Central picc line

Hi

I can't really help, but wanted to bump your post up as it appears to have been missed by those ladies who could help.

Could you have some surgical tape for it maybe?  

I've only ever had a picc line in my arm for something else and I just put some tape over it, but an arm is easier I think.

Best wishes,

I'm a little bit confused - have you got a PICC in your arm, or a chest line (Hickman) ?  Not sure how a sports bra would help with a PICC line - you can get covers for those to hold them still in the arm and protect them in the shower etc. 

I had a Hickman in my chest for almost a year, then again for 8 months and although I tucked it into my bra during the day, I didn't bother to wear one at night, although I was more careful and sometimes did wear a soft bra in bed for the first couple of weeks until it had settled in and stopped moving about! I rarely managed to do anything that pulled it even though I move around quite a lot in bed! 

It became part of me after a while and I only really noticed I'd got it when I looked in the mirror or went in the shower! Hopefully yours will be the same and that you won't need it for the long term. 

Hi Weeblemum

I typed it wrong in my last post. I have a Groshong skin tunnelled central line in my chest. It was only put in last wednesday so it's all still very new. I'm really scared I'm going to catch it and pull it out.

Hi

No problem, it"s all a bit of a whirl early on! Your line is like the Hickman that I have. 

I didn't really do anything special apart from a soft bra in bed for the first few days in case of pulling. Maybe if bras are uncomfortable for you, you could bind it up and lightly tape it to your chest at night. Have you asked your team if they can recommend anything? 

As I said before, I had my line in for 11 months the first time and 8 months the second and I don't ever remember pulling them, so hopefully you should be fine! 

Good luck with it! 

Hi

As Weeblemum mentioned, J had a Groshong Central Line (link) for 15 months with no 'tugging' problems. It fascinated our cat though

They have a collar that sits just below the skin surface that takes a couple of weeks to form a seal as the skin shapes itself around it making them difficult to pull out.

When fitted they are usually held in place with a couple of stitches which are removed around 3 weeks later allowing time for this to happen.

Also taped up the lumens (end cap section) helps keep it out of the way of getting caught and pulled.

Being aware of it becomes second nature after a while.

Take care, G n' J

Thank you

Thank you

How did u find having a hickman line in, I've got to have one has veins useless in arm for a picc line, I'm not looking  forward to this but got no choice, how was showering or bathing? Sorry for questions,I've lots of questions really.

Hi

I had y first Hickman in for 11 months before I got an infection in it The second one was in 9 months before I didn't need it anymore. I had no problems with either of them. 

They have to be flushed every week, but I managed to get that done on the same day as chemo, which for me was days 1 and 8 of the 21 day cycle, so I only needed one extra visit to the unit for that. They used a very good waterproof dressing that stayed on well between visits.  I always showered with my back to the shower so that there was not too much direct contact with the water, but that became a natural thing after a while and I didn't really think about it! You can't submerse it in water, so no swimming and you need to be careful with baths. They MIGHT offer you a Portacath as an option (my unit didn't) - that is burrowed under the skin and doesn't need weekly line care and you can swim etc - it's worth asking! 

The line became part of me very quickly and I didn't even remember that I had it most of the time. At the time I had one, they couldn't use it for CT scan contrasts and not everyone is trained to take blood from them, so if you need blood tests and go to the GP (or A&E or phlebotomy at the hospital) they may need to get blood another way, which is annoying, but it was a boon for chemo and the chemo unit were always willing to take bloods from it! 

The insertion was fine - it's a bit more complex than a PICC line but is still done under local anaesthetic (or sometimes sedation I think) in the radiology department  - they do it using xrays to check it's in the right place. There can be a little soreness and bruising, but I was fine to drive myself home afterwards. You'd need to check this with your hospital though. 

I hope yours goes well !