[KeithH17Participant]

Hi everybody,7,weeks post sct and doing ok apart from my right arm which is swollen due to the Melphalan infusion.
The right wrist has a lump which is scar tissue and there are 4 other lumps along the inside of my arm all of which feel quite sore to touch.
I asked the doctor about this and he said the Melphalan must have leaked out and burnt the surface of the skin on the inside.
He said nothing could be done and I'd just have to live with it.
The problem was that most of my veins had collapsed and the only place the nurse could fit the canular was the back of my hand which is'nt ideal when using Melphalan.
At the time it was very painful and the nurse had to slow down the infusion to ease the pain.
Has anyone else had this problem and if so I'd be interested in hearing from you.

Keith.

[HelenParticipant]

I have the same, what feels like lumps along the line of the vein they used, I was told they take a long time to get better. I'm 2 weeks behind you at 5 weeks post sct.
Helen

[CarolBradley1Participant]

Hi Keith and Helen

Luckily I didn´t have any problems like yours but I just wanted to send you my very best wishes as I know how under the weather you both must be feeling at present.

Keep your chins up – had my sct in Feb and for a little while wondered if I would ever feel stronger but yesterday I rode my new horse and cleaned lots of mud off my two others. Also managed some housework and shopping – all things I could hardly contemplate a little while ago.

Very best wishes to you both

Carol xxxx

[DaiCroParticipant]

My sympathies to both of you… it sounds painful… but why the cannula? I cannot imagine receiving Mephalan without the aid of a Hickman or similar multi-line… as a matter of fact I can remember being told that it was crucial to have one for both the doses… pre-Harvest and the pre-SCT.

When I was admitted the time before last, for an infection related incident, they quickly used up 4 cannula entries in the back of my hands for anti-biotic purposes. A doctor was called in during the night and fitted a cannula into the crook of my left arm, which worked easily and well but then took up the only decent access for general bloods, which they seemed to need at least 3 times a day. When I asked why this was not used more frequently (i.e. for Velcade etc., where they often struggle to find an access) I was told that it is harder to control if anything like a leak occurs. Apparently they can control, observe and/or treat 'leak damage' if it occurs in the bottom arm but it can prove extremely difficult if it disappears into the upper regions of the arm… which might explain why they used the back of your hand… but not the use of a cannula… which again, I recall being told, is never used for major chemotherapy… and in my book 'Mephalan' is major. Did they offer a reason for not fitting a Hickman?

Dai.

[HelenParticipant]

Hi Dai
I asked about central lines early on, (you are going to think I'm a vacuous vain creature who ought to know better from all my posts about appearance and hair etc, but I was concerned about the position of these lines and neckline scarring afterwards, I want to return to as normal a life as possible and look as though nothing is wrong with me, sadly scars speak volumes and restrict clothing choice, vain I know! )
Anyway as my veins are good they said they'd use a peripheral one and save the central line option for further down the road, I had intense hydration before the rapid infusion which was very painful and has continued to hurt ever since. They seemed to know what they were talking about so I just went along with it. 🙂
Helen

[KeithH17Participant]

Thank-you for your replies,I had a Hickman line for my first sct with no problems putting in but lots of difficulties getting blood samples out of it and then it became infected towards the end and had to be cut out.
They always have trouble getting blood samples out of me,one problem being MM makes the blood thicken which does'nt help matters.
I asked at the time why they were using the back of my hand and was told it was the only vein that they could find?
IMO it's the luck of the draw,some can find them and some can't.
At my own hospital I'll only allow certain people to have a go but then they all know me and usually call in the experts soon as they see me LOL.

Keith.

[Author]

Posts