First time on IV steroid in my home...scared

Hi everyone! I asked last week how to know when steroids are necessary to stop Vertigo. I am on day 6 of pretty bad vertigo,

I ended up calling my neuro in Seattle to discuss using the steroids and he had to call my Dr here in AZ to get him to order Solu Medrol. This has been a huge fiasco.

The insurance girl here first tells me that this IV infusion is not covered by Tricare, so I get the CPT code and call to verify. They do accept that procedure and I don't need an auth or referral. By the time all these back and forth phone calls are done, its almost 5pm and they close.

The next day I finally get thru to this insurance girl at this clinic who tells me that she is waiting on labs to be faxed down from my neuro in Seattle to have this home health company come over. Not wanting to seem super impatient, I wait. Still hrs go by, and no call to schedule from this home healthcare nurse.

I call my neuro's nurse in Seattle to see if she can speed this up and she tells me that there is no reason to ask for blood work to start steroids..

I call the Dr here again and now this ins girl is saying there was a holdup because my neuro out of state cannot order meds for me.(which everyone knew) So now I am fully irate because we all knew that my neuro couldn't order this for me from another state..hence the reason why I had him call my Dr here to explain what I need..By now its after 4pm, they close at 5..Finally, I get the call from the nurse group and there is a question about whether they are contracted w/ Tricare..

I am ready to pull my hair out! This infusion service is not contracted w/ Tricare but they accept this insurance. I was so fed up with basically having to do everything myself and being so upset, that I just kept this company and hopefully it won't cost me too much out of pocket. You'd think that a person in charge of auths and referrals would know the difference between "In Network" and "Non Network" providers..

Sorry for the rant..I am wondering if any of you have had the steroid treatment at home.  I am nervous about infection and the fact that I will have to take the IV out on the 3rd day myself. I am alone most days because of my husband being deployed and my kids in school. I am now wondering if I should have gone to the hospital and had them do it?

Will I get that puffy face thing even if I don't take the prednisone pills? My neuro doesn't use them. Can anyone tell me how the home IV worked out?
Thanks!!

[DawnYM]

Hang in there, I don't have any experience with this... Someone will see this who can help... Sorry for such a crappy couple days!!!

[rendean]

I haven't had a home infusion of steroids, for some reason my insurance  prefers the local Infusion Center at the hospital.  Tomorrow I go for my 3rd infusion in roughly a one year span.

There really is nothing to fear. I haven't ever gotten a puffy face...a red flush to my face but not puffiness. Taking out the IV catheter is a painless procedure..it just slides out when you remove the tape. After which you just apply pressure with a piece of gauze and then secure it with a band-aid or piece of tape. Just like when they draw blood at the lab.

My neuros do not use the prednisone taper wither and I do not have any bad side effects.

The home health nurse should be available to you if you have questions or concerns. It's not a big deal as far as the infusion goes. Everyone has different side effects. I get grumpy and insomnia which is fixed with Ambien.

Wishing calmness and a sense of peace along with an easy infusion with minimal side effects.

Ren

[michelleric]

Sorry about all the hassles you have to go through for the steroids.  That is so stressful, have had to do that myself in the past.  VERY frustrating.

I have always had my IV steroids done at home.  The only time I didn't was the 1st day of the 1st round.  My neuro wanted me to go to the hospital's infusion center, to "monitor" me since I never had them before.  All went well, so the rest were always set up at home.

The nurse wont come out to take the IV out?  Are you sure?  If not, Rens above note is what you should read to help you.  It really isn't hard, just "different". You will be OK if you need to do this.  

By the way, the last time I had this, was Christmas break. all my kids were home. I thought it was going to be really uncomfortable for them, but they were fine.  The IV takes about an hour, maybe a bit more, and all went well.

Try not to worry,

Michelle

[sg40]

I just did 3 days of IV steroids at home. The nurse was very professional - and very clean :). I think it may even be easier at home, as I felt much more relaxed in my own home than I would have at a hospital. The nurse stayed for the duration of the procedure each day, start to finish, and told me to call her at any time if I had any questions - so I never felt like I was 'on my own' with it. I, too, am curious as to why you have to take the IV out yourself on the third day. Seems to me that they need to stay with you until you are done. But the darn thing comes right out pretty easily- mine slipped out the first night and I didn't even know it (tried to leave it in overnight to avoid the restick).
I didn't really have any bad side effects - took a nap after every infusion, had some minor water retention in my legs and some very mild pain and tenderness for a couple of days (started after my last infusion though).  Overall it was not bad. I will only do it again only if I feel it is very necessary (because of the potential long term issues from overuse). But, it went fine and I would not have a problem with doing it again. I hope yours goes well and brings you some relief.

[sg40]

Also meant to say that I have been told (by a nurse) that the puffy face comes from extended use of prednisone/oral steroids - so you do not need to worry about it after just a few days on Solumedrol.

[starryeyes1]

Thanks eveyone for your responses. I am going to ask the nurse to come back to remove the IV.

I hope I am not "rushing" into the steroid thing. I can honestly say that I am getting worse with the dizziness. I really just want to be functional again..whatever that was..I have balance trouble already, but this heavy head feeling is new.

I will let you know how it goes!!
Thanks again!

Kristi

[Tiredofbeingnumb]

Hi! I just wanted to commiserate with you on home health care and Tricare.  I had issues with Tricare approving home health too. I think maybe it has something to do with forms the doctor has to fill out--like if they don't fill them out 100% correctly, Tricare won't approve it. I know when I was told by my neuro-opth the first time about home health, it never actually got approved. I ended up going to the military hospital ER to get my steroids. But, a few months later, when my neurologist prescribed home health, there was no problem, and a nurse came out the very next day. Who knows what happened.

I have to say though, I LOVE home health care! It is so nice to sit at home (you can even be in your pjs or whatever is comfortable) and watch tv and chat with your nurse while you are getting the infusion. The nurses that I've had have been so professional and warm and caring. I am a big weenie when it comes to needles (yes, I give myself Copaxone shots daily, but thank goodness for the autoinjector or I'd have issues) but there is no way I could pull out that IV on my own. Sometimes the nurse will set the IV, get it running, and then leave to do something, but will come back just to take the IV out. One time, when putting the IV, I guess my blood pressure was a little higher in the afternoon than when he ususally sticks me in the morning, he got some blood on me while setting the IV. I guess he saw my face change color, lol, so he got a paper towel, and taped it around the IV, so I couldn't look at the blood. :) I thought that was really thoughtful. Yeah, I am a weenie. But anyway, I do love having this all done at home.

As far as the efffects of Solu-Medrol goes, everyone is different. I am fair skinned, and after every dose, I look like I'm sunburned. I get this flush on my cheeks and chest. It happens every time I get Solu-Medrol. Doesn't hurt, just  looks like sunburn. You may feel more awake and have trouble sleeping, but for me, it actually wore me out. Everyone is different.

Anyways good luck! Tricare has its good points but most definitely can be a pain.

[rendean]

Just a note of clarification regarding the "needle" in your arm. What is left in place in your arm is not a metal needle; it is a tiny plastic, somewhat flexible, catheter.

Needle phobia is pretty common so don't feel as if you are the only one afraid of this part of the infusion. I used to be an IV nurse and more often than not, people are afraid of needles and the sight of their own blood as tiredofbeingnumb referred to.

I hope everything goes smoothly for you! If you have any other concerns let us know.

Ren