I had a scar in one arm for a while from a blood donation. That was my second one I believe. At the university they give you a squeezy toy to roll and play with in your fingers. They forgot to tell me to relax my arm before stabbing me and that happened. Hurt really badly.

The FIRST time I gave blood, they couldn't find a vein, they had a lot of trouble and it took a while to decide an arm (They picked the arm I didn't want stabbed). That arm was stabbed incorrectly after that, and the bag was filling too slowly to be useful, only managing the sample and a quarter pint. Then I told them try the other arm, which they found it finally after someone else came by, and I filled that bag. So, I lost more blood than the usual amount. It's strange to see that much fluid come out of you in a measurable amount.

Next week is actually the next round of blood donations, which I will be going to

Yup. One time, one of the nurse had a difficult time trying to find a vein. A couple of attempts before finally able to draw blood. Man, it was painful!

Pro-Tip, if you are going to give blood or need easy vein access drink plenty of water a few hours beforehand if possible.

I had the exactly same experience about two weeks ago. After one day, the pain was considerably less and after two it was completely gone. The first time I tested my blood (a few months ago) everything went smooth.

What else can you do when someone's been half eaten? Having a pint in his memory is in my opinion very respectful. May the spirit live on.

I had a tube through my neck when my stomach ruptured. Think the skin was weak where the tumor shrunk or an ulcer. And I have arms that look like they belong to an heroin addict, but never had a foot job.

like I said the foot is painful but from the sound of it I can't imagine anything would make you wince. My hat goes off to you, my heart goes out to you and I hope you are doing okay.

The rupture didn't actually hurt much had an epidural for the pain. It was more embarrassing because of the blood leakage, if you get what I mean without trying to make people feel sick. My stomach is never going to be 100%, but as long as I watch what I eat I don't have much issues with it now.

babby got a boo-boo? :P

True story: I had an epidural once but it was placed wrong. For 48 hours I screamed about the pain and they kept telling me to shut up there was nothing more they could do. On the third day an orderly walks in and says, "That doesn't look right. You must be in a lot of pain. Why didn't you say something?" So they replaced it....incorrectly. 24 hours of more screaming and "shut up" followed by, "I still don't think that's working right, you're probably very uncomfortable."

The next morning my surgeon came in and very calmly told me, "There are several people who had jobs here yesterday that don't have them today."

I was pretty lucky. They never messed up that seriously on me, but I can imagine something like that happening.

it involves them jabbing you, missing the vein wiggling the needle around and piercing the vein from the side, id rather be a pincushion than have that,

Though the last time I had an inexperienced person try to take my blood I did it myself, no way was i letting her doing it, her hands were physically shaking.

And before anyone asks I had training for taking bloods and stuff from a previous job. Not the the degree of a Phlebotomist

Interesting... Would many of these people be serial downreppers on GOG?:D Seriously though, ouch. I am starting to wonder if that avatar isn't an actual photo of you now.

That's actually really funny. XD

As for how I look, I look like shit, the sad thing is I looked this way before I ever got sick. :P

I've had a few run ins with the Red Cross, though nothing to compare with what I've read here.

My brother and I used to donate regularly. He is insanely fit. Once, we went in together and they rejected him because his pulse rate was too low. He showed up again a few minutes later and the same people admitted him. It was clear to everyone he just ran around the block.

Another time, they put the needle in, and I lay back. My bag began to fill really quickly, much moreso than anyone around me. The nurses (for lack of a more accurate term) were quite surprised and insisted I lay there for a moment while they brought a senior person to look at me. They said I could get up, and as soon as I did, I fell over. Fortunately, my brother was there by then and grabbed me. We sat a nearby table for over an hour while they pushed the free-for-donors orange juice at me. Then someone showed up and bitched at my brother (who had also donated) for drinking too much OJ. Silly sods.

Finally, I received a call from them one afternoon, a few weeks after I'd donated. The woman on the phone confirmed who I was, and then asked me to hold as they had 'something to tell me about my blood'. Then I heard papers shuffling and quiet chattering for a few minutes while I wondered what the heck disease I'd picked up. Finally, she returned and asked if I donated blood at one location, and I said, no, I donated at another location. She then said, "Oh, it seems you can't give blood for another n weeks, then." And that was it. Thanks for making me fret, dolts.

That said, I'd still be donating if not for the weird falling over incident. I was woozy for hours after that.