[tizaala]

I think I just set a new record at LLandod surgery, they wanted blood samples, the first nurse took 5 attempts to find a vein, and failed, so she passed me onto a senior nurse who also took 5 attempts and found a teaspoon full. I feel like a pincushion.

[doganjo]

I had a similar problem a  few weeks ago - tried to get into veins on both arms and the senior nurse eventually  got a cannula into the back of my hand.  I was told that having a small meal, and also being active prior to the sample being taken helps stimulate blood flow. No idea how that works when the test you are getting involves being there early morning and on starvation! 

[tizaala]

Senior nurse told me that " the next time my doc want's blood that he can bloody well do it" , and apparently I must drink a lot of water before going to the surgery.   

[Louise Gaunt]

I blame those cack handed needles they use to put the vacuum bottles on. They are not intuitive to use (I know from experience ), when I was a junior doc we used ordinary needles and syringes or butterfly needles, which were much better. And the fact everyone wears gloves - you can't feel the vein properly! How is the blood pressure doing? Probably a bit raised this afternoon!

[tizaala]

Actually Louise the tabs have started to work , 30 mins ago I had a 137/81.  pulse.90 so it's looking a lot better thanks .
Forgot to say I'm down to 112 KG (from 124kg 3 months ago  ) now so it all helps

[Louise Gaunt]

Excellent, well done on the weight loss. Have you got a date for surgery yet?

[tizaala]

No Louise , I went for the pre op assessment and my BP was 184 / 108, ( white coat syndrome) so the Physio doing the testing took it upon herself to bump me off the list until it was sorted, ECG was fine, even my BMI scraped in under the bar, She took my BP after 5 attempts to get blood , no wonder it was high..

[MAK]

I agree with Louise. In the old days before vacum bottles you could choose the size of a simple needle or a butterfly needle to get a sample or slip in a cannula with a thin,med or large gauge needle.
In my last post I was the guninea pig for nurses who were presented with new syringes or needles to take blood samples for drug studies. I have rather prominant and large veins and one afternoon had 8 nurses slipping in a needle to practice with new kit from the USA.

[Lesley Silvester]

I have a friend who has the same problem as you, Tiz - non-co-operative veins. The nurse managed to get blood on the 9th attempt and his arms were a mass of bruises afterwards. He told them it was proof that you can't get blood out of a stone. His surname is Stone. 

[Simpsyla]

I particularly like the pun in the title - I hope it was meant!  I'm similar but never had it that bad before - drinking plenty of water beforehand does seem to help - although it can make you unproductive for the rest of the morning!!!

[Louise Gaunt]

I do find it a bit worrying that a Physio has the power to bump you down the list, not an anaesthetist or even the surgeon concerned! This smacks of tick box mentality not proper care for those in need!

[tizaala]

It was indeed a tickbox exercise she conducted , not even triage . Gp has now written twice to get me back on the list as the bp readings are much improved, got to be consistently under 90 , and they have been for the last couple of visits. so 

[Louise Gaunt]

Fingers crossed indeed!

[tizaala]

More good news Louise......
Bit of a shock just a minute ago, Phone goes,  My doctor  has my blood results from two days ago, Your cholesterol readings are 7.9. way too high , putting you on statins straight away , and sending you for an aorta scan, ......high risk of stroke or heart attack ...more good news.....s**t 


Just found this chart
A desirable level is less than 200 mg/dL (5.17 mmol/L)
Levels between 200 mg/dL and 239 mg/dL (5.17–6.18 mmol/L) are considered borderline for high cholesterol.
Levels at or above 240 mg/dL (6.21 mmol/L ) are considered high total cholesterol levels. This may put you at an increased risk for heart disease.

[Louise Gaunt]

Hi, I have just had a look at NICE guidelines, they state there should be a discussion between clinician and patient regarding advantages / disadvantages if treatment, and decision to treat should be based on risk of cardiovascular event. It might be worth a full consultation with GP, and ask him/her to look at your personal risk, there is a computer programme for this. I declined statins as, even though my levels are high, my risk was lower than NICE recommended level. Good luck!