Here are the 10 (divided by 2) commandments I follow on home IVs:
1. I keep flushes, extra tubing, end caps, and alcohol preps both UPSTAIRS and DOWNSTAIRS to save me from hauling myself up and down six times a day. This time around one of my drugs is not refrigerated, you mix it right before you infuse, so I have half of my supply upstairs for night/early morning and half of it downstairs for the afternoon.
2. I always remember to take the med out of the fridge and let it sit for an hour, even if it means adjusting my dose schedule by an hour either way. Cold IVs give me migraines and I'd rather not deal with that on top of everything else!
3. I tend to change my port dressing every four days, if not the needle too. My dressings get a lot grosser at home than in the hospital
4. SLEEP. I don't know the dosing schedule your son has, but if I'm running meds every 4 hours, that means I am AWAKE every four hours. I have no qualms about canceling plans or skipping classes so I can sleep. I need my rest.
5. I refuse to use pumps like they use in the hospital. I get gravity-assisted dial-a-flow tubing that I can bring with me anywhere. I hang it in the car, I thumb-tack it to the cork board at work, and I medical tape it to the wall at doctor appointments. As much as I am willing to cancel things for sleep, I am also unwilling to plan my life around infusion times. It tends to take longer to run a drug, but not having annoying beeps in my ear at 4 am is a trade I am happy to make.
IVs are hard no matter where they are done, whether in the hospital or at home. If you're in the hospital, you get the luxury of not having to worry about anything, but you have the stress and unpleasantness of being in the hospital. If you are at home, you have the luxury of being at home, but you have the stress and unpleasantness of being responsible for your own med schedule.
I'm on IVs at home, now too. It's never fun, especially around the holidays, which can be stressful enough on their own! Good luck to you and your son!
