So, then he moved over to the right arm. I'm not the biggest fan of having blood drawn from my right arm, and I don't know why, but I have good veins there and so he gave a try there. So, he put the needle in, and completely missed the vein this time... I don't know what happened, but as he poked around and tried to find it he couldn't get a thing! OUCH!
To be completely honest, I don't think he knew what to do. He said this has never happened to him before, and he has taken my bloods before without any trouble...
He put me into the little room where I had my ECG taken before and asked me to drink some water and wait there. He would have the other guy, Dr John, do my bloods... I was getting nervous by now. I had gotten over my fear of needles back in the summer when I started having all the blood tests and stuff. I found the lab at DFM was great and I hadn't had any problems there... until now.
I sat there and drank as much water as I possibly could (to keep me from worrying, and also to hydrate me, in case that was the problem) and I hoped they wouldn't have to use a butterfly needle.
After about a half hour, maybe more Mike came and got me and said Dr John was going to take my bloods. He had a feel of my veins and said there shouldn't have been a problem - I still had good veins!
As I'm sitting there he gets the butterfly needle out - OH NO! My heart flipped, I hated those. They were sore and made me bruise badly... and regardless of what "they" say, they are not the easiest or least painful way to take blood...
I told him I didn't like the butterfly needles because I always had trouble with them, and so he used the smallest needle possible. He had Mike hold the receiver tube end and he felt around my right arm. I could tell he was going to insert lower down the arm from usual, in the forearm!
OUCH! The needle went in, and yes, it bloody hurt! It went deep and it was sharp as heck. He drew the blood slowly... a deep dark red blood. He said it looked a good healthy colour and that there shouldn't have been a problem.
He put some cotton on my arm, told me my results would be back by Friday and let me leave!
Man, I was hurting. I felt like a pin cushion... before I'd even gone round to the lab guys I'd had my HepA booster by Michelle too... I wanted something to eat and I wanted to be home.
My arm hurt to move it, it hurt to drive... so I clicked into cruise control and headed back to Mac.
Within about an hour the bruise was horrific. By the evening it had gotten worse again, and was getting bigger by the morning! I will never believe anyone who tells me the butterfly needle doesn't hurt and doesn't bruise! It does both!
Anyway, a couple of days later we went to get the results... we were hoping for something good. I'd been having a LOT of hair loss over the last couple of weeks and my energy levels were falling in the afternoon again.
Surprise, surprise, my T4 levels tested in the 'normal' range for the first time ever. I was super shocked, esp since I wasn't feeling "back to normal" (whatever normal is). My Dr is really good, he knows he's not treating the numbers, but this was the first hurdle. To get me back in the range, and then we could start aiming for feeling better.
Over the last few months my levels have looked like this on paper:
Up til now I'd been told that I should be feeling better by Easter... now he reckons it might be the 'summer'... I just hope it's soon... I could really do with a break on this Graves Disease. This is the first time I wouldn't be increasing my Synthroid after a blood test.
The Doctor also told me that considering the level of Synthroid it has taken to drag me back into the 'normal' range it is expected that my thyroid has been completely obliterated. Not a partial like expected, but that the whole thing is dust now! Nice thought to leave you with eh?!?!?!
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