First you should see for how long your insurance will cover IV treatment. Some will only cover it only if you have a positive Lyme test, and only for 30 days max. I think anything less than 4 month is a waste of time and money.
Then decide on where to get your supplies and ABX, and who will change your bandage on a weekly basis. I had good coverage so I had a local infusion service take care of everything including a weekly visit from a home nurse. The best rates for ABX and supplies is from Infuserve America out of FL, I think they costs around $800 per month.
Get the booklet "Infusion for Lymies" off the web, it has a lot of good info on how to get started and different ways to get supplies in bulk to save even more money.
Depending on where live you can get a PICC line put in either at a vascular clinic or hospital. The procedure takes about
20 minutes to prep and insert the line. They just numb up the underside of your bicep and you are awake the whole time. There is very little pain involved.
Then they will wheel you out and administer your first bag of IV ABX to check on PICC line flow and monitor you for any allergic reactions. My PICC at the clinic cost around $600 in the Northeast where health care costs are high. I drove myself in and home, and total time took about
2 to 3 hours at the clinic.
Some say that IM Rocephin is almost as effective and way less cost, especially since it is covered under a normal Rx co-pay schedule vs IV under major medical with deductables and higher co-pays.
My home nurse removed the PICC at my office after 16 months of treatment.
Post Edited (tickbite666) : 7/22/2014 1:37:02 PM (GMT-6)