I got my PICC line placed today. I wasn't expecting it until sometime next week, but one of the technicians told me that my infectious disease specialist (she is the chief of medicine) came to talk to the head guy in the department, and voula, I got an appointment to have my PICC placed. I arrived just before the appointment, which was at 1:30, and the procedure was completely done by 2:45. It has been a busy day. Far too busy, and I am way to tired to update (and I need to finish up with yesterday first anyways). Also, have had way more phone calls in the last 24 hours than I have had in months. All the info I get is important but also tiring... too much to absorb in one day, leaving me wishing that I could just turn my phone of. I am super impressed with how fast the system organized everything. Within the span of a day, everything has been planned and worked out.
I am waiting for my first home care visit tonight, and hopefully a good nap while the vancomycin infuses. I will end with a picture of me and my new best/worst friends:
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| I was completely wiped at that point. I have no clue why I was holding the camera like that. Also, my new shirt! Love elephants! |
Hey not bad... my procedure took something like 2 1/2 hours. Hope it wasn't painful for you. Welcome to the PICC club!
ReplyDeleteWow, I can't imagine having to lie there for that long while the poked and prodded my arm.
DeleteI was really worried that it would be painful. The last time I had a PICC, the person inserting it made the incision before numbing my arm. There was a lot of screaming. Saying that it hurt doesn't do it justice.
The technician said she could tell I was really nervous while I waited for the doctor (I think) to finish with another patient and while the staff got stuff ready. I explained about my previous experience. She, in turn, told the doctor, who promised to use lots of local anesthetic. The needle with the numbing stuff hurt quite a bit going in (I think it goes really deep, in to a muscle), but after that I hardly felt any pain. At one point I said it started to sting, so he gave me more numbing stuff. I did feel a lot of tugging and pushing as the guide wire and line were pushed through my vein, and my arm felt very cold and wet (I assume blood, but I didn't look).
It does sting a bit now, but is much better than the peripheral IV I was sent home with yesterday evening.
Yeah, there was something about the site they chose. Apparently my arm is "really valve-y" according to the doctor and nurse doing the procedure. They had to switch incision sites twice. They did mine via ultrasound and then with a moving X-ray, so I kind of got to watch the whole thing. It was neat. They explained it as they went along too, which was nice.
ReplyDeleteThe local is surprisingly painful - at least once it's in you lose all sensation, so there's that! I had no idea what was going on, other than what had been revealed in my copious Google searches prior to the whole thing, so I kind of knew what to expect with the elaborate placement of patient, draping of lead and covers, etc etc. The nurse doing the local took foreverrrrrrrrrrrrr - she and the doctor kept muttering about weird muscle groupings and kept asking if I had in fact actually had some kind of muscle damage to that arm in the past (I haven't) and then poking around at more muscle fiber groups. Once they got that part done, it was all fine until the actual insertion of the thing. They put the wire in, then the PICC, which I got to watch happen live (so cooooolllllll) and apparently, I have a wide subclavian vein, and they kept thinking it was going into the wrong place. After a contrast X-ray they decided it was in fact in the correct place and all was well, but all of that took a really long time.
Frankly, I had nothing else to do since I was an inpatient, so I didn't really care, and found the whole experience quite fascinating :P
Mine stung for a day or so, but after that it was fine. I put cold water bottles on it since I wasn't sure if you're supposed to place ice on it. My nurse told me I was mildly insane and to just leave it alone, but she's not the one with the PICC. It did make it feel better. Then it itched like crazy. That's gone down now, a bit, a week later, but it's still bleeding quite a surprising amount. I just had a dressing change done yesterday, and it's already all bloody. Yummy. ;)
Oh, that really really sucks! It is really good they explained it step by step to you. Nothing like being in a room full of people who are all working on you, and nobody tells you anything.
DeleteIt does feel like a lot of pomp and glory for such a seemingly simple procedure, especially the draping and all the warm blankets they offer you (I was covered in them!). At one point there were 6 or 7 people in the room for with me. I guess it does make sense when you consider that it is a sterile procedure.
I watched everything on a big screen above the bed/table thing you lay on. Not sure if that was smart. It took me a moment to figure out what I was seeing on the ultrasound (the needle/wire being wiggled into my arm and then entering the vein). The moving x ray is called a fluoroscopy. the doctors used it with me too. It is really cool to see your heart beating!!!
Did the doctors offer an explanation for why your subclavian vein is wider then expected? Might make for a good story to tell people XD
I heard the bleeding cane take up to three weeks to stop. Last time I continued to have some blood crusting around the insertion sight for quite some time. I agree that the itching is horrible. I always tried to have a nap after the dressing change. The itch was almost always gone when I would wake up. I have a dressing change tomorrow and I am dreading it...
Don't be bothered with what the nurse says. If it mad you feel better and didn't harm you, then it was a good idea!
Fluoroscopy - will have to remember that. Moving X-ray sounds very pedestrian! It is really cool; I really enjoyed that part.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, it seems like a lot for what is a (relatively?...) simple procedure. But I guess it does involve your heart and is more or less an excellent way to insert infection into one's heart fairly easily. Here's what I can't quite figure out: why are all sterile drapes green?
At one point I had about six people in the room but that was the max, and one of them was a student. Everyone was very sterile. I felt like asking if I should wash my hands or something.
No story for the subclavian vein. I did ask and they were just kind of like, well, some people have wider veins or a million valves, it is what it is. Pretty boring.
Three weeks to stop, wah. That seems like a long time. Mine crusts blood and other glop. And now it's itchy again. Waaah.
One really great thing about being a nursing student - learning all the medical jargon, and therefore being able to understand anything I hear (even if I am not meant to XD). The fluoroscopy was probably my favorite part of the entire procedure.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the heart. Wouldn't want to get anything nasty brewing in there through the PICC. I was surprised I didn't have to wear a mask like everyone else in the room. I had to way back when in 2012... What's more, I got to keep my shoes on! It felt wrong. Hospital gown, sterile procedure, and my boots...
Maybe take some benadryl for the itch? Not sure if that would help, but it couldn't hurt to try.
Home care nurse just left. She was here for over an hour. My pump still has an hour to go, but then I get to disconnect myself and flush my own line! They are going to teach me to do as much as I can myself. Goal is to only need to go to clinic once a week for a dressing change.
I don't mind that all the drapes are green, but why are they such a horrible shade of green? Why not something nice, like a forest green? I assume different colours are used for different things. If I remember, I will ask my instructor at clinical on Thursday.