another picc line ? (sorry)

[Guest guest]

Sorry for the 20 questions regarding picc lines. Once your arms have

had lines, do they hit your legs? (assuming they hit a diff. location

each time) How long does it take to heal from a line?

In regard to veins, mine are hard as rocks. They don't recover. My arms

and legs stay really cold and where my lines where, I ache and burn

(wakes me up at night). My buddy who's a doc, told ,me to soak them in

hot water, elevate when possible, and use a heating pad. I have done

all of that, nothing. Do they reach a point where they don't heal,

ever? I wonder about circulation??? Is that an issue??? I have

neuorpathy. I still consider myself to be a rookie to the world of

lines. I would appriciate any and all info you are willing to share.

Thanks ya'll-Kathleen

[Guest guest]

Dear Kathleen:

I am telling you my experience with lines. I have had at least 25

different lines. There is no doubt they do damage. I have nerve

damage in my arms and scar tissue that the physical therapist has

to " break up " every now and then.

Because of complications with lines no surgeon or radiologist will put

a PICC line in but they are now using what they call midline catheters

for folks like me. Something they use to use but stopped for awhile.

They are not long term. They are just like PICC lines but the tip

stops at the top of the shoulder instead of going down into the atrium

of the heart. They are limited as to what you can put in them and you

cannot draw blood from them.

They don't put PICC lines in the legs but in an emergency they will

put in what they call a femoral line. That goes into the femoral vein

which is in teh groin. That limits you to what you can do to because

of where it is at. They don't do that unless they cannot get anything

anyplace else. As bad as I have been and as many complications as I

have had, I have yet to have a femoral line. You have to remember

though, with repeated femoral lines, you run the same risk of messing

that vein up for good too.

One thing I was told and some docs disagree but I prefer to believe

it. The one drug that is the most damaging to a central line is

Phenergan. The stuff is positively toxic. It is oil based and will

screw up a line quicker than anything. I don't care how much you

dilute it. Phenergan has been a problem with more than one of my

lines.

I don't know about veins not healing all together or being hard as

rocks. Mine are not hard but they are so small and so curvy that it

is a big problem. Eventually anything that is used over and over and

over again will be damaged

I hope this helps you some

Take care

Kaye

In pancreatitis , " katseye1969 " <katseye1969@y...>

wrote:

> Sorry for the 20 questions regarding picc lines. Once your arms have

> had lines, do they hit your legs? (assuming they hit a diff.

location

> each time) How long does it take to heal from a line?

>

> In regard to veins, mine are hard as rocks. They don't recover. My

arms

> and legs stay really cold and where my lines where, I ache and burn

> (wakes me up at night). My buddy who's a doc, told ,me to soak them

in

> hot water, elevate when possible, and use a heating pad. I have done

> all of that, nothing. Do they reach a point where they don't heal,

> ever? I wonder about circulation??? Is that an issue??? I have

> neuorpathy. I still consider myself to be a rookie to the world of

> lines. I would appriciate any and all info you are willing to share.

> Thanks ya'll-Kathleen

[Guest guest]

Kaye, Got it! Thanks for the info . I am agree with you on the phenegren, That's

why my veins are hard. A doc told me that it will get into the surrounding

tissue.My veins are nice and plump, people always think they can hit one! LOL

things just are not always as they seem It's pretty funny, I have to laugh,

one guy said, oh, there is a beautiful one and as soon as he stuck me it

collapsed. oookkkaay! I personally think the picc is best (for me) . My

girlfriend had cancer and sore by the medi port. I guess it's all in what you

need. I like the picc because you draw from it. -Kathleen

[Guest guest]

Kathleen:

You can tell the docs at the hospital or whatever no Phenergan to

the veins. I have it listed on my allergy list. I know what you

mean about the vein thing. Sometimes mnie look good and they think

they can get them but don't. I don't let em try anymore. I also

refuse to let em put IVs in my hands because the minute they try to

flush it blows and if it doesn't blow, it hurts so bad what is the

point.

They can draw blood from a Port-A-Cath or Mediport etc. That is an

implantable device and I would rather have a PICC if I didn't need

it for too long. I had a major disaster with a port and almost died

when the superior vena cava collapsed. I had to have angioplasty

etc . It was a nightmare.

That is my speech about lines! haha

Take care

Kaye

In pancreatitis , Kathleen Cowart <katseye1969@y...>

wrote:

> Kaye, Got it! Thanks for the info . I am agree with you on the

phenegren, That's why my veins are hard. A doc told me that it will

get into the surrounding tissue.My veins are nice and plump, people

always think they can hit one! LOL things just are not always as

they seem It's pretty funny, I have to laugh, one guy said, oh,

there is a beautiful one and as soon as he stuck me it collapsed.

oookkkaay! I personally think the picc is best (for me) . My

girlfriend had cancer and sore by the medi port. I guess it's all in

what you need. I like the picc because you draw from it. -Kathleen

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Kaye,

Yep, I have thought about no phengren, but it is the only think that works on

me. If an attack is bad enough, and I need my POA (my sister is mine) She tells

them, (for pain and nausea meds) " keep it comin " ! lol I stopped allowing them to

IV me as well. I am like you, if they do get one, when it's flushed, it blows

and that hurts like the devil...I told them the last time, that vein always

blows, of course with my head in the bucket, I din't much care and was not in

the position to argue..she was so cool though, she said she had not yet gotten

the order for the picc, she was just trying to help me out for the here and now,

I appriciated it and was not upset with her in the least....just that my veins

keep blowing..I agree with you on the medi port, the picc is bulky when you are

not inpatient...lol I met a guy on elevator in the hosptial ( a lot times I wear

plain clothes when I am inpatient) he looked at my line and said " are you ok " ? I

said yes, are you? lol... you gotta find the

humor in everything- Kathleen

>

> Visit your group " pancreatitis " on the web.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Kaye,

I have no veins left either...well none that an IV can be put into.

I had one PICC line that infiltrated and caused two blood clots,

then a central line which had to come out but have had a PortaCath

without problem for over 2 years now..touch wood.

I found that as soon as Phenergan was injected into the PICC line in

my arm, that arm would immediately take on a life of it's own. Being

the most uncomfortable thing I had ever experienced. Of course the

Phenergan would make me drowsy, but I could never sleep because my

arm would be wanting to stretch constantly for hours..I would even

lie on my arm to no avail...worse than an internal itch that one

can't scratch.

This happened after much use of Phenergan over a short period of

time. Now I find the only way to stop that feeling is to have pain

medicine AFTER phenergan has been injected. For this reason I always

request it that way and ask them not to mix the Phenergan and pain

meds together as some are apt to do.

I had one doctor trying to reach my Femoral Artery, but she was

unsuccessful in getting it, but she managed to hit many a nerve

which managed to bring many a tear to my eyes...just one of my

nightmare hospital stays *L*

my veins have been used so much that they have grown scar tissue

over them, they are short, tend to lay sideways and roll. What I

hate most is when someone tries to stick me and they don't believe

me when I tell them about my veins...even when I show that I have a

port they think they will be different.

Thanks to one nurse who wouldn't take my word for it, she blew the

only vein I had left that they managed to sometimes get blood out

of, wanting that for an IV...

Ward

[Guest guest]

I hate when they don't believe you and they think they can find a vein, I am

like....oh oookkkayyy..I just laugh and after about 4 times I don't say a word,

I just look at them and them if the order is in for my line...Mine roll like

that too..Mine seem to be a lot like yours. I always take phenegren

last....that's where I am messing up at...thanks for the tip.-Kathleen

[Guest guest]

What about Zofran? That is what I tell them to give me. It doesn't

hurt the veins or at least it hasn't hurt mine. And yes, you have

to see the humor in it all or you will go nuts!

Kaye

-- In pancreatitis , Kathleen Cowart

<katseye1969@y...> wrote:

> Kaye,

> Yep, I have thought about no phengren, but it is the only think

that works on me. If an attack is bad enough, and I need my POA (my

sister is mine) She tells them, (for pain and nausea meds) " keep it

comin " ! lol I stopped allowing them to IV me as well. I am like you,

if they do get one, when it's flushed, it blows and that hurts like

the devil...I told them the last time, that vein always blows, of

course with my head in the bucket, I din't much care and was not in

the position to argue..she was so cool though, she said she had not

yet gotten the order for the picc, she was just trying to help me

out for the here and now, I appriciated it and was not upset with

her in the least....just that my veins keep blowing..I agree with

you on the medi port, the picc is bulky when you are not

inpatient...lol I met a guy on elevator in the hosptial ( a lot

times I wear plain clothes when I am inpatient) he looked at my line

and said " are you ok " ? I said yes, are you? lol... you gotta find the

> humor in everything- Kathleen

>

> >

> > Visit your group " pancreatitis " on the web.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Zofran gives me a migraine and drops my blood pressure under the golden 60/40.

They don't like it when I get under 60/40.-Kathleen

[Guest guest]

wrote:

> What I hate most is when someone tries to stick me and they don't

believe me when I tell them about my veins...

Thanks to one nurse who wouldn't take my word for it, she blew the

only vein I had left <

Kat, , Kaye and all....

What is it about our veins? Why is it that we all have so many

problems getting stuck? I, too, have rolling, tight veins, and it's

always a problem for them finding one to use.

Three of them, one in left arm, and two in the right, one at inner

elbow and the other two between elbow and wrist, have been completely

blown. That was two years ago, and they still don't work.

When I was in ICU with the DKA they tried for over an hour to put one

thing in, (and here I have to admit to total medical ignorance because

I don't know what the " thing " is called), but it was a " thingie " that

would have multiple lines in it that could be used for different

purposes. Anyway, they had this guy from the anesthesia group trying

to put this " thingie " in my wrist, and he stuck and dug away at me for

an hour without success, he'd numbed the site first, but that

medication had died off and it hurt like hockey sticks. The poor guy

was sweating with the effort, but I was livid and tired with it all.

He never could get it in. Was that a PICC or a central, or what?

My question is, why is it that so many of us have this problem?

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

hhessgriffeth@...

SC and Southeastern Regional Rep.

Pancreatitis Association, Intl.

Note: All comments or advice is based on personal experience or

opinion only, and should not be substituted for consultation with

your medical professional.