Hi, after advise really. I have been suffering extreme pain in my arm, felt bruised and can hardly bend it. Had to have an emergency scan yesterday which showed I have thrombosis of the vein. I have so far had 3 lots of FEC, 2 in the arm in question via cannula. I am due to star the T part next week, which I am hoping is not as harsh on the veins but I imagine I will have a Picc line put in? How long before chemo might this be done, and does it hurt, and what is it like to look after? Also as need to start on anticoagulants today via injection into the stomach I wondered if anyone else has had this? Bit of a blow really as felt I was doing really well, feel very fed up today.
I also was diagnosed with a blood clot in my jugular vein last Wednesday!! Started clexane injections immediately and within about 2-3 days the pain and swelling had started to ease. Unfortunately though I’ve been told will need to inject daily for 3-6 months. A picc line will help with the Chemo going in and will help with preventing further damage to your vein, but I believe they need flushing through every week and you will need to wear a water proof sleeve when you have a shower to stop it getting wet.
I feel so angry about it all, before all my treatment started I felt ok, now I feel a right mess I’ve had all sorts of weird and wonderful side effects!! Roll on next summer when hopefully this will all be over.
I started treatment in July and have recently finished. I had a PICC line put in initially as I have very small veins, but it unfortunately caused a blood clot so I then had a port fitted. I was on anticoagulent injections for the whole time.
I absolutely understand your frustration as I too felt it was just another horrible thing to have to deal with. But I got used to it really quickly and it really was not as bad as I thought it would be.
The PICC line did not hurt when it was fitted and I found it pretty easy to look after. A weekly flush and just making sure it didn’t get wet. When that had to be replaced by a port I was gutted as it required surgery and another scar, but in retrospect, it has been brilliant.
The daily injections have caused me no trouble at all. After the first few, which were a bit scary (I mean, stabbing myself with a needle was not something I’d ever had to do before!) I’ve found them very easy to do and they don’t really hurt (occasionally it stings a bit, but nothing terrible). I injected into the top of my thigh/hip area as that’s where I have the most fat : ). I saved my stomach area for the filgrastim injections I also had to have as my blood counts were always so low.
So please try not to worry too much, I know easier said than done, but it’s amazing how quickly we get used to stuff and it’s very rarely as aweful as we think it’s going to be.
Thank you ladies for your reply to my thread. Have done 2nd injection today and apart from the unsightly bruises, it is no big deal I agree. Going to have a port fitted as my veins are in a right pickle, so good to hear it’s not too bad. In a he big scheme of things it’s all to but us on the road to feel better again. Thanks again for your help, much appreciated.