question of the ...uh, day re: blood draws

[catherine]

Out of respect for the uchiness of your story and because I haven't a clue about it... what is a blood patch?

Catherine (37)
DH, Dave (40)
Finn (6)
Lucy (2)Preeclampsia & HELLP
Chloe (7/2/03)

[laura]

Hehe- not so big a deal, but it was the ONLY part of my saga that impressed my DH, schmuck that he is, so I dwell on it.

You know, in epidurals, they seek to insert an IV into the small canal that lies next to the spinal cord. They do it primarily by touch and intuition, and edema can really throw them off. If they miss and puncture the spinal cord, the fluid within, the fluid that 'floats' the brain seeps out of the hole, causing terrible pain. (in all truth, the worst pain I've felt, ever[xx(]) Quite literally, it comes from the pain of the brain hitting the uncushioned skull. (eeewwww, gross!!!)

To fix it, they insert fresh blood near the site of the hole so it will clot and seal it up. So the upshot was- they normally insert the big needle, and then draw blood, but after they got the needle in, I was already a pincushion, and nobody could get anything. Two anesthesiologists, all their phlebotomy staff, and all the RN's within running distance- and No blood. I think I remember four different staff members working on me at the same time- trying to get blood. So finally we're just sitting there, trying to figure out what to do.

Jack got grossed and had to leave. Finally, after a seeming eternity, they got some, and the pain was nearly instantly gone. And I was relieved [:)]

Laura-28
DH Jack-30
Allie 5-13-98 (35 weeks-pre-e)
Baby Camille 4-17-03 (36 weeks- htn and oligo)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/c/camilleandallie/

[catherine]

WOW!!!!!!

Catherine (37)
DH, Dave (40)
Finn (6)
Lucy (2)Preeclampsia & HELLP
Chloe (7/2/03)

[jsilvas]

Laura, I remember you saying you also had a blood patch when I wrote about the one I had in October. It's an experience I will never ever forget as the most miserable I have ever felt. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache. I remember being so miserable I could barely pay attention to the pediatrician telling my husband and me that our daughter might need a blood transfusion because her bilirubin was too high. The blood patch was an absolute miracle and worked immediately for me too. I was just glad to hear there was such a thing because I thought I was losing my mind. My mind was working differently and I couldn't even explain how. I was embarrassed to even mention it because I had no idea the symptoms were related.

But back to the topic, I was surprisingly a hard stick for the epidural this time around. I wasn't swollen or anything. My opinion is that I'm better when I'm lying on my side then sitting up. My epidural with my first child and the blood patch with my second went off without a problem and they were done while I was lying on my side. The bad epidural was done while I was sitting up.

My left arm is good for blood, but not my right.

Jeanette - 29
Louis - 31
Ethan - 6/8/98 (36 weeks 4 days - PIH)
Ella - 10/3/03 (36 weeks 6 days - PIH)

[maxs mom]

I have good veins to begin with and didn't have any problems during the PE. I was in the hospital 3 days before delivery and 7 days after. I was as big as a whale from edema, and the only thing that really killed me was I couldn't bend at the knees. They had no problem with the spinal tap, and I was scared to death. I had even been debatting a natural delivery before the PE because I thought the epi would hurt more. All the blood draws went well, but I think every one hurt more than normal, don't know if this is due to HBP or what? After I returned to "normal" there is still no problem with finding my veins.
Sounds like to me those who had hard to find veins to begin with ended up with the worst horror stories. Ouch!


Kara
Max, 25 wk, IUGR, 1/20/03, severe PE

[mada]

When I went in for my induction with Sam, 4 nurses tried getting my iv in and oh my G-d ouch!!! They finally had a flight for life nurse to put the IV in because she was apparently the best under not so ideal situations. She told me my veins were awful!! I am not sure if it has to do with the PE or not. I've never had that hard of a time before when getting blood drawn ect. Of course this pales in comparisson to some of your experiences....

Mada Harpster

Sam 6-29-00 36weeks P.E.
Ben 11-03-01 No P.E.

[paljane8]

I have 1 good bleeder in my left arm and the rest are lousy. I was VERY swollen with Scott and they couldn't find it. Depending on where they put the IV in and how long it is in for and what they are pumping-my veins collapse. That smarts!

Nancy-35
dh-34
ds-8yrs
dd-7yrs
Scott-born 05-14-99 @38 weeks-PE
Janie-born 05-12-03 @37 weeks-PIH, small for gestational age (oligo and low blood flow)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/4/4lbs/

[kimb]

Nurses always think it will be tough to find the veins but once I showed them the good ones there were no problems. Nor with either hand for the iv's (one for each hospital stay) and they inserted some kind of thing in my arm that gave them constant bp readings (they weren't sure about the readings coming from the cuff) and it had a valve they could then turn and get blood anytime they wanted without having to poke me again. I wasn't able to have an epidural due to the low platelets.

[kim]

My veins are awful, ever since the hg. I was so dehydrated, I had NO veins left. I had several veins blow throughout my pg. By the time I was fully preeclamptic, I was dehydrated (yet holding in 50 lbs of fluid), and a neonatologist had to insert the iv with a butterfly needle. Oh, the memories... Well, here's my birth control for the week [:D]

Kim Schwintz
Texas Chapter President

Ainsley Kathryn 11/26/02-36 Weeks Preeclampsia
http://home.austin.rr.com/schwintz

[lauras]

I normally have terrific veins but when I was in the hospital, no nurse on the floor would touch me. They automatically sent for an anesthesiologist (spelling?). I was putting on eight pounds a day the three days I was in the hospital before the c-section. My feet were so swollen I'd walk and my toes wouldn't touch the floor so they weren't an option. They stuck mostly to my wrists and hands. As far as the spinal block, I was pretty spacey by that time and all I remember was the anesthesiologist looking at my back and saying he was going to give me a local first because this could take a while. It took him a half hour to get it in. Not sure if that's good or bad, but it definitely sounds better than most of the other experiences. [:0]

Laura 31
DH 31
Isabella 11/25/01 - 30 wks -severe pe