I started my Velcade ^[1] (bortezomib) / dexamethasone ^[2] (Decadron) infusions again last week after recovering for four months from a stem cell transplant that I received this summer.

The infusion process got me thinking about ways I have learned to cope with getting “stuck” for IVs over the years.

Sure, I’m a lot tougher now than when I started treatment for my multiple myeloma almost five years ago.

Even so, it isn’t any fun sitting still while a nurse digs around in your arm, trying to start an IV and looking for a vein.

I have learned a few tricks over the years to help the experience be a bit less uncomfortable.  I would like to share those with you today:

1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!  Drink plenty of water, starting several days before your scheduled appointment.  I have read it is best not to drink alcohol within 24 hours prior to the procedure.  This may be good advice, but one could argue that a drink or two before you hit the infusion chair might help you to relax (I’m kidding, of course).
2. Apply a warm compress to raise veins.  Is it better to use a dry compress, or is wet heat okay?  Either way, a warm, soothing wrap—applied 10 minutes or so before your IV—can really help those veins “pop.”
3. Raise your arm up over your head for a few minutes.  This is one of my favorite tricks.  Simply hold your arm up behind your head for two or three minutes just before the “stick.”  The blood rushing back into your forearm and hand will help pump those veins up.
4. Shave your hand/forearm before your appointment.  It doesn’t matter if it is the night before—or the morning of the appointment.  Shaving your arm and hand might look funny, but it eliminates the worse pain of all—at least for guys—when your nurse or tech pulls the tape off your arm following the procedure.
5. Ask your nurse to use tape remover “goop.”  Tape remover liquid really works -- especially if your skin is sensitive and the tech uses the wrong type of tape -- or you forgot to shave.  (See tip #4)
6. Use a topical anesthetic cream.  Yes, sticking an IV catheter through your skin/veins will hurt!! But there are topical anesthetic creams that can be applied to your skin to help numb the site.
7. Bring an I-Pod type device with earphones and listen to relaxing music.
8. Ask for pediatric needles.  I saved the best for last.  For me, the gauge of the needle is everything!  A standard IV needle is a 20 or 22 gauge.  Pediatric needles are 24 or even 26 gauge.  Convince your nurse or tech to switch to a smaller gauge needle, and you won’t need a lot of these other tricks.

I understand that there are some arguments against using pediatric needles for an IV.  Some techs complain that they aren’t stiff enough.  Many hospitals don’t even stock them.

All I can say is, I haven’t had a bad “stick” in a dozen visits at my local infusion center.  Why?  The incredible skill of the oncology nurses?  Nope.  It’s the pediatric needles.  Love them!

One last tip:  Think about me the next time you sit down for an IV—and remember to feel good and keep smiling!