Iron Infusion #2

So...today didnt go so well.

My first job of the day was to check my blood pressure. It was not good to see that it was even lower than when I left last week. My main care nurse was concerned, but said we would just keep an eye on things. The big job of the day was to get the IV in, that ended up being a lot harder than any of us would have guessed....

My nurse really struggled with finding a vein that even looked like it was going to cooperate. We pulled out all the tricks - heat pad, hot wet rags, squeezing a foam ball, slapping the surface skin, etc. We did it all, to no avail whatsoever...

The first attempt in my forearm was a total no-go. The 2nd attempt in my wrist got the needle and catheder in, but the vein was so small the nurse couldnt thread it in completely. The third attempt was in the other arm. By this time, I was in tears because the one in my wrist was pretty painful, and the nurse was done trying. The fourth attempt, done by the nurse I had last week, finally went in on my right forearm. Four attempts=1 1/2 hrs.

All this time, Preston sat quietly on the sidelines, not sure how he felt about everything. I had asked him to come sit with me and we could have our "date" (play a game and have a fun bfast together), thinking that by the time he came the IV would be in and we would be good to go. Things didnt quite go according to plan.

We started a game of Cribbage - which neither of us knew how to play before today (not sure we really do yet though) but my wrist was in alot of pain where attempt #2 was made. The nurse brought me some IB, and we tried a heating pad which wasnt working so well. I just kept it tucked under my chin and braced against my body to try to not move it or bump it at all. Shortly after they got the IV going it was stinging alot. I tried not to fuss, but the stinging got more intense and I noticed it was slowly creeping up my arm. I also realized that I had started with a headache like last week. By the time the pain was at my elbow, I was about in tears and asked the nurse to come over and see what else we could do. My main care nurse stopped all the IV's and got a saline syringe to see if she could flush it a bit. When she pushed the saline through I about jumped out of the recliner, and the tears came again, it was not good. She was concerned that the vein was too stressed and recommended that I just be done and come back another time to try again. I knew that just wasnt an option, so without spilling our whole schedule in her lap, we discussed all the options and decided that adding a 2nd saline IV and slowing the infusion down to go in over a 2hr (vs the normal 1 hr) window would be our last try at things.
When I was finally re-settled, I sent Preston out to call the kids and let them know I was going to be a lot later than planned. As I waited for him to return, I just kept looking at the clock - knowing I was going to still be another hour minimum. We decided to go ahead and let Preston go back to work so he didnt miss any more hours. I think we were both disappointed that things didnt go so good, I know I was and I had a hard time not crying after he left. Having him come for a bit was a good idea last night, just didnt go so good today. We will have to see if we decide to try to have him come next week...

After he left, I just sat and read for that last hour. The nurses came and checked on me alot, but I was doing much better, and though I could feel things in my arm, it was tolerable. We did check my blood pressure again before I left, and both of us were pleased to see that it had jumped back up to normal #'s.

There are still things to do today, but I think with the way I feel, I will forgo getting into battle mode with the kids over school stuff or worrying about house etc, and just try to lay low. I will be home with little people all day tomorrow, we can work on more school stuff then. Hopefully, the rest of the day will be uneventful...