dreading tomorrows blood tests

[Weary]

Inexplicably, starting thrusday evening after waking up for a second nap - my heart felt normal again. It was like a miraculous lifting of a symptom that made me want to crawl out of my skin. I've posted before on full set of symptoms- the feeling like on speed/cocaine (that's a guess...), revved up, on adreneline, etc. and with it was a heart discomfit, much of which only "non specific T wave abnoramiltiy" on ekg. The discomfirt made me often play on line scrabble on my phone- anything to distract myself because i could not just sit calmly and watch tv- always felt wound up. Has been continous since November where at outset went to ER.

Anyway, for some unnown reason, i'm getting a break. tonight is the 5th evening. But tomorrw, i'm planning to go for blood tests. Even since all of this, i've gotten more and more senstivte to amount of blood taken. Started when i was very anemic but persisted even w/o any anemia any more. What happens is during test and right after test I feel fine - lab staff always falsely assumes i mean i might faint druing test  as in vasovegal response - but then hours later, often when I lie down to sleep, i feel like i'm going to lose conciousness rather than sleep. get dizzy as well. is a horrible horrible feeling. Since i now have very high hypertension, will be interesting to see if i get a drop in bp while lying down when this happens.

but what i'm really worried about, is when happens if this restarts the crazy heart and crazy overstimlatuion again. Now getting back to breing w/o that, i can't live like that again!!

I always negotiate amount of blood and go with complicated lists i've gotten from mayo on minium draws. but tomrorow, i can't get buy with less than 10 ml, and that may be a real deal breaker. 3ml alone for a PTT test which i've been putting off but want, and at this lab, i can't get less than 2 ml for a CBC. That means to get some of the rest of the tests, most of which are serum, i've i have drawn 5 more ml, that's 2.5 ml serum if' i'm lucky, so that will be 5 more tests that have mininum draw of .5 ml serum. Still not enough for all the tests i want, but will get me thru comp metabolic panel, a GGT I want, a lyme western blot, a B-12 level, and aldosterone. won't be able todo the MMA. or igg subclasses, or renin.

anyway, concerned. I could put it off i guess, but just started with a new primary and don't want to drop the ball. plus havent had blood work since ER in novemember, and really wantee ot get some med stuff out of way in july to take a break in august.

 

but if tomorrow night it starts the revved up thing and the non stop palpitations, i'm going to be so pissed at myself for doing the blood tests!

on a minor note, perhaps i should also get them when i'm having max symptoms, rather than a brief respite.

 

[WinterSown]

Treat yourself to a cup or two of herbal tea, sit in front of the tube and watch something wonderful, catch up on reading or take a soak in the tub and go to sleep on time.  Tomorrow will be what it will be--relax and enjoy your evening because it can be one of the best things you can do to prepare for tomorrow :-)

[RecipeForDisaster]

Personally, I wouldn't think that amount would really affect you, but I have had significant issues with having more than 20 vials drawn at a time (yes it IS a lot of blood). I have collapsed trying to get back to the car and also fainted in the lab right after the band aid went on, which has never had anything to do with the needle. I'm not needle phobic and IVs or injections don't do this. Lately when I get a lot of blood drawn I get IV fluids right after and I'm good. I don't think doctors realize how many different tubes are required for all those tests... it can add up.

[p8d]

Have you been diagnosed with hyper POTS?  Once I get jazzed up by anything, literally, I often have exacerbated symptoms for a couple of days.  Cardiologist told me to take an extra dose of clonidine a half hour before whatever I need to do and then as needed if BP is high.  It helps if it doesn’t tank the BP too much.

[Weary]

@p8d. Thanks, that's helpful. I have not yet been diagnosed with hyper POTs. i have alot of symptoms that fit with it but whether i ever get officially diagnosed remains to be seen. i think i need to go to an dysautonomia center, but that's easier said than done. And i keep thinking the one day i schedule it , i'll have a miraculous respite in symptoms, be declared "healthy" and no one will ever believe me again.

but i digress. i have the same symptom- anything gets me jazzed up. A doc vist took me 3 days to wind down- was awful. Happy stuff too- i can no longer go out for lunch or dinner with friends because its too "over stimulating". ditto even going on vacation. it's so odd. (also very high bp, elevated metenprhines in blood, especially following an attack, attacks of tachy, though lately, belwo normal heart rates, somtimes changes in hr with position change, but not always to gravity).

i think my extreme reaction to blood draws started before that though, at first though had to be 25 ml to give me that reaction, then the amount started getting less and less.

yes, iv fluid given right after has helped alot, though once, seems like once that "wore off" and my body figured out i really was low in something, i had a reaction.

i have not yet tried clonidine. i know at the ER, they had said has fallen out of favor because now known to give big rebound in bp. Can you tell me if you get rebound from it? but i think that's a great idea. if i'm home not doing anything, things are managable, but would be nice to have that as an option if i need to go out and do someting other than very minimal. does that means the pills can be split in  half? i'm bad with pills and would need to crush it - if one can with that pill.

@recipe for disaster - not sure why you would think I wouldn't react that much to such a small draw just because YOU don't. Isn't that what everyone keeps doing for all of us "Impossible" they all say because it doesn't happen to them or isn't in the textbooks. Yes, iv has helped me too. Totally agree on them not realizing just how much blood they take. Most of the time, labs take anywerher from twice to ten times what is needed. I go throu complex calculations ahead of time to be prepared with the minium amount of blood needed. I had a system and lab all worked out- but turns out the two women i worked with have since left, so was much harder today. will post an update soon.

[Weary]

Update post blood test. thanks everyone for comments.

Ended up only giving 5.5 ml of blood- mostly because was hard to communicate with the staff. I could have gotten more done. Possibly just as well - i can see how i do with those 5.5 ml later tonight. 

I started getting symptoms during last night again, so I was ok with going today for blood work since felt like I wasn't risking anything if was coming back anyway- heart palps waking me up during night.                                                                                                                                                             

[RecipeForDisaster]

My doctors are often skeptical that even 20+ tubes of blood can cause a problem.... once one said that isn't even half a blood donation. I asked if I should be donating even half a donation of blood with my BP in the 70s.... duh! 

 

I was just thinking physiology and how often the body loses and replenishes small amounts of blood without us even realizing it sometimes....

[Weary]

Yes, that's the line they always use - to compare it to blood donation.

right,  usually ALL these things occur out of awareness -t hat's the point of having an autonomic nervous system! And the point is we have something in which automatic regulation to keep homeostatis, done usually in people every split second effortlessly and without concious awareness, is not longer working.

update: incidentally, just the 5.5 ml of blood indeed worsened symptoms. When i move, my heart rate shoots up and dizzier than usual starting late last evening. I know this is different than my usual "overstimulation" response to say a doc appt w/o blood draw or talking on phone for an hour - distinctly different than the revved up. I'm surprised though so little did have this effect, but my ability to regulate seems to keep going down. Hope this settles down and does not return me to the 24/7 heart palpitations and chest discomfort.