PICC Inserted today

Ginny_B
Ginny_B Member Posts: 532
in Esophageal Cancer #1
Mom had her PICC line inserted today. Tomorrow they hook up pump and her bag of chemo (5FU), which will drip into her 24/7 for I don' know how long. (I'll know tomorrow.) Tomorrow night at 7 pm she goes for her first radiation treatment. Rads will continue every day for 30 days excluding weekends.

I am trying to find a photo of what a permanently attached chemo bag & pump looks like and I'm not finding a whole lot. Anyone ever had this type of chemo drip?

Also, why do you think there would be 2 ports at the PICC line. I guess I just expected one port. Maybe the pump in one and the chemo in the other? That doesn't make much sense to me.

I guess tomorrow starts a difficult part of the road. Mom did really well today. Tomorrow at the Oncology Institute she'll get tired since they tell me she'll be there at least 1.5 hours.

How soon after chemo starts dripping into your system does nausea or any other symptom start? Anyone ever gone symptom free?

Comments

  • sangora
    sangora Member Posts: 213
    #2
    24/7 Pump
    Ginny, I did the 24/7 5fu for a couple of months maybe even near three months. It comes with a strap that you can just hang over your shoulder and carry it around with you. It's not heavy at all. My doctor started me on meds for neausea threee days before the treatment started so I didn't have any of that problem. They used Zofran, Compazene and a patch on a scheduled basis. I really have never had much upset tummy because of all the meds. The biggest thing will be the fatigue and some of us have had issues with mouth sores. I only did that once. If it happens call the doctor at the first sign. I didn't and things got out of hand quickly. They have several ways to counter this but you need an early start. Good luck. I have an implanted port in my chest. I hated the first one but the second one is in now and have had no problems with it. With the picc line, the several lines allows for multiple uses at once. At UVA they have pretty much gotten away from the Picc Lines and use these medi ports. They feel one has less infection potiential with them. Since they are under the skin I suppose that is true. Sam
  • chemosmoker
    chemosmoker Member Posts: 501
    #3
    Pictures and Moms progress...
    Ginny,
    send me your email and I will send you pics of the chemo bag and pump and what it looks like hooked up!! Private message me with an email.

    Glad you got Mom there and going.
    I sure hope she is TAKING here morphine every 12 hours now like a good girl???
    On my PICC sometimes they had to inject one drug and another was running at the same time on a slow drip, like a bag of saline. They needed to inject Dilantin and I was also still getting slow infusion on the other port. Also, they also just make them that way, with one, two, even three. It's for the doctor's convince. Doesn't mean anything really. Her's just happens to have two ports. Also one can be used to lock it with Heparin, the other to flush with Saline.

    Many people actually DO go symptom free or at least have few symptoms. Since they are going "slow" due to her age and all, she may be blessed with mild side effects anyway! My drip/pump was to be for 48 hours after starting, They do everyone differently. She may be much slower, it is done on a per-patient basis.

    ALSO know that if she starts having bad side-effects, call the docs right away and tell them; they can adjust the dosages and make them less. Nausea and side effects can start right away, or three days or more later. It is so dependent on the person. Hard to predict that one. They should have already prescribed her an anti-nausea meds and if not, get some now, ask at least, and she may get some through that other port on the PICC line as she is getting her chemo, or before and afterwards..

    Keep us posted and we love you!

    Eric
  • Ginny_B
    Ginny_B Member Posts: 532
    #4
    chemosmoker said:

    Pictures and Moms progress...
    Ginny,
    send me your email and I will send you pics of the chemo bag and pump and what it looks like hooked up!! Private message me with an email.

    Glad you got Mom there and going.
    I sure hope she is TAKING here morphine every 12 hours now like a good girl???
    On my PICC sometimes they had to inject one drug and another was running at the same time on a slow drip, like a bag of saline. They needed to inject Dilantin and I was also still getting slow infusion on the other port. Also, they also just make them that way, with one, two, even three. It's for the doctor's convince. Doesn't mean anything really. Her's just happens to have two ports. Also one can be used to lock it with Heparin, the other to flush with Saline.

    Many people actually DO go symptom free or at least have few symptoms. Since they are going "slow" due to her age and all, she may be blessed with mild side effects anyway! My drip/pump was to be for 48 hours after starting, They do everyone differently. She may be much slower, it is done on a per-patient basis.

    ALSO know that if she starts having bad side-effects, call the docs right away and tell them; they can adjust the dosages and make them less. Nausea and side effects can start right away, or three days or more later. It is so dependent on the person. Hard to predict that one. They should have already prescribed her an anti-nausea meds and if not, get some now, ask at least, and she may get some through that other port on the PICC line as she is getting her chemo, or before and afterwards..

    Keep us posted and we love you!

    Eric

    After mom talked with my
    After mom talked with my Sister-in-Law and my brother, she decided again to stop taking morphine except at night. I'm very frustrated with this turn, but there is nothing I can do about the morphine now. Mom doesn't like it so once two people agreed with her she stopped it. My brother told me to stop arguing with her about it. At this point, all I can do about the morphine is let my mom make her own decisions.

    I responded to your email message to me, but maybe you didn't get it. You can email photos to ginnybender@gmail.com.

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