BOO to blood clots!

So last Thursday night I was complaining that my arm hurt. The pain was directly under the piccline- it felt like I had a big sore bruise. I ended up ignoring it and I went to sleep (well the best that I could).


Friday morning my friend, Tammy, offered to drive me to my infusion, which of course I was excited and thankful about. As I was getting my infusion I told Tammy that my arm was hurting me.  The nurse heard me and said that I needed to tell him these things and he went and told the Practitioners Assistant that was in the office. She gave me a script and told me just to be safe to go and get an ultrasound. 


I wasn’t really that worried but just wanted to go to be safe to rule things out. Tammy called and got me an appt. at a radiology place right after my infusion. When I went back for the ultrasound I was telling the technician where my arm hurt. She then began the ultrasound. So I am watching her face as she is taking the ultrasound and I could tell that she saw something. She wanted to take off my dressing to see more of the arm but I told her couldn’t unless she had another dressing to put on. She then told me to wait here and she wanted to talk to the radiologist. 


Now I was scared! How you ever been to a place to get an xray or ultrasound and the tech leaves to talk to the radiologist? I know I haven’t before this! As they tell me to wait I am about to cry. I run out to the waiting room to get my friend who was very calm because I sure was not! 


They were trying to get a hold of my doctor which they could not so the radiologist had me in his office to explain what was going on… he said I had a blood clot and I needed to go to the Emergency Room!


Now, I knew it wasn’t “that” serious because my friend could just drive me there and I didn’t need an ambulance but….. I was scared. The radiologist called over to the ER for me and off we went. Tammy stayed with me until my parents and husband came. (I’m guessing Tammy didn’t think that by offering to drive me to infusion she would be in for a suspenseful day! Thank you SO much for all of your help and support Tammy! You’re the best!)


The ER doctor looked at the film and called my doctor. They decided that the Piccline needed to be pulled. So I only had the line in about 2 weeks! Of course I was upset because I knew that I still needed to receive IV antibiotics and that I would have to go through getting another Piccline. This is not the most fun thing to get done… but I know things could be worse.


The ER Doctor pulled the Picc and I went to have a second ultrasound done. They found the clot was bigger and it was in the vein that the Piccline was in- Thank goodness I felt the pain, they found the clot and pulled the line! I am lucky that the clot was not that deep or I would have been in trouble. 


My directions are to heat the arm a few times a day as well as take aspirin once a day to help thin the blood.


Today, I went to have my THIRD piccline put in and unfortunately it had to be put into my right arm since the left arm had the blood clot. When I first had a piccline in September it was in my right arm but my right arm wasn’t very mobile at the time and I was just starting OT/PT. I have been working hard in OT/PT and now that the piccline is in my right arm I can’t do the strengthening that I was doing- I am pretty upset about that.


So my new piccline was put in today.. it is what it is. I just hope this one is and lasts me until June…. So fingers crossed!