Pain after PICC line removal??

[chantelfox]

Hey all, ok this might be nothing at all, but I just wanted to know
if I need to get this checked out. I had my PICC line removed last
Thursday. It was put in on the inside of my left arm and the next
day (or maybe even later that day...I'm not really sure) the
<i>back</i> side of my left arm began to hurt REALLY bad. It only
hurts when I touch it (even lightly) or bump it on something . The
nurse kind of freaked me out, because when she took it out she
said to watch for pain around the site/arm (as  the tip of the
line was cut by the radiologists that put it in and she got a
different measurement than they did - hers was strangely
<i><b>longer</b></i> than the one recorded in the notes by the
radiologists). She said if I got pain to go into the ER, but I
can't afford that. What if it's a bruise? It's quite possible that
I hit it on something and don't remember. I remember hitting SOME
part of my body really hard before the pain started, but can't
remember where I hit it and it didn't hurt at the time I hit it.
 Anyone have any advice? Has anyone had the type of pain she
was talking about watching out for??  If it were pain because
a piece of the line was in my vein, I would think I wouldn't feel
it, because the PICC line doesn't cause me pain and it's in my vein
for 2 weeks. Right??? This is kinda silly I think, because I think
it might be a bruise but I'm paranoid now, because of what she told
me. Thanks all!

 

[EnergyGal]

Hi Chantell

I had a picc line and felt a terrible bruise when the picc line was in and told the team if they do not pull it out I will have to so they pulled it out and put in a new one. Well the pain was there for a week so believe it or not the only relief that helped me was I left the blood pressure cuff on and every fifteen minutes it went off and the tightness from the cuff when it was inflated relaxed my arm. Usually I cannot stand that cuff but the pain was so bad it helped me. Everyone could not believe that I did that but hey if it works why not. I also had the transplant and was very much the difficult patient.

 

[HairGirl]

I had the same thing happen to me, the back side of my arm hurt like a bruise for awhile, it eventually went away, if it gets really bad or you can't stand it I would have it checked out but if it just hurts like a bruise I would say wait and see.

 

[thelizardqueen]

I had the same thing when I got my picc put in last May. It turned out to be a really big black bruise. I was also told that as well as pain - you should be looking for swelling and redness.

 

[coltsfan715]

Hey Chantel,

Glad to hear you are doing better and off the IV meds. I usually have muscle pain for up to a week after my PICC lines are pulled. I contribute it to the fact that I tend to baby my arm when I have a PICC in it, so I contribute it to fatigued muscle tissue. I have never dealt with the type of pain that they reccomend you look out for though so I don't know what that would be like. Have you had your boyfriend look at the back of your arm to see if it is bruised? I think so long as the site itself isn't tender or red or looking infected that you would be okay. As for the length of the line. You are probably fine if the nurses measurement was longer than the doc that inserted it, if it is SHORTER that is where the problem lies. Like others said though if it continues nagging and bothering you I would call the doc or the nurse and ask them what to do.

Take Care,
Lindsey

 

[JennifersHope]

If you have any questions and just are not sure it is always best to check with your doctor.. I have had a few PICC lines in the recent past. The last one especially I made a post about because my arm hurt so much. It was sore for a long time afterwards... Nothing was really wrong.. I don't even know why it hurt but it went away...

Hope you feel better

 

[chantelfox]

I am glad to see that I'm not the only one that this has happened
to. It's weird because this is the 4th PICC I have had and this has
never happened before. There is no , so if it IS a bruise it's one
of those that hurt like heck, but you can't see. I get those
sometimes. Thanks for all you 're responses! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">