Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Picc Line


Ta-Daaaaa!  There it is.  Was a piece of cake.  I am sooo glad I went to Cedars-Sinai to have it done.  Truly a great experience.  That hospital has the best patient service I have ever seen.  EVER.  They even called me yesterday to ask if there was anything they could have done better!  I said nope.   Everyone I spoke with from the first phone call to the Procedure Center to every registration call after that, to the cookies & OJ they gave me afterwards.

So I lucked out with who placed my PiCC & I lucked out with the RN as well.  Most lymeheads I talk to say their nurse "got in their way" or made things worse, or weren't careful or sterile or pulled on their line, etc.  Not mine!  Dalmor is one of the smartest, most interesting people I have ever met.  He is very thorough.  I am very happy to have him.

 Up until yesterday all of my infusions had been going very well.  No problems what so ever.  Just some heart palpitations, but I was warned by other rocephin IV users that that could happen.  Yesterday I felt a tightness in my throat.  And after the infusion, we drew blood through  my PiCC line.  I felt a tightness in my upper chest.  Not over my heart, but right under the front of my neck.  It was only bothersome at first, but it continued to worsen to the point of being uncomfortable.  Otherwise I was fine, I could swallow fine & breathe fine.  But if I leaned forward only slightly, I would feel an immense amount of pressure on my lower neck (throat area) and upper chest.  So I took a benedryl (just in case was allergic reaction) & went to bed a little freaked out.  Well, I stayed up & had my friends on Facebook freak me out.  Telling me I should  never have blood drawn from a PiCC.  WHAT?  I was always told I wouldn't need to get stuck anymore for blood draws.  Anywho- I won't do it again just in case.

So I called my nurse this morning.  He said that when he comes this afternoon he will change the dressing (my arm got sore 2 days after PiCC was installed).  We are going to peek under the dressings &  make sure all is fine.  I faxed a note to my doctor explaining what I was still experiencing this morning when I woke up.   He called me immediately & gave me his cell phone number to have my nurse call him when he gets here.  That made me feel good & I promise to never use it.  Unless I am dying.  Then that promise is out the window.  Ahhhhh, I love my doctor.  And have I ever mentioned that he takes my insurance?  Oh and that he listens to me?  And has zero ego (well, if he does, I haven't seen it yet).

I'll post again and let everyone know if we can get this figured out. 

2 comments:

Nani Luculescu said...

thanks for the update on your PICC line! I am so glad you had a great experience at the hospital! =)

Ally Johnson said...

Thank you for sharing your story with the cyber space about your experience with having Lyme. I too have Lyme Disease, and it's nice to know there are others trying to increase awareness. Stay strong.

From a fellow blogger,
Ally Johnson