IV yesterday

I went in yesterday to get blood work.  I woke up yesterday morning thirsty.  That is never a good sign on nurse trying to find a vein day.   So I started drinking like a thirsty dog.  I arrived and did my ritual. (heating pad).  She called me over to look and look and look.  She must have looked for 20 minutes and then asked, "If you had a choice, which would you rather have --- the blood work or the IV."  Not really much a choice, but I told her I thought my LLMD really needed the blood work, so the blood work.

So, she looked some more.  I leaned over to try to get the blood pumping down my arm.  Then she said with little confidence that she was going to try this lil tiny one in my hand, on top of my hand. The one of the four veins I call "the baby IV spot."  Ya know cause most women that have babies, get an iv about there in their hand.

So she sticks and I wince.  She messes with it and tells me that I can stop squeezing (had a little ball to squeeze) that she got it.  She tries to draw the blood and nothing comes out.  Another lady comes over and hands her a syringe. She syringed out probably 6 ML's of blood which filled 1 and 1/2 vials of blood and then it stopped --- she made a quick judgement call to go ahead and start the IV and if it was enough, it was enough and if it wasn't then oh well.  She figured that if it wasn't enough, at least I got an IV out of that painful stick. And if it was enough, then I got both!

It's been a while since an IV site was sore the entire IV time.  I need to keep an eye on it to make sure there are no issues over the next few days.  It was bruised pretty badly last night, but this morning it looks better.  So whenever I get this particular IV (it's a Vitamin C plus other things bag), I feel like I smell.  terrible.  Some people say that I don't smell at all while others say they can smell what I'm talking about, but that it's not as bad as I think it is.  I don't know if those people are just being nice or if it really isn't as bad as I think it is.  Hopefully my friends would tell me if I really smelled bad.  Showering and bathing doesn't help.   I still smell afterwards (to me anyways).

I kind of joke now that there are no strangers just friends I haven't met yet.  Made two new friends yesterday.   Both fairly beginning in their stories of diagnosis.  I've been where they are.  They asked me if I was any better now than I was at the beginning.  In some ways, I'm the same.  In other ways, I'm much better.  Some symptoms I had at the beginning are gone.  I haven't had them in over four years.  While others are back after taking a 3 year hiatus.  But the way I view things has changed so in that way I'm much better.  It is what it is and I'm doing what I can to help myself.  I trust my doc completely and know that he & I work in a collaborative way.