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Need advice for blood test..


Urkittenme

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I'm finally on my way to discovering what's really wrong with me.. I would have gone my entire life thinking I had anxiety if I hadn't discovered this site, honestly.. 

I had my first doctor appointment, which was to establish a pcp. My primary concern was "fast heart rate" which was recorded as 118 by the nurse. The doctor ordered an ekg, found no major issues other than HR about 112 I believe through the test. She ordered bloodles testing to check for thyroid issues and diabetes and a few other things.

Fasting has always been an issue for me..I usually need to eat right when I wake up and keep snacking throughout the day but I don't eat much. I will have spells where I simply refuse to swallow anything and the smell of food makes me nauseated. I'm pretty skinny.. 5'10 and 124, although that's pretty good for me since I can get down to 117 at times.

Needles make me nervous, I feel like there's barely enough blood in there for me, don't take any!! Lol. But anyway I chose not to look while the nurse was drawing blood, but my boyfriend tells me she didn't hit it right and was fishing for blood. I remember her saying "stubborn thing.." or something, but then maybe 15 seconds later I started to feel sick and she had to stop. I didn't completely pass out but I blacked out, became white as a ghost and started sweating profusely. After a minute or two they gave me water (sipped slowly) but I puked. The nurse said she got enough for the fasting portion and to come back another day, and not to have blood drawn without laying down anymore. My boyfriend doesn't believe she got any blood at all but my arm certainly feels sore.

I guess im wondering if anyone else has a problem drawing blood, or can offer me any solutions as to what helps you? I think eating beforehand will help a lot, and I'm thinking I'm going to ask for a minute or two laying down before they draw blood so I can try to get my heart to stop beating so fast. Any advice is appreciated!

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For non-fasting tests, my doc told me to drink a 32 oz. Gatorade within the hour before the test and then to continue drinking as much water as I can both before and after. I also make sure I eat 1-2 hrs before a blood test so my stomach isn't full but my blood sugar is stable. 

Laying down also helps.

For fasting tests, I fluid and salt load the day before even more than a regular POTS day. I also ask if drinking water the morning of the test is going to affect the test. Some tests you can't have anything but some you can have water but they'll only figure that out for you if you press the question.  Sometimes the doctor who writes the order will know the answer. 

I also keep hard candy in my purse for a quick sugar fix and then also something like a KIND bar that has both carbs and some protein if I need it. (I've also rescued a few other patients with my candy stash! Lol!) 

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Hi, there. Unfortunately many of us know what your going through. Fortunately blood draws are easier than iv's but still a huge pain. Here's a past thread on similar issues but you can also do a search in the upper corner for more: http://www.dinet.org/forums/topic/27303-trouble-with-ivs/#comment-253561 At my lab, the tech's are now using a portable "vein viewer" It looks like a large flashlight that lights up your veins which allows them to choose the most viable one for the blood draw. Maybe you could ask if they have anything like that available?  Welcome to the forum!

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