Bariatric Surgery Pre-Op Blood Work
July 3, 2008 by Terry
Filed under Terry's Rambles
Today I went into the lab to have my blood drawn prior to next weeks pre-op for my weight loss surgery. I was dog-tired having been at the computer until late last night and a bit hungry having fasted for the past 16 hours. A cup of strong black coffee would have been perfect but as you may have heard, they usually ask you to give up caffeine prior to bariatric surgery and suggest you stay off of caffeine for a period of time following surgery. I started phasing the caffeine out a couple months ago. Instead of doing it cold turkey I started with a 75/25 mix and am now down to a 25/75 and ready to start on 100 percent decaf. Sorry, I guess I am getting off the subject.
Anyway, my veins are difficult to find so I do not relish having my blood drawn. As expected my veins were very shy and they were hiding from that lady in the white smock. She was a nice person and in a good mood. Luckily for me she had not been in a fight with her husband or boyfriend last night or she might have been ready to take it out on me. Pleasant or not, she could not locate a suitable vein in either arm. After searching my arms for a few minutes she started checking the back of my hands. I asked her not to draw blood from my hand for in the past it has left it a bit sore and interfered with my typing. As she returned to my arm I gritted my teeth as I waited for her to start digging for a vein as if she were digging in the garden. To both her and my astonishment, one poke and she struck a bonanza. As I left the lab I was a bit faint over to the local Shari’s Restaurant for breakfast. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately I was not as hungry as I had expected to be and for the next half hour just nibbled and poked at the food on my plate as if I were the one digging in the garden.
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