When I was in high school I gave blood to the blood drive (mainly to get out of class). I ended up passing out and waking up on a gurney. A few years later I was at the hospital and had to give blood for whatever reason. It took about 1/2 a box of needles before the nurse figured out that the entire box was defective and didn't have any holes in the tips. I'll never forget her "trying to find my vein" with 8 needles.

Fast forward to today. I haven't been able to afford healthcare in the states for 10+ years so having moved to PR and getting the best health insurance for $200 a month, this was my first checkup and my doctor ordered the works. 14 vials of blood and a urine sample to check for everything. I goto the lab after fasting for 18 hours and they start taking my blood. After 10 or so vials I run out. Literally the vein ran dry and they had to call over a supervisor to work my vein. She does this and that and gets another vial or 2 filled just enough. The last vial was a real doozy. Probably took 3-4 minutes to get a small vial and I started to get lightheaded and I legitimately saw "stars." It was the 60s and I had all these groovy patterns and lights overlaying my vision. I told them this and they got me sugar, coffee, put my legs up, etc. They eventually got the last vial and it took me 5, 10 minutes to rest and recover but has anyone ever experienced that before? I'm talking bright lights with paisley patterns, small fireworks, small square/diamonds and blossoms all in a grid, greens, yellows, oranges. I closed my eyes and it was a damn light show. Anyone else ever experience anything like that?


BTW: my piss and blood tests show no drugs or alcohol so I can't blame either of those for what I saw.

No, but 14 vials seems like an awful lot. I don't think they've ever taken more than about 3 at a time from me. Maybe 4. Maybe they're trying to restock their blood bank.

I did have a bad reaction to a flu shot once that started the world spinning around me for about 20 minutes, does that count?

You really need to find out why they need 14 vials of blood. That's unheard of. It's a check-up, not a blood donation.

Yea, $200 isn’t a great deal if they are voodoo doctors. 14 vials? I’ve had oral chemo, radiation, regular chemo, cancer, melanoma, and all the associated surgeries. Never had 14 vials. Ever. That’s crazy.

I’m the worst at it. The needles don’t bother me but I have terrible veins. I would go yearly with my brother and I would go in first every time and he would be done by the time they had blood flowing out of me. Never getting stuck one and done so I finally quit doing it.

Have you ever heard the phrase "just say no?" Thats what I'd tell them the next time they want to do something like that. Then change doctors. Very vocally, so the entire office gets the idea.

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
14 vials of blood

I am tough to get blood out of and used to donate at Red Cross blood drives at work until I got butchered up by someone who couldn’t find my (very deep) veins. Both arms looked like I had gotten badly beaten; purple and yellow and just awful and it was nearly 2 weeks to get back to normal.

It’s gotten to the point where they have to use a butterfly needle on the back of my hand for blood draws.

My veins apparently are smaller and deep where they normally go in.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Yea, $200 isn’t a great deal if they are voodoo doctors.

I goto whatever doctor I choose with my plan. It's Triple S which is owned by Blue Cross Blue Shield. My doctor here in PR speaks perfect English and is as good (perhaps better) than any doctor I had in the states. As a matter of fact he's more straight to the point and less "how can I monetize you?" than I've experienced back in the states when I had coverage pre-obamacare. BTW my co-pay to see him was $5.


I got a CT scan and 4 sets of Xrays (about 12 xrays in total) on my spine, ribs, shoulder and lower back. $130 out of pocket. 14 lab tests, $82 out of pocket.


One nice thing about PR is they take my insurance info upfront and contact the carrier to see what they will cover. After they confirm they tell me what isn't covered (or my share of the co-insurance) and I have to pay upfront or else they don't do it. Once I pay it, that's it. I'll never get a bill for thousands in the mail after the work is done because of X or Y. I read over the forms I signed (all in English) and there is nothing that gives the generic "I agree to pay whatever my insurance does not" which is a basically a blank check to a medical facility in the US. They were either personal information, medical history or HIPPA related.


I did the CT scan and Xrays last Tuesday. I parked my car at a lot that charges $2 an hour and is right around the corner from the lab. I got the scan and xrays done in under an hour because my parking bill was $2. Admission, insurance verification, walking to and from the clinic, all under an hour. I went today to do my labs. Same deal. I paid $2 because I was in and out in less than an hour and that includes my 5-10 minute recovery. I also picked up my CT scan and Xray results after my bloodwork. The lab results are emailed to me real time as they are completed. The staff at both places were incredible. My experience so far with the process and staff could not have been better. Giving blood... well given my history that's on me.


14 vials does sound like a lot but I have a lot of issues I never addressed so I was overdue. I've never seen a vein run dry though. That's a first.

Typical vials for testing are small volume-wise, but that’s a lot of vials. Sorry you had to go through that.

I’ve never had trouble donating but did have trouble with a phlebotomist once who couldn’t get into a vein and decided she needed to push harder. I didn’t donate for a year after that and then spent several years doing twice a year trying to let the scar tissue go down. Evidently that doesn’t work, but I started alternating arms every time and always let the nurse know to be on the lookout for it. That’s helped and I’m back on track with my donations.

My veins run away from the needles, but once they get hit, they flow just fine.

I give about a gallon of blood a year

I've never been light headed or pass out when giving blood at the doctor's or donating blood. Needles never bothered me. That is until last year I had one nurse dig around in my arm until she punctured through a vein, then try on another and fail again. I just told her to stop, I'm done with with this. I got up and left. I had bruising and pain for a week afterward and couldn't lift anything heavy with my right arm for 2 weeks. I'm thin so my veins are easy to see. I also hydrate well before a blood draw.

I recently found I have one genetic marker for hemochromatosis. Doc said it mostly affects those of northern European heritage. Well, unlucky German/Norwegian me. So I have to give blood every 3-4 months or I start to get an iron overload. I've had two bad experiences from nurses puncturing my veins from two different well known blood centers. I get anxiety now when it's comes time to donate.

I empathize with you. When they dig around in my arm I get the glittery dancing stars in my peripheral vision, my extremities start to feel numb then my hearing starts to go. At that point I know I'm passing out.

I only gave blood once in my life, in college, we got extra credit...it was a liberal arts college. Anyway, I went, instantly when the gave me the poke blood squirted all over across my shirt. Then it was them trying to get the flow going, they had me pumping my hand on a stress ball to try to milk it out. Then they started twisting the needle in my vein, felt like a semi truck. Never again. I felt light headed a bit, but I think it was more of the pain and psychological part.

In that same college I was in an Abnormal Psychology class and we were watching a video of people able to control bleeding with their mind. They showed some one getting stuck with a needle in their hand and blood flowing off of it, the girl in front of me fainted in her chair and fell to the floor. I think it is more of that with me, I look away when donating blood and try not to think of it, but those two experiences are forefront of my brain anytime blood is being purposely taken from my body. I think it is an automatic self-preservation thing people have. If you are shot or cut or otherwise injured, your adrenaline would kick in instead to keep you functioning despite probably more blood loss than 14 vials or a pint donated. I'm no doctor though and its been awhile since I've stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.