You are a pro! So much the worse with so many previous IVs since you have constant pain along your veins. A few months back I was at an infusion center getting IV antibiotics. My need for them is increasing and I asked the nurse what she thought of IV, picc and port options and how they worked. A port is great if you need one. It is surgically implanted with no external exposure. A needle passes through the skin, through a rubber membrane and dumps into lots of blood volume. Picc lines tie into a large blood vessle but passes through the skin. Oddly the nurse really advocated the more extreme port over the slow damage of multiple IV's, picc lines and picc line issues that just make the inevitable port, a path of misery. It makes me wonder.
Almost any IV fluid in concentration damages veins resulting in neurological pain. Anesthesia given for my wisdom teeth extraction was bungled, essentially pushing a concentrated drug into my vein while forgetting to remove the tourniquet. When I failed to succumb to the anesthesia, only then did they realize my arm was blue. Within a week I had a green/yellow streak going up my arm. The next few weeks, pieces of vein surfaced like sections of broken sewer pipe. Neuopathy that resulted from that stupid mistake lasted six years. Lyrica, a great drug for neuropathy didn't exist and nothing relieved that suffering.
I am curious, do you mean to go ultrasound instead of CT or are they using an ultrasonic vein locator? A month ago I had the same CT, abdomen with and w/o contrast. I lost count at 6 sticks including two that bulged in front of a vein valve. That day I was a wonderful patient, joking and making light of something they feel bad over. Monday I had an MRI, felt like death warmed over and was with and w/o contrast. I have done CTs with my arms over my head and it isn't difficult. Holding my arthritic shoulders over my head, stuffed in a tube for over an hour taxed my patience and pain tolerance. At a rest time I threw all the wedges and pillows out the tube entrance. They weren't helping and were mostly in my way. The quality rating for tests and such includes how good or bad I feel.
I don't mean to underestimate your abilities, but it concerns me that you feel the nurse blew out your vein. Your veins are getting painful and less successful receiving large gauge IV dye needles. If the nurse misses the vein, nearly impossible since they do a check draw, isn't blown by the nurse. Rather the nurse clears the vein with saline in part to discover a bad valve or such. I never mean to imply somebody is unaware of issues endemic to CF. Not everybody can or wishes to be involved with medical treatment details.
Glad you are doing better.
LL
