Medical Alert ID jewelry

SEK

My sister just left the hospital today after masectomy & lymph node removal. I don't have too much info right now, but her doctors have told her to be sure never to have iv's/medicines/etc. placed in the affected arm.
Is there some wording we could use to place on a medical id bracelet that would notify emergency caregivers to the situation?
Thanks, so much for your time and help.

DeeNY711

No BP, IV, IM, SC, or lab draws R(or L)arm. If there is enough room, R (or L) mastectomy clarifies the reason nicely, but I don't think I would opt to wear something that said that. Personally, I think her doctors are optimistic about the statistical probability of anyone realizing what the bracelet is, or reading it.

Last time I had surgery, the anesthesiologist coordinator said that if they could not get an IV started in my left arm, they would have to use my right arm. I told her absolutely not! It was stupid of her to say, anyway, because they could have used either leg and made the necessary adjustments. It came close to demanding to speak with the surgeon because she would absolutely not listen to me. I would have refused to have the procedure if push came to shove. However, there is a lot of ignorance about matters like this even within health care services. Your sister's best tool to convey this information is her mouth, her closest relatives, and her health care proxy. The bracelet would be a nice back-up.

You are a great sibling, and your sister knows how lucky she is to have you in her corner.
Hugs,
Denise

Unknown

I agree with Denise - I wear a Medic Alert but never once in the last 11 years has a medical professional even noticed it, let alone asked about it. I still think it's a good idea to wear one, but be sure you tell your doctor, nurse, etc. too - just in case they've forgotten how to read!!!! Sorry for my sarcasm, but I don't think I'm the only one who has a very dim view of health care "professionals".
Clara

blackbandana

Recently I had my yearly round of tests, I have really bad veins (hard to get) so the lab tech said that if he couldn't get a vien on my right arm he'd have to go to my left arm, I said no way, he replied that after a certain amount of time (I think he said 3 yrs) it was ok to use that arm. I haven't checked on this, but will do. Has anyone heard anything like this? Best wishes.

inkblot

Hi SEK:

It's so great that you're advocating for your sister! She's fortunate to have you in her corner.

RE an ID bracelet: It's better than nothing at all. A necklace may be better noticed by medical staff? Maybe both? In any scenario where your sister couldn't speak for herself, they may still use her surgery side arm, not noticing ID or the fact that she's had mastectomy. In an emergency, I think life saving maneuvers are probably going to come first.

In other, non-emergency situations, it'll be up to your sister to inform everyone. Often. Ideally, before anyone gets near her with a needle. For scheduled/elective procedures, when one gets into the hospital gown, all jewelry must be removed, so that's the perfect time to remind everyone about the particulars, which side, etc.. The ID wording could be: L-Arm (or right): LND. No needles or cuffs. If medical personnel read that they will likely know what it means. If not, they should ask and that nets the desired attention to the affected arm.

I had a surgical procedure on my right hand last summer. Since they couldn't use that "good" side for the IV, I assumed that someone in the hospital would likely and naturally, go for the other arm. I explained to the hand surgeon, well in advance, not to use my left arm for anything at all. He said he'd attend to it. I get into the OR Prep and first thing the nurse there does is come over to my left side to start the IV's! I told her that arm could not be used and then she wanted to know why, so we had to discuss it, etc.. It went into my ankle instead. When anesthesiologist arrived later, she was somehow informed already. Was it in the chart and the OR nurse failed to read it? This demonstrates that communication holes exist and it's still necessary to speak up, when doing so is an option. While I was in recovery, a nurse came to me to check bp and went for the left arm also.
Did she fail to read something in the chart? My husband was with me and I was groggy, so he handled it. Important to be vigilant.

Wishing your sister well.

Love, light and laughter,
Ink

Gramma44

blackbandana said:

Recently I had my yearly round of tests, I have really bad veins (hard to get) so the lab tech said that if he couldn't get a vien on my right arm he'd have to go to my left arm, I said no way, he replied that after a certain amount of time (I think he said 3 yrs) it was ok to use that arm. I haven't checked on this, but will do. Has anyone heard anything like this? Best wishes.

This message is for blackbandana as well as for SEK. I have a friend who developed lymphodema more than 10 years after her mastectomy so I don't believe there is a 3 year limit on it. My friend figured enough time had passed and she let them take blood from that arm. I had a lumpectomy and removal of 8 lymph nodes and the sentinel node three years ago (followed by radiation and chemo). Despite the assurance of my oncologist that I have very little risk of developing lymphodema, I still take no chances. I had foot surgery a year ago and the nurse was like all the other nurses in this string of stories except she DID put the IV in the left arm (correct arm) but wanted to put the BP cuff on my right arm. I told her that when they did my lumpectomy they put the BP cuff AND IV in the SAME arm so why couldn't she!! You really have to fight them on this issue. I suppose if it was a life threatening issue I wouldn't care but until then, I stay on them to only use my left arm.

As for SEK's sister - one of my breast cancer survivor friends told me that when she went in to the hospital for a second mastectomy her sister hung a huge sign over the bed instructing nurses not to touch the arm on the side of her first surgery. I thought that was very clever of her sister.

You are a great sister to be looking into things for your sister. I wish her well!!

suematt

You can go to lymphnet.org to order a lymphedema alert bracelet. This is the homepage for the National Lymphedema Network. They have lots of good information there. Good luck to you and your sister. Sue

Kathy1108

suematt said:

You can go to lymphnet.org to order a lymphedema alert bracelet. This is the homepage for the National Lymphedema Network. They have lots of good information there. Good luck to you and your sister. Sue

I also had a mastectomy and lymph nodes removed. I do wear a medical alert bracelet and it says no IV-no BP Cuff no injections in left arm. I recently had to go into the hospital for a needle wire biopsy (which the results were fine) and the nurse wanted to put the blood pressure cuff on my left side because the surgeon had to work on my right side. I told her that she could not do that on my left side. She was starting to give me some trouble about it then she said she would ask the surgeon (this is the same surgeon that did the mastectomy in the first place). The surgeon said that she (me) was exactly right that the nurse was not allow to do that. The other time I was in the hospital I told the nurse about my left side and she put a piece of tape on that arm and wrote on it saying no IV's no BP cuff or injections. That made me feel a lot better because I was going to be knocked out for the procedure.

Kathy

live42day

This is a late reply, but here goes. When I was in the hospital for my reconstructive surgeries after the mastectomy there was a sign above my bed both times that said no sticks or bp to the left arm. I also had a red wrist band on the left arm. I assumed all hospitals did this since I was in 2 different hospitals. Also, something I thought was ironic. We had paramedics speak at our cancer support meeting a few months ago and when someone mentioned no sticks, etc to the affected are. The paramedics wanted to know why they weren't supposed to put an IV, take bp, etc to the arm you had the lymph nodes removed from, and I had to explain to them. Wouldn't you think they would learn that in one of their classes? They have to take continuing classes to keep their certification.
Janet

martyzl

This is in reply to Janet's post...
My nephew is a paramedic and he tells me that he's talked to several MD's and they all told him it was bunk, basically, to worry about sticks, et al to the arm in question after a mastectomy/node removal. I couldn't convince him otherwise.
Sad but true, eh?

Be well SEK.
Marty

marti54

Kathy1108 said:

I also had a mastectomy and lymph nodes removed. I do wear a medical alert bracelet and it says no IV-no BP Cuff no injections in left arm. I recently had to go into the hospital for a needle wire biopsy (which the results were fine) and the nurse wanted to put the blood pressure cuff on my left side because the surgeon had to work on my right side. I told her that she could not do that on my left side. She was starting to give me some trouble about it then she said she would ask the surgeon (this is the same surgeon that did the mastectomy in the first place). The surgeon said that she (me) was exactly right that the nurse was not allow to do that. The other time I was in the hospital I told the nurse about my left side and she put a piece of tape on that arm and wrote on it saying no IV's no BP cuff or injections. That made me feel a lot better because I was going to be knocked out for the procedure.

Kathy

I had a r mastectomy with one node removed last Aug.On Wed I am having a pm on the left side with recon started.In my case where would blood be drawn and bp taken if I have had mastectomies on both sides.I am a bit confused.

SusanAnne

marti54 said:

I had a r mastectomy with one node removed last Aug.On Wed I am having a pm on the left side with recon started.In my case where would blood be drawn and bp taken if I have had mastectomies on both sides.I am a bit confused.

As far as I know, as long as you don't have surgery on the lymph nodes on the left side, you can continue to use that arm. If both arms are off limits, I believe they move on to the legs.
Susan