PICC Line Whine.....

[mickeysaver]

I don't wanna! I am gonna have to, but I don't wanna. I got an infection in my left lower leg back in late July. I was in the hospital on IV antibiotics for a few days, went home on oral antibiotics. I was on oral antibiotics for over 6 weeks. After getting a second opinion from another Infectious Disease doc, I stopped the antibiotics because he felt the infection had cleared and I just had residual reddness and swelling leftover from my body fighting the infection. I liked the sound of that, plus he had over 30 years of experience and ID doc #1 was fresh out of fellowship. While off the antibiotics, I was able to enjoy my vacation where I celebrated turning 40. However, towards the end of our stay, the redness, swelling, and pain began creeping back. After being home for two weeks, the infection is back. I saw my #1 ID guy again on Tuesday. I had a leg CT and bloodwork. Luckily, there is no osteomylitis still.....I say still because I have had x-rays and a bone scan done during all of this that were negative, but I have two screws in my left knee from an ACL reconstruction 10 years ago. My ID doc has been concerned that since this has been so hard to clear, that I might have some sort of osteomylitis as a source of the cellulitis infection.

So, I am getting a PICC line placed on Monday, so that I can be on Daptomycin for the next 6 weeks. This is the last big effort that we can make to wipe out the bug. If this fails, I will be on oral antibiotics for the rest of my life. I have read the details of the PICC line procedure on the internet. I work in the medical profession, so you would think that I would be prepared to deal with this, but it freaks me out a little. Can anyone tell me about getting a PICC line from personal experience? Thanks. Maggie

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Hopefully someone with experience with a PICC line will respond. My husband had a port for his treatments and he tolerated that fairly well... we were at the hospital every day for radiation as well so they monitored the port for him...it was in his clavicle area.. If I understand correctly, the PICC lines are in other areas.. His was inserted surgically under anesthesia.....and when his treatment was over, it was removed and fast so it would not be a reminder of his illness.....

Hope it goes well for you and you tolerate the treatment and get rid of this nasty infection...

 

[imabrat]

I'm going through chemotherapy now and I have a port.
I don't know if the procedure is the same for a PICC line,but I was under Local Anesthesia,not General.
I remember feeling some pain,like a pinch and burn,and I was asleep for most of the procedure,but during the end I was awake,but very sleepy.
I had liquid stitches placed over the incision,but it busted loose when I became very nauseated that night and vomitted.
Mine is also in my clavicle area.


Best of luck to you!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

hugs to you imabrat.....if you need anything here, just post, we are here for you...I think you did the right thing for the administration of your chemo, better than trying to get a vein each time.....Hugs again. Wait... I am editing this.. is this Sonja, Mskanga's daughter?? if so, double big hugs for you and your Mom.. if not.. never mind.

I hope others who have more experience with a PICC line might post for the OP.

 

[imabrat]

hugs to you imabrat.....if you need anything here, just post, we are here for you...I think you did the right thing for the administration of your chemo, better than trying to get a vein each time.....Hugs again. Wait... I am editing this.. is this Sonja, Mskanga's daughter?? if so, double big hugs for you and your Mom.. if not.. never mind.

I hope others who have more experience with a PICC line might post for the OP.

thanks!
yep,that's me!

 

[JandJ]

I don't have personal experience with a picc line but my mom had one off and on for years. They put it in her arm and she would say that each time they put it in (I think 3 times total) it didn't really hurt. They did local anesthesia and she was in good spirits after they'd put it in. I think I remember her saying it hurt more coming out. It worked well for her, but she had a pseudomonas infection in her lungs and after 5 years of treatment nothing could wipe it out any longer.

My father has a port near his clavicle. They inserted it as an "easier" way to deliver his chemo. He's had it for about 3 years now and he says it doesn't bother him but he doesn't really remember them putting it in. They flush it every 4 weeks or so but they don't use it any longer as he's given up chemo. He jokes that it's convenient if they ever need to take blood.

 

[GoHerd1028]

Finally! something that I can post about and be of help to someone!!!!!

I put in PICC lines as part of my job!! It is not a big deal (which I am sure you already know by now since you were having this done on Monday and it is already Tuesday).

The whole process with extending your arm on a padded board for easy access. We then will do a sterile prep and drape of the area to cut down on the risk of infections. Once this is done we use ultrasound to find a vein. The ones used for PICC lines are above the elbow a little to deep to be palpated. The doctor will then use lidocaine to numb the area and with the Ultrasound access the vein. A wire is then threaded into the needle and a peal away sheath is then placed on the wire. Xray is then used to position the wire to the proper position in the big vein in the chest just above the heart. The wire will then determine the needed lenght of the PICC line itself. The wire is pulled out and after the PICC is trimmed up it is inserted into the peel away catheter and guided into place with xray. The peel away catheter is removed and a couple stitches are put into place to secure the PICC line. The entire process will only take 5 to 10 minutes. We do about 10-15 of these a day at the very least.

They are good for long term antibiotic therapy like it sounds like you need. Using the large vein in the chest is needed because of the strength of the antibiotics used. It could harm the smaller veins in the hand or arms.

Keep the area clean and dry. Don't soak in a bathtub. If the dressing does become wet change it right away. If youi notice any swelling or redness at the insertion site call your doctor. It could be the sign of an early infection and make it necessary to put a new PICC at a different site.

I hope this helps.

You can e-mail me if you like GoHerd1028@aol.com

 

[mickeysaver]

Thanks to everyone, especially, GoHerd. I did get the PICC line on Monday. It was not very painful at all. I think my biggest concern was that I knew they would be using Lidocaine. It stings alot. I had a few ingrown toenails as a child that were operated on in the doctor's office with Lidocaine. The pain set up a fear in me in respect to Lidocaine that I thankfully overcame on Monday.

The procedure was textbook. I had more pain from the dressing adhesive that they applied than from the PICC site. I am on IV Daptomycin. The leg is looking better already. The worst part is that I have to drink a minimum of 180 ounces of Water a day. My kidney's are getting quite a workout from this medicine. I have been feeling horribly fatigued on the meds. I thought that I felt bad yesterday because I didn't sleep well due to the soreness of my arm from the dressing over the PICC site. But, after the ID doc changed the dressing yesterday, I was hoping that a better night's sleep would cure the feeling. Unforunately, I woke crying this morning with really bad bodyaches and a headache that was not a migraine, but darn close to one. So, now, I am supposed to do the IV closer to bedtime, so that I will be able to get fluids to my kidney's at the critical time when the "toxins" from the meds start building up to the point that they can make me ill. So, I am on the drip now. It takes an hour to infuse, so by the time that I am done and ready to head to bed, it should be my normal bedtime. I sure hope that I don't feel icky again tomorrow. I have too much work to do to feel this bad. Maggie

 

[mickeysaver]

PICC line is out! I took a two week course of Vancomycin and I am doing much better. The leg is finally pain free and looks like it's finally healing. I just have to keep my eye on it over the next couple of months. If it returns, I will have to get a port instead of a PICC because I was having really bad contact dermatitis with the dressing. I would need a 6 week course of meds at that point, but since I am having tinnitus from the Vancomycin, I would unfortunately be a risk for more significant hearing loss if I had to do that.

Anyway, just thought I would let you guys know that the PICC removal was painless and that the saga has come to an end. Maggie

 

[GoHerd1028]

Congratulations!!! I am glad that it is out and that you are well on the road to recovery!!

Steve