Re: PICC line

[Guest guest]

Sara is right, you have 3 kids, the days you feel like garbage at least you know

you got the help and you can stay in bed.....My kids were older and I could have

never taken care of younger ones. I barely was able to take care of myself, you

will need the rest. That rest will help you recover.....

________________________________

From: Sara <srobinson@...>

Sent: Sat, November 7, 2009 9:51:17 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] PICC Line

If it were me, Lissa, I'd take the offer of a helper for as many hours

as I could get it.

The PICC is one thing. Dealing with a herx and three small kids is

another.

Say yes. If it turns out you don't need the help, you can always back

out. But if you discover that you need it and have already turned it

down, it'll be very hard to convince them to offer it again.

Caregivers come in a lot of forms. Some are nurses who do the medical

stuff. Others are homemakers who will clean up the kitchen, make you

lunch, and throw in a load of laundry. If that's what they're

offering, do I need to convince you to take it?

Sara

On Nov 7, 2009, at 6:05 PM, Donk wrote:

> Hi Lissa -

> When they told me I needed my first picc I was terrified. But it

> turned

> out to be no big deal at all. The insertion is pretty simple -

> there's

> a little prick like a shot, but then I didn't feel a thing the whole

> time..

>

> I can't imagine you'd need an aid every day. You can do it yourself

> pretty easily - you just set aside maybe 45 minutes to start the drip

> and let it finish. The nurse will come to your house and teach you

> how

> to do the first one. After that it's really simple - they have it set

> up so it's all just snapping a few plastic parts together. There's no

> injection or anything like that. The nurse will come by once a week

> to

> change your dressing around the picc insertion point. I had a company

> called NeighborCare and they were excellent. They take care of

> delivering the meds and all the supplies to your house.

>

> I've had 2 piccs. My insurance UnitedHealthcare covered the first one

> totally (28 days) including the meds and weekly nurse visit. The 2nd

> time my doc wanted me to have it for 12 weeks, but they would only

> cover

> 7 weeks - so I had it taken out. It would cost more than $125 a day

> without insurance. It wasn't helping me much anyway, and my LLMD gave

> be a bunch of oral abx that worked better than the picc. My picc was

> Rocephin.

>

> One thing I'd watch is that your kids don't grab your picc and yank it

> out, heh. The connector is taped to your arm, but it does kinda

> dangle

> a bit, so be careful it doesn't get yanked too hard. And, yes, keep

> it

> very dry. It was a chore taking a shower, but I found that Glad Press

> and Seal is " excellent " for wrapping your arm during a shower. It

> keeps

> it nice and dry and comes off pretty easily. When you get your picc

> they'll tell you what to avoid - I think you can mainly do anything

> you

> want but avoid lifting heavy things, and swimming.

>

> As for feeling worse before you get better... everybody is different,

> but it's not unusual to have a herx reaction and feel a lot worse

> after

> starting a new med. After my first picc started I had horrible

> onset of

> new symptoms and felt horrible for about a week. Then I started

> feeling

> a lot better.

> Hope that helps a little. Hang in there and don't worry about the

> picc

> - it's no big deal.

> Don

>

[Guest guest]

I'm questioning the drug you're going to be using with that PICC line. I was

told many of the commonly used orals don't cross the blood-brain barrier, so

they used cerfriaxone in my case. (Sara or someone else might be more familiar

with those that do and do not cross the BBB.)

I read a good descrption in these replies that tells the process of getting a

PICC line installed. After they put mine in, they took me to X-ray to be sure it

was placed properly. The RN's were joking with me on the way back to my room,

saying, " Can you hear it? Can you hear that? " Eventually one of them told me

that the X-ray showed the PICC line was up in my right carotid, next to my ear!

Adjustment by a more experienced RN ensued, and 2nd X-ray showed it was now

resting near my heart. (Trippy thing that was--free artery unclogging!)

You will find the home health RN to be a great source of knowledge and even

comfort. Catching any problems (phlebitis if you don't stay hydrated enough, any

sign of infection, etc.) early is key to being able to complete Tx. My visiting

RN was great; she told me premptively to eat yogurt at least every other day to

stave off yeast infection and it worked. She advocated with my insurance to get

me some fabulous shoulder-length plastic gloves (the kind vets use to give exams

to cows; I know others mentioned CVS, but if insurance will pay you don't need

the headache or expense) that were much better in the shower than bread bags.

The list is long: she was invaluable. If the tape they give you has real strong

adhesive, consider shopping for or asking the RN for some a little less likley

to irritate your skin (or hurt when you tear it off). Lots of people recently

spoke of this here, so that's on my mind I guess.

The only other advice I could really thing of is to keep copious notes about how

you're feeling every day. Four and then nine years later, when I was being

re-evaluted, I really wished I'd done more than write down the dates I started

and stopped. My docs didn't know anything about Lyme back then but maybe yours

will already have suggested this to you.

Best of luck, Lissa. I hope you get as much " recovery " as possible!

>

> Hi everyone.

> I just found out on Monday of this past week that my doctor wants me to start

IV doxy. She wants to do 28 days to start (which my insurance is covering 100%,

thankfully). So this coming Monday morning I am to report to the hospital to

have the PICC inserted and then a nurse will come to my home on Tuesday to

administer the first dose. My husband and I checked our benefits and I am

completely covered to have a home health aide come to my home every day for four

hours. So, my question is...does anyone have advice for me? Should I take the

home health aide? I have three young children, what can I realistically expect

my limitations to be? Has anyone had the PICC and not felt worse before getting

better?

>

> I have been on oral meds for almost a year and a half. I have taken the

following:

>

> Zithro

> Doxy

> Biaxin

> Omnicef

> Mepron

> Levaquin

> Lyrica

> Cymbalta

> Oxycontin

> Vicodin

> Percocet

> Cyclbenzaprene

> Plaquenil

> Testosterone

>

> Unfortunately, I have had little improvement with the oral meds. So now, I am

going on the IV. I will start on Tuesday with one dose of 200 mg of the doxy.

>

> I would appreciate any advice or input.Thanks much in advance.

> Lissa

>

[Guest guest]

Nope -- the whole PICC line thing is outside my area of expertise or

experience.

So far. Thank God.

And I can't comment on the BBB thing, either. My doc is pretty adamant

that he gets good results with most people relying on orals alone, and

doesn't like to go to the PICC unless he absolutely has to.

In related news: October was a drug holiday month for me. I went off

the abx for four weeks. I did this back in May, too; and by the end of

the month, the symptoms were starting to creep back pretty quickly.

But by the end of October -- nothing. I felt fine. Better than fine.

I'm leaning harder into my exercise/rehab routine, and taking on more

of my life, even without the abx.

I'm easing onto another new drug combo starting this week, which will

run into Feb/March. So far, the herxes have been pretty minor (mosty

soreness in the morning). But if October was any sign, I may be

getting near some kind of remission.

Here's hoping, anyway....

Sara

On Nov 8, 2009, at 7:26 AM, mamawolf33 wrote:

> I'm questioning the drug you're going to be using with that PICC

> line. I was told many of the commonly used orals don't cross the

> blood-brain barrier, so they used cerfriaxone in my case. (Sara or

> someone else might be more familiar with those that do and do not

> cross the BBB.)

>

> I read a good descrption in these replies that tells the process of

> getting a PICC line installed. After they put mine in, they took me

> to X-ray to be sure it was placed properly. The RN's were joking

> with me on the way back to my room, saying, " Can you hear it? Can

> you hear that? " Eventually one of them told me that the X-ray showed

> the PICC line was up in my right carotid, next to my ear! Adjustment

> by a more experienced RN ensued, and 2nd X-ray showed it was now

> resting near my heart. (Trippy thing that was--free artery

> unclogging!)

>

> You will find the home health RN to be a great source of knowledge

> and even comfort. Catching any problems (phlebitis if you don't stay

> hydrated enough, any sign of infection, etc.) early is key to being

> able to complete Tx. My visiting RN was great; she told me

> premptively to eat yogurt at least every other day to stave off

> yeast infection and it worked. She advocated with my insurance to

> get me some fabulous shoulder-length plastic gloves (the kind vets

> use to give exams to cows; I know others mentioned CVS, but if

> insurance will pay you don't need the headache or expense) that were

> much better in the shower than bread bags. The list is long: she was

> invaluable. If the tape they give you has real strong adhesive,

> consider shopping for or asking the RN for some a little less likley

> to irritate your skin (or hurt when you tear it off). Lots of people

> recently spoke of this here, so that's on my mind I guess.

>

> The only other advice I could really thing of is to keep copious

> notes about how you're feeling every day. Four and then nine years

> later, when I was being re-evaluted, I really wished I'd done more

> than write down the dates I started and stopped. My docs didn't know

> anything about Lyme back then but maybe yours will already have

> suggested this to you.

>

> Best of luck, Lissa. I hope you get as much " recovery " as possible!

>

>

[Guest guest]

Are you aware there are alternatives to IV antibiotics? Many folks are using

them and getting their lyme in remission.

In the latest version of under our skin move there is a bonus section of

interviews. In there they interview the writer Amy Tan. She says she

believed no one is ever cured of Lyme but must live with it for life. I

believe the same. You need to find a protocol you can use long term that

doesn't hurt your body.

There is a lot of information about different regimens on my free lyme

resource cd.

www.lyme-resource.com

You can lead a person to a fact, but you can't make them think! -

> [ ] PICC Line

>

> Hi everyone.

> I just found out on Monday of this past week that my doctor

> wants me to start IV doxy. She wants to do 28 days to start

> (which my insurance is covering 100%, thankfully). So this

> coming Monday morning I am to report to the hospital to have

> the PICC inserted and then a nurse will come to my home on

> Tuesday to administer the first dose. My husband and I

> checked our benefits and I am completely covered to have a

> home health aide come to my home every day for four hours.

> So, my question is...does anyone have advice for me? Should I

> take the home health aide? I have three young children, what

> can I realistically expect my limitations to be? Has anyone

> had the PICC and not felt worse before getting better?

>

> I have been on oral meds for almost a year and a half. I have

> taken the following:

>

> Zithro

> Doxy

> Biaxin

> Omnicef

> Mepron

> Levaquin

> Lyrica

> Cymbalta

> Oxycontin

> Vicodin

> Percocet

> Cyclbenzaprene

> Plaquenil

> Testosterone

>

> Unfortunately, I have had little improvement with the oral

> meds. So now, I am going on the IV. I will start on Tuesday

> with one dose of 200 mg of the doxy.

>

> I would appreciate any advice or input.Thanks much in advance.

> Lissa

>

[Guest guest]

, my friend had a picc line three years ago for chemo. She has to do

chemo again and had the choice between a picc line and a porta-cath (sp?). She

chose the porta-cath. She is finding it good in that she feels there is less

chance of infection and very little if any maintenance. Once the needle is

removed everything is completely sealed.

rheumatic PICC line

Happy New Year to all!

Has anyone had a PICC line? If so, would you mind telling me about your

experience with the insertion and the follow-up care of the site.

TIA

From Dowling, editor and priest, Chicago Daily News, July 28, 1941:

The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first,

the widespread delusion among the poor that we have a democracy, and second,

the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it.

[Guest guest]

You might take a look at this video of a PICC being inserted:

http://www.spirochicks.com/2010/01/kims-picc-line-insertion-part-one.html

If you're squeamish and don't actually want to see the procedure ahead of

time then I'd recommend against viewing it.

I've not had a PICC put in myself, so I'm unable to answer your specific

questions but thought I'd refer you to this video if you're interested.

Best of luck tomorrow!!

On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 2:47 PM, bridget <blueyes7648@...> wrote:

>

>

> So tomorrow at 9 am I am getting my picc line put in to start the IV

> antibiotics!!! I am so excited, but just wondering if anyone has any info

> for me on the procedure, is it something I need to be put to sleep for, and

> need a ride? I guess it is one going in my arm up to my heart. Thank you in

> advance!

> Bridget

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've had 2 piccs. Both times I was able to just drive myself home.

There was no sedation, they just shot some anesthetic in my arm and I

didn't feel anything after that - wide awake.

I hope you don't have too bad a herx. The first week after starting the

picc I felt horrible - way worse than before I started. But then I

started to feel better every few days.

I hope this helps you!

Best of luck,

Don

bridget wrote:

> So tomorrow at 9 am I am getting my picc line put in to start the IV

antibiotics!!! I am so excited, but just wondering if anyone has any info for me

on the procedure, is it something I need to be put to sleep for, and need a

ride? I guess it is one going in my arm up to my heart. Thank you in advance!

> Bridget

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh I forgot to mention....

The trickiest thing with my piccs was keeping it dry during a shower. I

made a discovery that " Press N Seal " worked incredibly well for me. I

was trying plain plastic wrap but it falls off. Press N Seal sticks to

your skin just enough to really keep it dry and then peels off very easily.

Just a thought. :-)

Don

bridget wrote:

> So tomorrow at 9 am I am getting my picc line put in to start the IV

antibiotics!!! I am so excited, but just wondering if anyone has any info for me

on the procedure, is it something I need to be put to sleep for, and need a

ride? I guess it is one going in my arm up to my heart. Thank you in advance!

> Bridget

>

>

>

>