Picc line anxiety

I have recently had a picc line fitted. It is a painless procedure. A bit awkward getting used to but manageable. I had chemo on Wednesday and it was so much easier than watching the nurses trying to find a good vein in the arms of other patients- some have this procedure weekly.

Good luck x

Hi Nerakbar. I had a picc line in for several months for a different cancer, but the line is the same. Painless going in, and once in you can do pretty much anything as usual. You just need to keep it dry and get it it flushed out once a week. Again painless. I made an arrangement with the practice nurse at the GPs for flushing. It saved travelling to the hospital. When in the bath or shower, you can get special covers from Boots etc. I made do with clingfilm which did the job. I also used lengths of tubigrip to keep it tidy. You soon get used to it. it is also used for taking bloods, so does away with all the needles. Try not to worry. You will be fine. Hope all goes well. Best wishes.

Thank you. That makes me less anxious. I can see it is probably better than struggling to find a vein each time and collapsing veins. I hope your chemo is going well. Thank you again for replying. Karen

I had my PICC in for about 4/5 months and never had any problems with it. Once I got over, over-thinking the initial thought of sticking a little thin line into a vain and leaving it for months, it was great.

It was done in the ward by a trained nurse, she does 5/6 a week so it was over and done with in 15mins with a local anaesthetic. I was sent down to get an x-ray as it was not working first time, but by the time I had come back to the ward all was good. She said "it just takes time sometimes to get into position!!". Dressing will be changed and the line flushed at least once a week, but our Community Nurse came in to do it when I was between cycles.

Showering was no problem as it has a water resistant dressing but used to wrap my arm in cling film!!! and it never got wet.

My daughter is a dab hand with the sawing machine so she made me a fleece lined/cotton cloth wrap with propers to protect the line when it was not being used - great for sleeping and the outside of the wrap had a little pocket to put the two connectors into. I told her she should make them and sell them :) All the best in your treatment.

Thank you for your reply. I am feeling so much better about the idea now. It really helps. I hope you are doing well.

Best wishes. Nerakbar  

Hi. I had my pic line removed last Friday after 12 weeks and it was fine. I had a lot of trouble with my arm after the oxaliplatin iv to the extent that the discomfort was so bad that I couldn't stand clothes touching it. As others have said the fitting of the picc line is painless and mine was at the top of my arm. The chemo sessions after that were so much better and, as others have said, no needles!

The nurse gave me a prescription for a limbo waterproof cover which is a plastic length with a rubber seal at each end which I pulled up my arm and it kept the line dry during showering. You can't go swimming or play tennis or golf but apart from that life went on as normal.

The line is well covered with dressings so you can't catch it on anything and I asked for a piece of tubular bandage which I cut down and covered the line with - guy at work just assumed I'd had a tattoo done!

All in all having the pic line was the best thing I did and I would have it again in an instant (though hopefully I won't need to)

Good luck with your treatment

Karen x

Good morning Nerakbar,

Don't worry about it, you will be fine!

I had my Picc line 'installed' last year by the oncology nurse, no problems and totally painless. An XRay was taken afterwards to check the positioning of the line which was fine.

Then 6 months of chemo where the picc line was a boon. You get coupled up very quickly, and no more needles for a little while!

As other people have mentioned keep the area dry. I bought a showerproof sleeve from Boots for showering.

Best of luck

Mansel

Mansek

Thank you for replying. It's great to hear so many positive stories. I feel

Much better about the whole thing now. Hoping everyone is doing well. Nerak

Hi

I was terrified before my picc line was fitted. Never felt a thing and getting chemo was so easy. You will be absolutely fine. 

Cheers Glenn 

You'll be fine! I was terrified too!! I just laid on the bed and looked the other way. Apart from feeling the local anisthetic you won't feel a think. If you do they'll give you more. There is no sensation of the line being threaded up, that was the bit I was worried about. They x-ray you after but that's it, job done! You won't need anymore needles as they take blood from it too. Annie x