Hi Everyone,

The last couple weeks I have been a bit under the weather. I was supposed to go into the hospital for 21 days, but I have no one near my home to take care of my son. He is doing so well in school this year and I refuse to mess it up for him.

Now they have agreed to home health care for me. They have suggested to go to the hospital for a picc line to have one placed.

Can't they just come in and give me an IV everyday without a picc. line? Even an IV to me always feels like I am getting stabbed with a ice pick.

Also, aren't I at more risk for infection with a picc line? Not to mention I think it could be much more painful with RSD.

I appreciate your suggestions. Much Love, Roz xxx

HAS ANYONE HAD A PICC LINE WITH RSD? THANKS, Roz

[lostmary]

Roz,

I had a picc line at the beginning of rsd, before we knew what I really had. I had it put in at the hospital, and they gave me a bag of meds before they let me leave. they showed hubby and youngest daughter how to change the meds bag. I was on 24/7 for meds...20 min on...20 min off. It was better than getting a iv dose every day. with an IV...your veins can colapse and if that happens (it did on me almost every nite while in the hospital). With a picc..it is easy to take care of. I had mine for 6 wks. I had a nurse come out once a week to inspect and clean the site. Mine was in my upper arm, on the inside, and I was attached to a pump that I could carry around on my shoulder or as a fanny pac. I ran the tubing up my sleeve and i just had to be careful getting up at nite to go. I had to be sure to take the pac with me. lol...I went for a job interview with it attached, and they never knew it. I was offered the job. also went out the dinner, etc. getting it out was 100% painless. didn't have any bad effects from it so far as rsd goes.

hope that helps.
Mary

Dear Mary,

I believe I only need one treatment per day. Much Love, Roz

[emilys gramma]

IMO one picc line would be better that getting poked every day with a new iv....

[Joselita]

There is a greater risk/danger of infections with multiple, daily IV sticks. Plus, even if you have to have one IV stick per day (assuming that you have WONDERFUL veins, and they are able to get each IV in, in one stick only...something that NEVER happens to me), that is what? 21 sticks? More if veins are problematic in any way, or if the sticker has some other sort of problem getting one in. That will blow most all of the easily available veins.

It was explained to me that once a vein is punctured, either in a sucessful IV placement, or in an attempt, that vein is out of commission for a while. Can’t re-use it right away. Plus....multiple IV’s make your veins comparable to that of a junkie. Junkies have HORRIBLE veins. LOL, I have been told that mine are like a junkies, from all of the IV’s that I have had to have over the past over 11 years of living with RSD and getting blocks and other procedures to help treat it.

If you have some sort of problem with getting an PIC line, maybe you can talk someone into doing what you think is best. Thing is, there are usually some pretty good reasons that the medical workers have their way that they do things.

Good luck.

[DiMarie]

Roz, The pic line has so much care and daily cleaning, and weekly junk put of it. Then some ports block in it. If possible I would rather a hyperin lock, (sp) the IV could be put in. De's pic line was a bit rough...BUT it may have been something else inher and I am calling it a pick line,. It was up by the jugular and had like 3 or 4 ports coming out of it.

Her veins kept collapsing and could not get blood or IV in properly. That is when she had that bacterial flesh eating infection in her hand/arm from the spider bite infection. Three weeks it was in.
di

Hi Di,

Did De have a Central Picc line? Because I had to have one before and I had severe complications. I believe I would rather look like a junky at this point. Thanks, Roz

[Joselita]

Originally Posted by buckwheat

Hi Di,

Did De have a Central Picc line? Because I had to have one before and I had severe complications. I believe I would rather look like a junky at this point. Thanks, Roz

Roz,
You misunderstand what I was trying to say. So sorry. It is not that YOU (or I for that matter) LOOK like a junkie, it is that our VEINS can be in a similar condition due to mutliple IV's. I do not have one done every day....I have an IV about every 3 to 4 months...and still my veins are shot.

From what has been explained to me, RSD helps to give us troubles with IV's and other things like blood draws. I can not have IV's done on my right side, due to RSD. However, RSD doesn't just affect certain limbs....it also can affect whole systems, and the circulatory system is one that can be affected. I have teeny tiny veins that are bad. They are full of valves and I don't even know what other probelms. I have some that just can't be used for IV's. However, I have been told that my veins actually open up and get some what larger after I have a block done. It only goes to reason, once you think about it, since the signs of a "good block" are a nice warm, and pinkly (or more normal, anyway) colored limb.

Anyway, I did not want you to think that I was saying that you looked like a junkie in any way. I was simply trying to explain, as it was explained to me, what happens to veins when they are overused.

Add to that, that having bad veins (as in small, or otherwise hard to get an IV into) seems to go hand and hand with RSD (again...what I have been told by doctors and medical personel that I have had over the years)....and a daily IV attempt might be a very hard thing to try, or cause more problems.

Again...I wish you Good Luck in what ever it is you decide to do, and how you decide to go about doing it.

[tayla4me]

Originally Posted by buckwheat

HAS ANYONE HAD A PICC LINE WITH RSD? THANKS, Roz

Hi Roz,

I only have PICC lines now as a decade of this thing has left me devoid of anything peripheral.
I have had them for up to 6 months at a time and they do have to be treated in a totally asceptic way.
The risk of infection does differ between IV and PICC in that the most likely infection from a peripheral vein is localised phlebitis but with a PICC which goes in to heart, there is more chance of far more severe systemic infections and endocarditis.
Maintaining a PICC does require staff who know what they are doing, if so hopefully you will not have complications like last time.

The PICC is only inserted by a RADIOGRAPHER under strict theatre conditions and with the aid of fluroscopy so the risk of having one inserted is not great.
The new PICC lines used these days do not all need a heparin lock but do need to be flushed through with saline once a week if not in use at the time.

Roz, if you need IV drugs every day there is no way they should be ruining what is left of your peripheral veins--you will need them for other things sometime. Please choose a PICC if you can.

Please look after yourself Roz
Love Tayla