[BeyondtheRainbow]

With clozaril you have to get weekly blood tests for 6 months and then every other week for another 6 months, then monthly for the duration you're on it. Honestly I thought no big deal. I have easy veins and have done lots of blood draws in the past and never had issues. The biggest thing I dreaded was that I only have my local hospital to get the labs done at and they are incredibly slow, but with a standing order that's not been a problem.

However they keep wanting to do my right arm only and I know that's not good because of the risk of scarring over the 2 good veins. They've never even looked at the left but I've given blood from the left many times, have had IVs there, etc. OMG. They spent a good 5 minutes digging around in the left without hitting a vein. First one woman did it with a butterfly which at least didn't hurt much and then her supervisor did it with a big needle which did hurt a lot and left me bruised up. Finally I told them places that had worked before without results so I had them do the right. And they had to dig around in that one which is ridiculous because that vein is huge. I'm bruised there too.

So now I want to find somewhere else to get my blood drawn. YOu'd think the hospital would have the most experienced people but ouch no. I guess I need to make some calls to see if anywhere else here can draw it for me.

I have no desire to spend 22 more weeks as a pincushion.

I hear ya. I'm 2 months in my clozapine blood work adventures and I'm getting to know the phlebotomists at the hospital all too well. For some reason they have a lot better luck getting blood from my left arm than my right so I've got tons of scar tissue there.
When I was in inpatient I had no problem with them getting blood out of my right arm while I'm still half asleep in bed. It's a wonder why they can't get it when I go to the lab to get it done.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

^Exactly! I swear I could do it better.

[violetgreen]

Sounds horrible. Is there a phlebotomist who consistently does a good job, or are they all terrible?

Omg that would suck! I don't like getting my blood drawn though. I'm like hurry up, hurry up. I hope you can find a new place that can do it better...

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Once a wk!? That sucks! I have one very fat vein in my right arm that is always good. When I was in school people loved to practice on me . Usually if the phlebotomist is good they can find it though. Even if they have to use the hand or...the foot! I used to go through the hand with the butterfly a lot. But usually when they have to dig it means you have some really hard spots or they simply just suck. I had people blow my veins before and I left looking like a damn junkie! I don't know if I could do it once a wk though. I'd be scared that my good vein would collapse on me.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BeyondtheRainbow]

That is why I'm trying to make them do the left arm. I kind of think they weren't trying very hard because they know the right arm is easier. I have a large vascular birthmark on the right and because there is so much blood flow my veins are bigger and easy to hit (yet they still missed...). The birthmark does mean though that below the elbow I'm nearly impossible to hit so I guess they'll learn that eventually.

They just weren't very good and they gave up too easily. They say I can alternate my 2 veins in the other arm; I say they are trying the left again.

Every week is a lot but clozaril has dropped people's WBC and some have died from it so the FDA requires bloodwork be signed off before they will fill the script. My pharmacy screwed up and gave me a month's worth this time but it should be only 1 week at a time. Even when I go on vacation we have to find a lab and a pharmacy that I can work with (the pharmacy has to be on a national registry).

It's annoying but if the med works I don't care. Especially if people start being competent with the labs...like escapeartist they were able to draw from the left fine in the hospital so I know it is possible (and it used to be my left was my better side).

Oh well.

[Polibeth]

My pdoc is adamant that I don't take any meds which require blood draws (including Lithium) because I have no veins. I mean I know I must have veins but the last time I had ECT the nurses gave up trying to get an IV in and the anesthesiologist stuck both my arms and both of my feet with no luck before giving up and putting a central line in. I was sick with bowel obstructions in 2001 and they put a portacath in my chest (which they normally only do for cancer patients). Drawing blood or starting an IV is a nightmare. I always tell the phlebotomists that I am hard and they always poo-poo it until they actually try. I used to work as a phlebotomist and I was really good so I know some people say they are hard but aren't too bad. I'm extremely difficult.

Pdoc says no more ECT unless its an emergency because he cannot stand to see how many times I get stuck. Fortunately, I never want it again because it fried my memory.

BtR, if there's no medical reason ruling out your left arm, then they should rotate between the two arms - because using the same vein too much can totally blow it.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

That's exactly why they are going to have to learn to deal with the left arm. I am an easy draw no matter what they thought today (I've been on lithium and depakote and had to have labs done frequently because of difficulty processing the meds so it wasn't unusual for me to get labs monthly or occasionally more often so I absolutely know this for sure). Honestly the hospital here (I've moved since my prior need for lots of labs) just sucks at most everything (except for having an incredible opthomalogist oddly enough). They didn't even try the vein that looks most promising to me nor would they try where I've had IVs successfully placed in the past, also a very visible vein.

The thing that is hard is that I live in a really rural area and I don't know if I'll be able to get labs done anywhere else without a big drive. I kept telling them today that I don't want to risk veins since I have 39 scheduled labs in the year but they weren't that interested.

I wouldn't care so much if I didn't know how easy I am to get blood from.

[wildflowerchild25]

I'm with you about feeling like a pincushion. Every time I have ECT I have to get an iv put in and it's rough! They really messed up my hand last time. It's been three weeks and it's still painful!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Ugh, I hate IVs in the hand. My birthmark arm/hand has large veins but they have a lot of valves in them and when someone insisted on using that hand and nowhere else for a test once they poked me 7 times before they gave up and called someone from the baby nursery to get it in my other hand.

The last 2 times I had surgery they put the IV halfway up my arm and I loved that position. It was so much more comfortable, even when I had to use my arm to hold onto a walker while in this huge surgical dressing/cast thing.

One of the nicer things (if there is such a thing) about ECT for me (if this fails) would be that they usually keep the IV in at least a few days while IP and I'd be IP for a reasonable percent of the treatment. It's too bad you can't go home with the IV and a dressing to protect it.