Hi All,

I was reading something in another thread about people with bad veins, I am one of them.....Last month I just got through with 6 months of once a month steriod infusions, I also have to give blood about twice a month because of a blood clot I developed. Well, they have trouble getting my blood every time, sometimes can't get it at all because of my bad veins...I had ONE vein, "old faithful" I called it in the inside my right forearm but that one got hard on me after the last steriod infusion and now I just about have NOTHING left, but what if I need another infusion or what if I need to go on Tysabri, (am on Rebif now)....I can't even give any more blood even though I NEED to do that in order to regulate my Coumidin and also to see if my liver enzymes are doing ok...It is just starting to worry me now...what if I need an emergency IV and they can't do it!

I know something about a port-a-cath but that didn't sound like fun, what about this PIC line?

This sounds like it might be better for me, can any one give me any info on this?

Your help, like always, would be apprecited.

thanks ahead of time.

Joe

My son had a piccline for 8 weeks to give him antibiotics. Once it was in, it was really pretty comfortable. pm me with ?'s , Id
be happy to answer them if I can.

Sox

Hi Joe,

PIC lines or Port-a-caths are designed for long term use, and are the ideal way to go if you have poor venous access. Here in Australia they are inserted in hospital (often under sedation or a light anaesthetic), and Pic lines are inserted in one or the other arm, whereas the classification that I know as Port-a-Cath, is usually inserted onto the chest wall.

Both can be accessed for blood sampling or the administration of medications, but both require a sterile technique when access is attempted, to prevent major systemic infection.

Until recently I worked as a Registered Nurse, and was trained to administer Chemotherapy. Chemo patients tend to have poor veins due to the many, many times their veins are accessed. MS patients can sometimes fall into a similar category as far as access goes with multiple infusions of Methyly Pred, Chemo and now Ty, not to mention the never ending blood tests.

Discuss it with your doctor, and good luck with what ever decision you make.

Hello JoeMac - I also have difficult veins. I've picked up some tips over the years for my tough veins. Drinking water before treatments, applying heat to near the vein may help the vein to pop up. Another thing I do is squeeze a stress ball! Hope this helps!
Josie

I would definetely go for a Picc line. As an acting RN, I loved to use one. I am not an RN now since my MS and sometimes forget a lot of my nursing. The last time I had to have Solu Medrol, I had to have a double course of it and sometimes they had to come out to the house twice a day to restart my IV. They told me the next time I needed Solu Medrol to ask for a Picc Line.

Thanks to both for the reply, the thing that worried me the most was the emergency IV. Also, no one at my job knows I have MS so I would need to keep that under the hat also and the port-a-cath worries me too, I really need to talk with my doctor about this, I have an appt on the 13th to discus my coumidin usage as the clot was just about 6 months ago and maybe he will take me off the coumidin.

I usderstand that the blood lab needs an OK from the doctor to draw blood anywhere else but the arm.

It seems like I would definately need something if I go to TY and need infusions once a month again because my arm veins are GONE, does the port a cath or pic lines hurt or is it obvious to people I would have one?

Thanks again for the replies

Joe

If you can handle watching it there's a good video on YouTube on a Picc Line Insertion.
I watched the whole thing and it wasn't bad but than again I can watch stuff like that this and it don't bother me. There is a little blood but not much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNiLZ...eature=related

LOL, wow, I will tell you, I am really not too much of a needle weenie when it comes to giving myself shots and stuff but when it comes to veins and things like that I AM a weenie.....LOL

This whole, port a cath and PICC line thing scares me, that viseo freaked me a little but it was informative, thanks momXseven, its good to know that I have alternatives to just plain having NO vein entry.......eases my mind a little...

soxmom, Koala77, doydie, Josie76, thanks for being helpful in my concerns...

I SO hate this, but don't we all..........

Joe

Hi, I had twins in 2006 and I have terrible veins. I went into early labor and had to go on magnesium to try to give the babies more time for their lungs to develop. In a day and a half's time, my veins collapsed 11 times. My arms were black and blue and I was miserable. They finally brought in 2 nurses who were trained to do PIC lines. They raised up my bed to their eye level and used an ultrasound machine to locate the vein in my upper arm. They then inserted the needle and thread it to where it needed to go. I was told somewhere in my chest but I was to scared to get specifics! The whole procedure didn't take very long and didn't hurt much at all. My 7 year old son and husband were in the room with me watching and I think they were worse than me! The PIC line held up great as it ended up being in for the next 13 days. I had to go home for 1 day during that time as they were letting my labor go ahead and took me off the magnesium. A nurse came to the house to show me how to take care of it and keep it cleaned. When I went back into the hospital to have my babies, it was so much easier not having to deal with being stuck a million times for an IV. I begged them to leave it in longer but they wouldn't and I had to be rushed back to the hospital a week after my babies were born with many complications. Then I got all the familiar sticks again so that part sucked. If your doctor will agree to a PIC line, I say go for it. I am now going to a rheumatologist and have been told I have an autoimmune disease. I have to go soon to have 22 tubes of blood drawn and not sure how they are going to accomplish that. Plus, I just found out I am pregnant again and so I am hoping they will do another PIC line for me soon. Good luck and let me know what you decide. But take it from me, I was not sedated and not on any epidural or medications and it didn't bother me. And I am about the biggest baby you will ever meet when it comes to pain!
Sincerely,
Tiffany