Guest guest Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Oh yuck, Barb! I gave blood once. They told me to drink alot of liquids before going in. Of course, after getting my donation, I received a letter telling me I couldn't donate again due to some antibodies that I carry. Really sorry you had to be a pincushion today. in TX From: BARB <barbmch@...> Subject: blood drawing today Undisclosed-Recipient@... Date: Friday, October 22, 2010, 4:50 PM  I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 I will never try to give again unless it is for myself again and even wonder for that. My doctor likes for you to give your own blood......how about your others who have had replacements? BARB in Florida blood drawing today Undisclosed-Recipient@... Date: Friday, October 22, 2010, 4:50 PM I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Hi Barb, Yes, it is common practice in New York at both joint Diseases and Special Surgery to give a pint or two of your own blood before your elective surgery. I gave a pint and had a similar experience to yours. It took quite a lone time and it is always hard to find my vein, in either arm! It was also hard in the OR right before my surgery when they could not find a vein to put the IV in! Not a good time to be stressed. As it turned out, I did not need the blood. However, friends of mine did. All the best, Joan ________________________________ From: BARB <barbmch@...> Undisclosed-Recipient@... Sent: Fri, October 22, 2010 6:50:57 PM Subject: blood drawing today I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 They put my IV in the back of my hand........they don't even try for it in the arm any more........when I have surgery, the back of my hand with the IV hurts worse than the surgical site....... BARB in Florida blood drawing today I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 They couldn't find the vein in the back of my hand! When I say I was stressed, I really mean it! ________________________________ From: BARB <barbmch@...> Joint Replacement Sent: Fri, October 22, 2010 7:53:29 PM Subject: Re: blood drawing today They put my IV in the back of my hand........they don't even try for it in the arm any more........when I have surgery, the back of my hand with the IV hurts worse than the surgical site....... BARB in Florida blood drawing today I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Joan, if you are talking to me, BARB, we have become confused here...... today I was trying to give a self donation.......donations are taken from the arm with a big needle.......a drawing for blood testing can be taken with a small needle from the back of my hand and an IV can be placed there too.........BARB blood drawing today I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 They did a type and cross before surgery in case of an emergency. They had a drain in my knee that drained about a pint and a half of blood. They filtered that blood and gave it right back to me in my iv. Sorry you went through so much Barb. It shouldn't be that miserable. ________________________________ From: BARB <barbmch@...> Undisclosed-Recipient@... Sent: Fri, October 22, 2010 2:50:57 PM Subject: blood drawing today  I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Thank you, ........something so simple would not be so hard if my veins weren't buried so deep......guess I can't blame anyone but myself for that......BARB blood drawing today I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010  barb, i entered the hospital for the THR after a small accident which lead to femur head fracture.so my son and three of his friends gave four units of blood. after the operation ,yes i faced difficultiesduring drawing blood for testing , but not up to that extent. mustafa ________________________________ From: BARB <barbmch@...> Undisclosed-Recipient@... Sent: Sat, October 23, 2010 12:50:57 AM Subject: blood drawing today  I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Yes Barb, I was talking to you. It can get confusing. And yes, I was trying to give a self donation also. they could not find my arm vein, and when they did, it was very slow to pump. And also yes, in the OR they tried to put the IV in my hand, and could not find a vein. That wound up above my wrist, I think. The only person who has an easy time taking any blood from me is my GP. She seems to have the knack. All others blunder around. Sigh. Joan ________________________________ From: BARB <barbmch@...> Joint Replacement Sent: Fri, October 22, 2010 11:11:40 PM Subject: Re: blood drawing today Joan, if you are talking to me, BARB, we have become confused here...... today I was trying to give a self donation.......donations are taken from the arm with a big needle.......a drawing for blood testing can be taken with a small needle from the back of my hand and an IV can be placed there too.........BARB blood drawing today I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Mustafa, It is great to have kids who readily jump in and help us......it pleased my motherly heart that she offered so quickly to help me. I love her dearly........BARB in Florida blood drawing today I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Hahahaha.......Joan, I guess I was the only one confused.....blame it on lack of blood.......LOL I hope things so smoother with my IV in the hand. In the olden days at the inside of the wrist is where they placed IVs.......some people are just more skilled at it than others. Today was very good. It was not his fault at all but my body's........BARB blood drawing today I went to have my stored blood taken today. They do a little mini physical and said my blood pressure was too high to even consider drawing it. She has just stuck me in the side of the finger to get a blood level, which hurt like heck. Then the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm until it was about the size of a straw.......what would you expect my blood pressure to be??? So I was instructed to sit and relax for 15 minutes and then she would take it manually. It was fine then. So then she starts to look for a vein and could not find one in either arm. Went and hunted up to help her. He tried for 10 minutes.....then another lady thought she could find one.......she gave up and came back. He was about to give up and found a faint one....asked me what I thought. So I said try it. He finally stuck me and found nothing. He moved the needle around for about 10 minutes with no results. Another couple ladies tried. Then another thought to go back to the other arm and gave up too. Then finally struck oil. After more wiggling and me pumping he got the measurement in the bag up to 402......needed it at 440 to be a whole unit......then it stopped flowing totally. After trying another 5 minutes he gave up. It had been over an hour and a half at this point. When he took the needle out, he pulled a long blood clot out with it. It was about an inch and a half long. So I guess I have a good clotting factor. My daughter is going in next week to give a unit so that I will have some waiting for me. He didn't know how much they would get out of my donation. They can only use about a quarter of what they draw. What a day. What should have been a 15 minute procedure drew out into 2 hours. Have any of you had trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 I had problems donating prior to my bilateral TKR in July, 2009. My surgeon wanted me to have two units of whole blood prior to surgery, one unit for each surgery just in case I needed them. Prior to my first donation, I was at the dermatologist for my psoriasis check. I pointed out a break in the sking of one nostril that didn't heal, and he swabbed it. Long and short of it, I ended up being positive for MRSA colony in my nose and was started on antibiotics. When I went in for the first blood draw, they asked if I was on antibiotics, and I was, so they wouldn't draw. Their concern was that I ended up needing to actually use the unit of blood, I could potentially re-infect myself with MRSA. I was okay with that, but was very upset that the MRSA colony would prevent me from getting the surgery done. I was in such agony with my knees that I just HAD to get the surgery done, and I didn't want anything to interfere with my getting the surgery. (My dermatologist, bless his heart, told me the MRSA colony diagnosis would not prevent surgery from happening, but I still had a lot of anxiety about it.) Long and short of it was, after faxes from my surgeon and the dermatologist to the blood bank, I was able to donate one of the two units the surgeon originally wanted me to donate. I did need one unit of blood after the second surgery. I ended up with a single room at both the hospital and rehab (week in hospital, nine days in rehab) because I was on MRSA precautions. And, I've been tested three times since, and the MRSA colony is gone. Have any of you had > trouble donating before? In my father's lifetime he donated over > 25 gallons of blood and I can't even give a whole unit......I bet > he is laughing right now.......BARB in Florida > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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