Sub-q, SCIG, Subcutanious Immunoglobulin.... The new way of doing medicine around here.

If you need us on a Wednesday afternoon, you can find us, chillin at home, in front of the TV, with 6 needles hooked inside Kate and Charlie.







I know I've mentioned a few times that the older two kids have chosen a new route of administration of their medicine. If you are new to this blog, I'd suggest going to this post about what we have and reading it first. If you are an established reader, I thought I'd take a little time to explain it, and show it.


You see, for the last 4 years the kids have done their medicine (IVIG, or Gammagard Liquid made from plasma) the IV way - a needle in the vein. Last year back when Kate went through her "I hate IV's, I hate being sick, I hate all of this!"stage her doctor approached her about doing her medicine a different way.


Kate has sucky veins. So does Charlie. Tommy's are all right. But for Kate and Charlie, sometimes it takes multiple sticks to get a single vein good enough to infuse into. In addition, they have to miss half a day of school every time they go to clinic, which for Charlie is not a huge deal, he liked the one on one time with me, but for Kate, the thought of "missing something" the thought of not playing at recess with her friends because she's at clinic.... it was almost more than she could take.


The new method is called sub-q (also referred to as scig, and subcutaneous immunoglobulin). It's the exact same medicine put in a different route. Here are the differences:


SCIG
1 time a week 1 -2 hours
3 needles in subcutaneous fat can use numbing cream
no vein needed
at home

IVIG
Every 2 -4 weeks takes 4 - 6 hours
1 needle in 1 vein but we could not use numbing cream as it affected veins
Must get vein access, can be done at home or hospital

So, here is how it works, each kid uses numbing cream and tagaderm an hour before to numb the skin.

They like to have one needle in the belly, and one on each leg. When they get hooked up using three needles that look like this:

This is what it looks like in the skin:

Kate shows how big the needles feel like they are (yes, she'd make a great fisherman).

If you look to the right of Charlie, that is a pump, and it is used to pump in the kids medicine over the course of a couple hours (he wants you to know this picture was his first time doing Sub-q).

Even though Tommy isn't doing Sub-q right now, he is still a big part of everything, he likes to do the comforting and has appointed himself "Helper."

Charlie says he likes sub-q better because "I don't have to miss school any more and I can do my daily thing and I can get up and walk around. I can watch tv which I'm normally allowed to do on a school day. Also it is the greatest way I've ever done my medicine. When I grow up I want my son to do Sub q, well if he is born with the same disease or some other disease."

According to Kate, "I like doing sub-q because it's fun even though it has a lot of pain when the medicine starts going in for the first 60 seconds. I would like to do sub-q all the time." This is, by the way, the disadvantage for Kate, she has a bad burning feeling for the first 1 minute the medicine goes in, but has learned to count the pain way (with a few tears).

As I always say, it's not what I planned... but it's no the worst life either.