Two part post tonight.
Part 1- Phlebotomy.
I started my Phlebotomy every week for 8 weeks course this morning. It wasn't as bad as I thought (apart from the 16 gauge needle) but let's start from the beginning....
I arrived at the hospital at 9:30am. Got in and asked where I was supposed to go for the "Outpatient Phlebotomy Clinic". The person I asked heard this as the "Blood Donation Clinic". So it takes my lovely Mama and I ten minutes to walk half way across the hospital and end up in the place where they come to pick up blood donations. We go looking for help and end up in the outpatient surgery area.
No thank you!
We ask again and there is a doctor going to where we describe so she offers to take us. Ten more minutes pass traipsing down two sets of stairs and BACK across the hospital; we finally make it. I take a number and sit down. Twenty minutes pass and I get called. "Did you sign in?" I get asked. "Um. I don't think so." I reply and go BACK OUT to the registration desk where I am #70. They are on #54 and must be related to Mountain Man from Duck Dynasty(hilarious show by the way. Highly recommended) because they are soooooo freakin' slow.
It's now 10:30am and I finally get to have this friggin' thing done. After a "small in comparison to how my morning has been so far" blip with paperwork mix up I'm sitting in a big old comfy chair with a nurse coming at me with a 16 gauge needle! AHHHH! Those suckers hurt! But whatever. Once it's in you don't feel in anyway.
Let me just take this chance to tell you that if you ever get the chance to watch 300ml. of your blood slowly drain out of your arm take it. It's such an odd yet humbling occurrence. So much so that I don't think I could describe it if I wanted to so I'm going to move on.
That's really about it. It drained out, they unhooked me. I had lemonade. And sat for ten minutes. Then went home. Where I crashed. Apparently losing that much of your blood tires you out. It definitely kicked my phle-BUTT-omy! I slept for an hour at lunch. Unheard of for me. But then I had to wake up. I had another appointment which leads me into part two....
Part 2- TB Skin Test
I had to go and see Dr. S and get him to sign some *AHEM* very important papers. More on that in an upcoming separate post. Anyway, I'm in Dr. S's office to get him to sign some papers and part of these papers is that I need to get a TB Skin Test. I wasn't worried because I had one in March of 2010 as a part of my pre-Remicade screening.
I hopped up on that exam table with such vigor, rolled up my sleeve and took that shot to the forearm like a champ! "I just got a butt load of blood taken out this morning. This is nothing." I brag to the nurse. Easy peasy right? Wrong! Apparently there is something in the stuff that they inject just under your skin that I'm allergic to. Whoops! One minute I'm fine and talking to the nurse next thing I know I'm just conscious enough to lay myself down before I black out. I never fully lost consciousness but it was touch and go for about a half hour. I would feel fine so I would try to sit up only to fall back over. This happened three times before I could actually hold my own self up.
The nurse figures since I didn't get hives or anything that it was the type of allergy that makes your blood pressure fall super low? Whatever that means. But if I ever have to have one again she said I should make sure to be in a place where they have epipens just in case? That's an "in case" that I don't ever want to encounter.
Anywho I got home and slept for another hour and here I sit. Feelin' icky and light-headed when I move my head. What better time to write an extremely long blog post, eh? I'm going to have something to eat and go to bed because despite all of the naps I've had today my body is feeling it.
Keep smiling!
:)
