Hi guysMy husband was supposed to have a portacath fitted this week for his 'next regime' of chemo on Wed .... but sadly the request got 'lost' by the radiology mob - and now he has to have a picc line fitted for the first couple of treatments as he can't have the portacath fitted now until mid December.He is not very happy at having ANYTHING fitted into his body - and now he has to have 2 procedures instead of just the one, thru what I can only call incompetence by the radiology mob. They had the request since Nov 11 (plus a confirmed conversation with the Palliative care nurse on the 16th Nov that the appt was 'pending') then when I rang for the appt the other day, I was told on the 22nd Nov that they'd never received it! I am SPEWING.SO ... He has the picc line fitted on Monday. I've seen shirts with zips on the front for those with Portacaths - but is there specific clothing for those with Picc lines? Do you have any photos - re portacaths as well? He will also have a 'bag' of chemo feeding for about 48hrs after his chemo session .... and I am concerned that it will annoy him, particularly when sleeping. What did you do to stop the 'bag' from bouncing around 'specially at night? Apparently there is a sling that can be worn around the neck, or a bum bag around the waist .... as he has mod/severe dementia & I am concerned he may try & pull the lines out. I hope there is some sort of tubigrip to put over the arm to hold everything 'in place' & stop the dangles ..... and I'll try & get a BIGGER bit of tubigrip to put around his whole torso at night as well (if there IS such a thing) to hold the chemo bag in place!Many thanks xx

Fully appreciate that your husband is getting a PICC line, but as your heading says Portacath as well I’ll add this picture here of earlier entry in BCNA `by Arpie re portacath option on a shirt .I was lucky enough to find a shirt at op shop with two zips placed exactly in this manner so that’s become my chemo shirt for easy access to my portacath -nurses love it .

Thank you @AllyJay xx I hope all is good with you just now xxGreat idea about the Butcher & pantyhose!! The pantyhose may be even more 'snug' for the arm whilst the picc is in .... I'll get him to wear a short sleeved Tshirt for the Picc Line too .... My sister is hopefully going to put a couple of small zips in a couple of tshirts for us .... I can't sew for nuts!! Not sure if she'll go for one or two ... do they usually get put on the left side? (not sure what setup THIS one is .....) Yours isn't very prominent at ALL!! hehe, @noosa_blue150 - I THOUGHT I'd put something up earlier LOL. xx. Well done on finding one!!

I did a search on picc clothing - can see shirts with zips Down front ; the other I thought that had possibilities was a zip along the joint between front and back of shirt on shoulder -that would give you easier access ?

@arpie I wore singlets to make access to the port easy. Fantastic your sister can sew some zips into hubbys tops.

@arpie my port was on the right side as my mastectomy was on the left.

Picc Line and Portacath .... any tips appreciated on clothing & anything else

arpie
Member
4 years ago
Thank you @AllyJay xx I hope all is good with you just now xx

Great idea about the Butcher & pantyhose!! The pantyhose may be even more 'snug' for the arm whilst the picc is in .... I'll get him to wear a short sleeved Tshirt for the Picc Line too ....

My sister is hopefully going to put a couple of small zips in a couple of tshirts for us .... I can't sew for nuts!! Not sure if she'll go for one or two ... do they usually get put on the left side? (not sure what setup THIS one is .....) Yours isn't very prominent at ALL!!

hehe, @noosa_blue150 - I THOUGHT I'd put something up earlier LOL. xx. Well done on finding one!!
noosa_blue150
Member
4 years ago
Fully appreciate that your husband is getting a PICC line, but as your heading says Portacath as well I’ll add this picture here of earlier entry in BCNA `by Arpie re portacath option on a shirt .I was lucky enough to find a shirt at op shop with two zips placed exactly in this manner so that’s become my chemo shirt for easy access to my portacath -nurses love it .
AllyJay
Member
4 years ago
I'm not sure why, but the photo didn't show. Here it is.
AllyJay
Member
4 years ago
What a stuff up of the highest order!!! I'd be spewing too. My portacath was put in under a local about two hours before my first chemo back in October 2016 and I still have mine. Because I have a number of other medical conditions that have me hospitalised on a fairly regular basis, it's used quite frequently as my buggered veins are just shot. I can truly say that I hardly notice mine at all and it's never given me any problems. Mine is high up on the left side of my chest and the internal tube is under the skin on the left side of my neck. I never had and special blouse to wear for chemo, or for when the community nurse comes to flush and heparin lock mine now every six weeks. I just wear a button down the front blouse and undo the top three or four buttons. I'm sure a polo shirt that opens fairly low on the chest would do too. If you have difficulty with finding a tubigrip bandage large enough, perhaps ask your friendly butcher if they have some which they use to cover large cuts of meat such as Christmas hams or large de boned roasts. They're quite stretchy, but other than that, a cut length of larger sized panty hose with the foot cut off and also of course the panty part, might do the trick. This photo was taken the night before the Big Lop Off and shows (a bit blurry) the port...that bruised looking area. I hope this all gets sorted and that things go a bit smoother for you both