A tip to avoid pain during observations during chemo administration
IF YOU'RE NEW TO CHEMO, WATCH OUT FOR THIS.
A few weeks ago, during my chemo infusion, a "pool" nurse without chemo experience came and did my obs half-way through. It hurt like hell. Now, I've always had a very high pain threshold, and this wasn't 10 on the scale; but it hurt a lot: at the cannula site and a sliding ache all the way up the vein it was plugged into. I was massaging the arm to soothe it. I told her it really hurt and she said, "It's probably the pressure."
Later ,I told the real chemo nurse. She said, "Oh, I always pause the chemo when I do the obs during it." I had never noticed that they did that. Today, a nursing student came to do the half-way obs and he made no move to pause the chemo. I said, "You ARE going to pause the chemo, aren't you?" He looked mystified. I said, "If you don't, it will hurt me a lot." He said he's not allowed to stop chemo and went over to a senior chemo nurse. I heard her ask, "Who wants to stop it?" He gestured at me. She came flying over, "Are you okay? Are you having a reaction? Why do you want to stop it?" I said, "I don't want to stop it. I just want it paused while he does the obs or it hurts a lot." She said, "Of course." And paused it. After a while she came back and restarted it when he had finished the obs.
I'm stunned that they don't train students to go and get a chemo nurse BEFORE they're ready to start the obs. It should NOT be up to the patient to manage this: to alert inexperienced people to this. I only learned the hard way, by suffering the first time, and then having to tell the nurse and thus learn what should be done.
A few weeks ago, during my chemo infusion, a "pool" nurse without chemo experience came and did my obs half-way through. It hurt like hell. Now, I've always had a very high pain threshold, and this wasn't 10 on the scale; but it hurt a lot: at the cannula site and a sliding ache all the way up the vein it was plugged into. I was massaging the arm to soothe it. I told her it really hurt and she said, "It's probably the pressure."
Later ,I told the real chemo nurse. She said, "Oh, I always pause the chemo when I do the obs during it." I had never noticed that they did that. Today, a nursing student came to do the half-way obs and he made no move to pause the chemo. I said, "You ARE going to pause the chemo, aren't you?" He looked mystified. I said, "If you don't, it will hurt me a lot." He said he's not allowed to stop chemo and went over to a senior chemo nurse. I heard her ask, "Who wants to stop it?" He gestured at me. She came flying over, "Are you okay? Are you having a reaction? Why do you want to stop it?" I said, "I don't want to stop it. I just want it paused while he does the obs or it hurts a lot." She said, "Of course." And paused it. After a while she came back and restarted it when he had finished the obs.
I'm stunned that they don't train students to go and get a chemo nurse BEFORE they're ready to start the obs. It should NOT be up to the patient to manage this: to alert inexperienced people to this. I only learned the hard way, by suffering the first time, and then having to tell the nurse and thus learn what should be done.
