Post image for Collect Sharps Containers and Play with Needles

Collect Sharps Containers and Play with Needles

June 28, 2010 · 9 comments posted in What CFers Do

This entry is part 8 of 19 in the series What CFers Do

Biohazard by ~radioACTIVE01

I have three Sharps containers in our house. One is under the upstairs bathroom sink. One is next to the couch for my colistin needles, and we have a spare in the box in the closet. Before I got my port in 2006, I’d never had a Sharps container. Home health nurses would come over to draw my peak and trough blood levels for Tobra and always wanted to know where my container was. Why in the world would I have a container? Now I know.

I pretty much only fill them up when I’m on IVs because I really enjoy my showers, so I reward myself every other night by de-accessing my port before bed and getting a good night’s sleep without any hot, sticky window or unconscious discomfort from having a friggin’ needle sticking out of my chest. Beautiful gets me up extra early when she does, I take my shower while she Facebooks, and then she accesses my port again for another two days of treatment. The site gets a tad sore by the end of two weeks, but I personally feel like it’s worth it for the quality of life of showering and having a fresh dressing every other day.

The downside: I’ve got seriously disproportionate chest hair now. ;-) Maybe if I stay off IVs for 6 months or longer, those follicles will decide to have a party again.

I also use the containers for my colistin needles because they need to be mixed  with each dose via needle with a sterile water vial and the colistin vial. Next are my weekly testosterone shots that take one more needle, though it used to be a two needle ordeal. Lastly, whenever I feel like it, I do my glucose levels, so I need to put the lancets and strips in there, but my sugar levels are under control after cutting out 95% of my soft drink and white rice intake. I was addicted to both.

I also happens to come about that every time I get one jam-packed full, a home health nurse is due to stop by, though I believe I could take them to the Walgreens at the corner and have them dispose of it like Discount Auto does my old oil.

How many Sharps containers do you have stashed away?

Series NavigationForget to Take Their EnzymesWhat CFers Do: Mail Bills to Medical Places

Related Posts


Rate this article: +1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 (1 votes, average: 9.00 of 10)
Loading ... Loading ...

Fatboy is a small business coach and WordPress guru in Tampa. With clients across the globe, he works from home and enjoys fixing dinner every night for Beautiful when she comes home.

Fatboy has written 349 awesome articles.

Subscribe to his feed via RSS or EMAIL to receive instant updates.

  • Pingback: Tweets that mention Collect Sharps Containers and Play with Needles -- Topsy.com

  • MiddleAgedLady

    Just one right now. It is rather an odd thing to have lying around, isn't it? for a while it sat on top of the dryer. now it's in my bathroom in the clothes hamper closet. the only thing in it is a used Huber needle. I save that for show and tell (without touching, of course) for how a port works.

  • http://www.cffatboy.com/ Jesse Petersen

    Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

    LOL, just ONE huber needle in your entire house? That's funny.

  • http://bankrgrl.blogspot.com Brandi T.

    Just one for me right now as well, sitting on the kitchen counter. Since my pancreas decided to quit playing and I've been doing this whole CFRD thing for the past couple of months, I've created quite the stash of lancets and needles. I still haven't figured out the best place to dispose of it when it's full … my pharmacy says they no longer take them. Where do you rid yourself of full containers?

  • Seanset

    We keep our's under the kitchen sink, they get filled up pretty quick with lancets and needlese also needles from mixing promixin. When the girls are on IV's we keep one on the counter in the kitchen and a spare under the stairs. The full ones after IV's get collected by the company that supply the homecare bubbles. The other one's go to the local hospital pharmacy.

  • http://www.cffatboy.com/ Jesse Petersen

    Awesome! IVs change the whole ballgame about how many you need to have
    stashed around.

  • Seanset

    Used more last time because we were mixing one of the drugs.

  • http://www.cffatboy.com/ Jesse Petersen

    Mine come from my home health people in a USPS box that seals up and gets mailed with no postage. Just drop it off at the post office in the rotating bin inside the door for things up to 13 lbs is what I do.

  • http://www.cffatboy.com/ Jesse Petersen

    That will do it every time. I go through a heck of a lot on a colistin month. 3 needles per day. I really miss the pre-mixed vials from Foundation Care, but I don't dislike any of PSI's other services. I called today for a ton of refills and they will be here Thursday morning by 10:30am.

Previous post:

Next post: