Blood draws with arm/foot lymphedema
Hi
I'm back. I was here many years ago. I used to talk to Benny and others and I did some modeling for lymphedema's sleeves. I'm in huge trouble now. I have terrible osteoporosis and I need blood drives desperately yet I have injuries on my feet and bilateral lymphedema and I'm in a wheelchair. Where else can we get a blood draw? None of the doctors will accommodate me here and if they take blood from my arm I won't be able to use my wheelchair can anyone private message me or help me in any way. It took me hours to get back in and I had to change email addresses and passwords and everything else. I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for any help at all. Please don't ask me questions I can't they do it here or can't they do it there? If you've had experience or if you can direct me to anywhere in the forum where someone has had experience getting it anywhere but the arms of the feet help me please. Thank you so much
Comments
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Hi @purple3211, Nowadays if blood is taken from anywhere other than the arm or hand you need to have the procedure ordered by a doctor and the draw must be done by a nurse with special training or a physician. They can take blood from your scalp (more often done with pediatric patients), a femoral vein in the groin or the jugular vein. At my local hospital a specially trained IV nurse can draw from my feet or scalp (very slow but it works.)
For a femoral or jugular vein you generally need to go to a large teaching hospital with a level 1 trauma center. Anesthesiologists working with residents are more likely to oblige since it is a training opportunity. My breast surgeon who operated with three anesthesiologists trying to keep me sedated and my pulmonologist who has colleagues in the ICU have arranged this when needed. Recently the veins in my feet have been holding up.
Good luck finding a doctor to order the procedure since that is the hardest part. My anesthesiology notes from two surgeries recounting tales of collapsing veins is my ticket for the order. Even if it's been a while your breast surgery team or any other surgeon you have been a patient of might go to bat for you.
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@purple3211 - Welcome, we're really glad you made it back to the community, though we're so sorry for all the trouble you had logging in. Thank you, @maggie15 for your quick and helpful reply!
@purple3211, just so you know, we now also offer virtual support groups, in case you’d like to connect with others face-to-face. You’re always welcome.
Looking forward to hearing more from you soon.
The Mods
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