I almost died...or at least it felt like it..

[MineeBaby]

I about DIED today…for real…I was donating plasma, just like I normally do to get the extra 100 bucks a week...and right near the end when i was almost finished, all of a sudden I got all blacked out and nauseous and then I completely passed out..i think…and when I woke up, I couldn’t see, could barely hear (very muffled) and I was muttering stuff about wanting Arthur (he was there and said I wouldn’t stop asking for him even though he was right there) and it was HORRIBLE! I think I passed out again, though I don’t remember..and when I finally came too, I thought I was dying…could see a little more, but not very well, lots of people around me, i couldnt hear well at all, i was nausous, scared, cold, hard to breath...everyone was trying to do something different to try and fix the situation…turns out that the lady in charge of me withdrew TOO much..she miss calculated how much I was allowed to take out according to my weight—I was supposed to be 810 Ml or something and in the end when they went to weigh it, it was at 852…it was apprantly a big deal…ick..it was horrible…but im alive…hahahahahah so that’s my story for today. I started panicing and saying i didnt want to do it anymore and i wanted water and i was scared..they were SO nice to me..i knew a few of the people which was nice..and they got me some water and orange juice and i instantly felt better...i hung around for a bit, got some more water, was laughing alot and was pretty embarrassed..they thought i was just dehydrated until they realized what had happened...what a night. And now im 40 dollars richer...hahahahahha ;)

[Princess Michelle]

How scary! :eek:

[cotye]

Yikes!!! Glad to hear you're ok... Didn't know you could get paid for donating... Up here, it's all voluntary and there's no compensation.

[JohnTBap]

Even after your Margarita Fiesta they let you donate????

[MineeBaby]

HAHAHHA! thats so funny..yeah i asked them if it was ok and they said no alcohol 10 hours before hand..which doesnt seem long, but it had been since probably sunday morning when it all filtered completely out of my system...hehehehe....yeah, what a week huh? First drink in a long time (due to lack of funds and this the plasma donation) and first time experienceing something like my fiasco today. :) still a bit lightheaded...athur keeps pumping me with water

[JohnTBap]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid27/p9bf35a8a1945d7ab97577d55c5e46e1d/fd7539ec.jpg

A little hair of the dog for ya

[nativetxn]

First of all, I'm sorry you got so frightened today and felt so badly after donating plasma.

Secondly...I'm sorry but...<b>$100 a week????</b> They pay you that much? I had NO idea. That's amazing

[aahmom1]

You took the words wrote outta my mouth Kath.

[MineeBaby]

well..its really 50 bucks to donate twice a week, but arthur and i make a date out of it and go together and then use it for honeymoon savings...so we count it as 100 bucks a week :) sorry if i was misleading, but it is nice..400 dollars a month!!

[Kermit]

Wow! That does sound scary. I'm glad you're okay.

[browneyes]

I'm glad you're ok now and can laugh about it.

LOL! Y'all have funny dates up north.;)

[dizneenut]

Wow, very scary! Glad you are OK!

[Blondie]

Wow! I had no idea they paid that much! :confused:

Maybe you should take a plasma vacation and skip a week or two?

Maybe this last experience (even though it was due to their error) is a little hint that you should ease up some on the blood donations? I don't know....that would make me want to quite for a while!

But do whatever you need to do! :D

[Serena]

That would be very scary! It's interesting that what seems like a small difference could do so much.
I'm glad you're alright though. Will there be any problems, or do you just need to rest or something?

Btw, how did you get started, I could use a few extra bucks right now?

[Kermit]

Serena, you should be able to donate plasma at most blood donation centers. You can't do it on the mobile vans or anything, but the ones that have offices with full facilities should be able to do it. My sister was going to start donating plasma at one point, but she was allergic to the anti-collaguants (sp?). It's a pretty involved procedure where they take some of your blood out, separate the plasma then put the rest back in you. That may not be a good technical explanation, but that's how I've had it explained to me. While it's illegal to pay for plain blood donations now, they have to pay for plasma because it's too involved for people to do it otherwise.

[newmousecateer]

Thanks Shannon! You just make me spit out my coffee :p

[MineeBaby]

Hehhehe..it is a funny date, but between school and work, we hardly see each other, so it is fun to go in and watch TV in adjacent chairs and laugh at each other for being there. To get started, all you need to do is show up and tell them you want to do it. If you look in blood banks in the index of your phone book you should be able to find your local plasma center. I have been drinking lots of orange juice and water since last night...it is funny how that small amount caused such harm. I was going along NO PROBLEM the whole time and then it hit me in an instant...so if i stopped at the time i was SUPPOSED to stop, i think i could have walked out and have been fine. Arthur took me to dairy queen afterwards--they said i needed to eat sugar...hahaha..no complaints here! Im glad i could laugh about it too..it was much different than just passing out..i was in PAIN and it was so scary...:) i think i will hold off for a few weeks, see how im doing--we usually go on a schedule, just like you would for any other job..but a plasma vacation sounds nice. :)

[MineeBaby]

Hehhehe..it is a funny date, but between school and work, we hardly see each other, so it is fun to go in and watch TV in adjacent chairs and laugh at each other for being there. To get started, all you need to do is show up and tell them you want to do it. If you look in blood banks in the index of your phone book you should be able to find your local plasma center. I have been drinking lots of orange juice and water since last night...it is funny how that small amount caused such harm. I was going along NO PROBLEM the whole time and then it hit me in an instant...so if i stopped at the time i was SUPPOSED to stop, i think i could have walked out and have been fine. Arthur took me to dairy queen afterwards--they said i needed to eat sugar...hahaha..no complaints here! Im glad i could laugh about it too..it was much different than just passing out..i was in PAIN and it was so scary...:) i think i will hold off for a few weeks, see how im doing--we usually go on a schedule, just like you would for any other job..but a plasma vacation sounds nice. :)

[MineeBaby]

ewwww...i did that post twice thing!!! hahahah....yeah, donating plasma takes about 3 hours the first time you go in because they have to check you over to make sure you are ok. Basic free check-up really. Then each time there after takes about 45 min. They check your iron and protein levels everytime, so you get stuck in the finger just like when donating blood..then you sit down in these comfy (medical) chairs that are hooked up to these machines and they put a cuff on your arm and poke ya! Donating runs in cycles. They first take a small amount of blood out, then they spin it to get the plasma out, then it is combined with anit-coagulant, and then it is put back in your arm...you cant feel a THING other than the initial needle poke...you cant hear anything or see anything..you get to watch TV!! Sometimes they play movies. :) You have to make a fist with your hand and pump it while the cuff on your arm is tight..this is the taking blood stage..then when the cuff looses, it is putting your blood back in to your body with the anti-coagulant....then the cycle starts over. Every person does between 8-12 cycles depending upon how much they are supposed to donate, which is determined by weight. Arthur is about 184 and he donates about 865 mL...I weigh around 150 depending upon the day hahahahahah and am supposed to give about 815-820...so what happened to me is i gave the same amount that a person weight a little over 30 lbs than me gave....just be sure to know how much you are supposed to give..ask them when you sit down how many mL you are supposed to give and they will let you know. :) Have fun if you go! we make around 400 bucks a month, which is REALLY nice.

[Serena]

Thanks for the info. I'll think about this. :)

[believe]

I have a milder reaction when I give blood. They have to tilt me back, take less and blow cold air on me. Fortunately the 2 times I 'was sick' they reacted quickly and I didn't faint. I am glad they were able to find the cause and next time I am sure you will remind them;)

[Disney845]

Wow, I am glad no serious damage was done! I can not even give blood. I am the biggest wimp. I remember the one time I went to give blood. I was doing it to get extra credit for a science class I was in. My mom is one of those couple gallon donors who gets all the cool gifts and stuff because she has been doing it forever. Not for the gifts, but because she likes to donate blood for others. Anyways, I went in and did the preliminary finger poke, and then they set me all up. I was holding the rolled up wash cloth pumping my fist and took one look at the blood running from the tube out of my body and that was it. I don't think I totally passed out, but I was definitely close. They rushed all these people over, elevated my feet above my chest and put cold compresses on my face and neck. I was getting nauseaus and swooning so they could not finish the blood withdrawal. I think I managed to get about half of the amount needed into the bag. They made me stay for a long time and gave me soooo many glasses of OJ to drink. I couldn't even force the cookie down. Needless to say, I have not been back to donate blood since.

[jfulcer]

MineeBaby,

That sounds amazingly like the double red cell donation I did recently. I wonder if I've recently donated blood if I could donate plasma also? Hmmm, have to check it out. It'd be an easy way to add to that 'Disney' fund. :D

[MineeBaby]

I know that you have to wait 8 weeks to donate plasma after you have donated blood. You should call and ask though!

[Boots]

How scary! Glad that you are ok now!

[cinlee3]

Wow, that is so scary. I'm glad you are okay. I donated blood once when my mom was going through a mastectomy. It took me twice as long to get the blood out and when I stood up, I about passed out. They made me stay an extra hour and I felt horrible the rest of the day. I have B- blood and when I had my last baby they asked me to be a donor - but I just can't think of feeling that way again. I would donate in an emergency though.

My sis-in-law had blood taken when she was pregant and went into seizures, passed out and wet herself. When she came too, she said she saw the white light and everything. Her body over reacted and she went into shock - just giving a few vials. I can't imagine what you went through.

[MineeBaby]

WOW! I didnt wet myself, but i could agree with the white light COMFORT thing..i felt peaceful until i finally came to and then felt HORRIBLE...beyond description..i really thought i was dying. My friend Jason works there and he was just coming out onto the floor, so he was RIGHT in my face telling me to hang in there and that I will be ok and dont lose me (or so i was told..i remember seeing him..i had tunnel vision when i finally could see) and he is the one that found out they miscalculated how much i was supposed to donate...he was livid, as was Arthur of course. I definetely would go do it again, and I would recommend it to anyone, but just be SURE that they pay attention to how much you are supposed to give..everything was a breeze until i hit that point. :)

[disykat]

I had a bad experience last time I gave regular blood. Similar to yours but longer lasting. I finally left two hours later (my DH had to come get me) and felt horrible the next 24 hours or so. My children still talk about it since they pretty much had to carry me to the car. I didn't see a white light, it was so painful and felt so bad I've seriously wondered if I was headed the opposite direction. I've given blood lots of other times with no problems but no more for me - which is sad since I am O-.

My first guess when I saw the title of your thread was that you had given blood.

That said, I still believe that giving blood is one of the most important gifts you can give.