Home IV meds are the one of the best damn things that the medical world ever came up with. Haha. I much prefer being in the hospital either not at all, or for a day or two instead of the whole two weeks. Generally I only go into the hospital overnight if I'm going on a new med (so they can watch for allergic reaction, etc). I had one IV med run (this past May I think) where I wasn't admitted at all. I have a port, so I just went home, accessed it, taped it up, and started the meds when they were delivered. The hospital will hook you up with a home IV company (in CT, mine is called Collins IV), and they send you anything you need. They deliver the meds, the needles, the dressings, etc etc. The meds generally come in these little baby bottles. They have balloons in them (where the med is stored), and when you open up the tubing connected to the med, it starts a vacuum (because of the balloon inside the bottle), which pushes the med out of the balloon and through the tubing. You don't have to push or squeeze anything, and you don't need an IV pump (at least in my experience). The one med I went on that wasn't in baby bottles (because it isn't stable) was Meropenem. This required a little more work, because I had to mix it myself. Then you hook the med up to the tubing and the tubing up to you. You hang it on a throw-away IV pole that's sent to you (though anything works, I also used hangers and stuff while I was on this med) and let gravity do its job. I adore home IV. It allows me to take the meds, and still be at home where I'm all around more comfortable. I can sleep in my own bed, spend time with my family and my boyfriend when I want without needing to wait for them to drive 45 minutes to come visit. I am capable of doing it all myself, though when I'm on them, generally my boyfriend does most of the work. I taught him how early on and he knows I'm often tired and not feeling well while on IV meds, so he takes care of all the infusing and tubing and what have you (he actually likes doing it, makes him feel like he's helping in a situation where most of the time he feels helpless). When it comes to bloodwork (which they will often do, especially with Tobra, to check your levels), the same IV company will send a nurse to your house to draw blood. If you need dressing changes done for you, they send nurses out for that too (though now that I have a port, I can do all that stuff myself).
It's all a matter of personal opinion. I know a CFer who prefers to be in the hospital the whole time because then the nurses take care of his dosages for him. But in my personal experience, home IV can be much nicer. In general, being at home can help you feel better on its own. The hospital is generally a stressful place, and people do better at home all-around. You're also more likely to be around those you love, those who help make your spirits better, if you're at home. Plus you can still carry on with your life if you do home IV. Hell, this past summer I babysit Mike's cousins on several occasions (hanging the Meropenem on a hanger and carrying it around with me). I had a summer job as a teacher's aide at the American School for the Deaf. I was IV meds for my first week at that job. The kids kept asking me what they were for (and actually, I had fun trying to explain in sign language what they were for), and I wasn't able to swim in the afternoons, but other than that, I was just fine. Like I said, to each his own, but I positively love doing my IV therapy at home. <img src="i/expressions/rose.gif" border="0">
