pixiecrinkle | Giving away my blood

So I have an appointment to give blood here at work at 2:15. I'm nervous. I've only given blood twice in my life. The first time, I was 17 years old, and they came to my high school on the day of our senior picnic. I must have nearly passed out (I have only passed out once in my life, and didn't realize I'd done it until much later) because they had to put me down flat on my back. My friend Matt, a big football player who ended up in the army was behind me and he did pass out. I always thought he did it to make me feel better. I ended up at the senior picnic later with a rubber glove full of ice on my arm because I bruised so badly.

I gave blood again in college. I don't remember much about it, except that they asked so many more questions than they had in high school. Again, I nearly passed out, and bruised like crazy.

So why am I doing this today? Well, there's a critical shortage in central Ohio, and they finally changed the piercing rules, so I'm "clear" to donate. Plus, it's kind of a test to see if I still nearly pass out and bruise badly. I'll try some yoga breathing to get through this. I'm just not good with needles though, especially when they are removing something from me. Ick.

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Don't look at the needle. In fact, avoid looking at the blood-giving arm if you can possible manage to do so. I've given blood many times in my life (a process now on hold, as I'm part of an HIV vaccine study program and they feel quite possessive of my blood :-)), and that's helped me every time. Otherwise I incline towards the woozy myself.

And good for you!

Yeah, anytime needles are involved (piercings, vaccinations, whatever) I usually tell the person vielding the needle not to let it in my line of sight if possible.

Unfortunately, my brain still likes to dwell on the facts of the situation and imagines so much that I end up looking.

Maybe I can convince them to blindfold me. :-)

Hm. Could you bring a book? It's awkward reading when you're flat on your back, but I'm proof it can be done - and if the book's good enough it presents a useful distraction.

Of course, the blindfold idea could also be fun...:-)

You know, the book's a great idea and I don't know why I didn't think of that. I'm sure people here will look at me oddly (reading is not seen as especially "normal" by people I work with.) And I just happen to have The Count of Monte Cristo in my bag for

a_book_am_onth, so I think I'll give it a try.

That's

a_book_a_month

Good luck! A book really can come in handy. I always take one with me.

When I give whole blood, if I get up too soon, I nearly pass out too. I have to stay lying down for 10-15 minutes after finishing to prevent this. Also, drink lots of fluids; I've heard that fluid loss is really what makes you woozy.

That's why I like to donate platelets -- no fluid loss. I've never felt ill after a platelet donation.

I'll chime in on the woozy-about-needles bit. I get more than woozy, actually; I suspect what I do is go into a state akin to shock. My breathing changes, my blood pressure drops (once a blood donation center had to revive me to fill the bag), I get sweaty/clammy, the whole nine yards. Passed out in Army inprocessing once. Right in the middle of the hallway -- thud. Heh. Anyway, I'm another one. :)

Another good distraction is talking to the technician about stuff. I had a glucose tolerance test not too long ago (just lovely for us needlephobes) and the tech told me all about the really cool vacation he'd just had. That worked pretty well!

How does platelet donation work? Does it take much longer than giving blood? I might look into that.

It does take longer -- about 1.5 hours or so. (Everyplace I've donated platelets has TVs and VCRs or DVD players so you can watch a movie while you're donating.) There are two ways to do it: single or double needle. Double needle is usually done on the older machines -- they put a needle in each arm, and the blood comes out of one arm, cycles through the machine where the platelets are filtered out, then the remaining blood components (with some saline added to replace the little bit of fluid you do lose) come back into your body through the second needle. The alternative takes a little longer because both directions are done through a single needle -- but at least you have an arm free, so I always prefer it that way, as you can scratch your nose without assistance, or read a book, etc.

The only side-effects I've had from platelet donation are a tingly feeling that's apparently caused by a temporary depletion of calcium, and extreme chilliness. Since the blood they put back in your body is considerably cooler than it was when it came out, you tend to feel a bit cold. But they always have blankets. (The place where I donate now actually heats their blankets!) But these go away, at least for me, as soon as the donation is over.

tech told me all about the really cool vacation he'd just had

I first read this as "the really cool vaccination he'd just had" and couldn't figure out how that was helpful. :-)

I think I do the shock thing too really. I was fine as long as Mary was there chatting with me, but once she was gone, out I went. Bizarre.

Hmmm...that doesn't sound half bad. And 1.5 hours is still less than I spent in my blood donation snafu yesterday!! ;-)

the really cool vaccination he'd just had

*burst of laughter* No, that wouldn't have been helpful! :-)

Aren't our bodies weeeeird? Particularly the fact that if talking or even listening to someone helps, this is triggered MENTALLY. Wouldn't it be amazing to get full conscious control of it?

Giving away my blood

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