Picc line

Hi . I had a PICC line for 4 months.  Its not painful to have put in.  It was a bit sore for a few days after then I didn't really notice it was there after that.  You get used to it.  I had 3 xEC and the 3 x DC .  EC made me feel sick for the first week and tired but they give you antisickness meds. 

I had cold caps throughout , it's uncomfortable for the first 15 minutes then not too bad  it worked well for me and I kept at least 50 percent of my hair .

Good luck , it's not ideal but it's doable 

Xx

The other thing is I had my eyebrows microbladed on a few days before I started chemo.. which helped as I lost my eyebrow hair along the way xx

Thank you for your reply,  its good to know about the cold cap I will definitely give it a go and as for the Picc Line that doesn't sound too bad and probably can cope with that   hope your doing and feeling OK x

The picc line is painless going in . Will be a bit sore for a few days but I found putting a hot water bottle in it helped . I have had mine in since October and apart from some inconvenience in the shower with the help of en elephant condom shower cover  I hardly notice it is there .  It is so much easier than them finding a vain every time    

Same as me, cold cap worked well and I also had eyebrows microbladed 2 weeks before chemo 

I had a port fitted so slightly different from a picc but glad I did as it made my first round of chemo on Friday much more straightforward.

I’m having 4 x EC before moving on to weekly Paclitaxel for up to 12 weeks. Like you I was so anxious about the unknown but actually it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d pictured the whole thing. I’ve taken all the meds they gave me afterwards and thankfully haven’t had any sickness and very little nausea, I’ve just felt very tired. I’ve been drinking loads of water which I’m sure has helped although half expecting a crash tomorrow when I stop taking the steroids.

I’m trying the cold cap too although have been told that EC is particularly harsh for hair loss so we’ll see what happens. Had a good chop into a bob beforehand so hopefully it won’t feel like I’m losing too much in one go

Really hope it all goes ok on Thursday, will be sending positive thoughts x

Hi

PICC lines are so much better. I had my first chemo before they could fit a line and have muscle damage from that one time so it's well worth it and like most people say it's painless and you forget it's there! I have cold capped and had my third EC just over a week ago. I have been extremally lucky and so far still have 80% of my hair. My eyebrows are still going (Didn't have the time for microblading) but if you have the time I'd go for it.

Good Luck 

Thankyou Daisy06 I also had my chin length bob cut into a shorter style and have purchased a couple of wigs  . I'm having 3xEC then 3x Docetaxel . So fingers crossed for Thursday.  Get the first out the way then I will have know whats to come next time .... hope all goes well for you   stay strong and most of all remain positive throughout xx

Hi lisaJD thanks for your reply thats great news that after 3 EC yoy still have 80% of your hair I know everyone is different but you have put a smile on my face .thankyou. hope you remain well throughout xx

BTW I brought 0.5kg ankle weights from Argos which I put on the crown and top of my head  and tied with a scarf (I figured that I can tolerate looking daft for a while) as the most loss is usually on the crown and this helped a lot! I did lose most of my hair from day 17 for about a week but it slows down considerably after xx