC line can be left in place. Regular

movement, but not excessive straining, is necessary to keep the line

flexible. I was told that in a non-dominant arm, PICC lines last typically

not more than 3-4 months, but in the dominant arm, it is possible in very

good cases, to get up to a year out of one PICC line. I " m pleased to tell

you that I got one full year + 3 days out of my PICC line, before it finally

got infected & had to be removed. I felt so pleased, but I really did take

scrupulously good care of it & kept it very clean.

As far as whether or not it hurts, here is my personal experience:

My arm/PICC line did hurt from time to time, getting itchy and/or sore & /or

hot & painful. This, for me, was the exception, not the rule. It just

happens sometimes. When it does happen, the treatment was to apply heat or

moist heat to the area until the pain or itching went away, and it never took

more than 2-3 days to do so, usually the applied heat worked within 24 hours.

As for convenience, I was able to do everything except submerge, which meant

that I could do just about everything except swimming. I love to swim, but

giving up swimming was a small price to pay for how much help the IV ABX were

for me.

Some people go to the trouble of wrapping the arm at the PICC line entrance

site with ace bandages, socks, etc, even buy special plastic bags to cover

the arm to keep it dry while bathing. I tried all of these methods, but the

site sitll got wet even with the plastic covering it. So, what turned out to

work best for me was to simply take baths rather than showers most of the

time. During the bath I'd hang my IV bag from a towel hook or the

shower-curtain bar & infuse while having a relaxing soak. The arm that had

to be kept dry was kept resting comfortably on the side of the bathtub. It

was very easy to get used to. I was able to wash myself & my hair with one

hand, as I had noone to help me, and got rather good at it.

There is more, and I can give more tips if anyone needs any. Just thought

that this info might be helpful to some of you.

As for " desensitization " I have no idea what this is.

Good luck, Martha & all of you. Please forward this to anyone whom it may

help.

Hugs, a