How's It Going "Down There"

I know it's been a while since I have posted. I have wanted to post, but I am getting home very late these days from work. Let's see, I went to the RE the Wed. before 4th of July and had a follow up beta, which was 157.  This was a good sign that my body is resolving things on its own and I will not have to have a shot of Methotrexate.  I was still bleeding though, like on a period - the period that never ends!  On Saturday, July 2nd, I thought that everything was about to stop because I had hardly no bleeding for the first time in a LONG time.  Sunday there was still some blood, but not much.  I had been really dragging lately and Sunday it felt like a switch turned on and I suddenly had so much more energy.  I figured that my body was getting over the miscarriage and wasn't having to work so hard to get rid of everything.  I had read it was normal to be tired during a miscarriage.  Well, since then I have been spotting.  Sometimes it is light and sometimes it is heavy, but constantly spotting.  And, sometimes I have a few very small clots.  I went last Friday and my beta was 32.  So, I am going back tomorrow. 

I am dreading tomorrow.  I had been doing so well with the needles.  I was telling myself it was no big deal, I was remaining calm.  Well, there are two phlebotomists in my RE's office, both of whom were not there when I was going last fall.  One of them I had all my previous visits this time around up until the Wed. before July 4th.  Well, she had done fine.  She had commented that my vein was a little hard once, but had no trouble getting it on the first try.  Well, this other lady I have gotten the last two times and she can't seem to get my "good vein". 

The first time, she stuck me and couldn't get any and I told her that I'd rather be stuck again to having her dig around. She looked at my right arm, but preferred to try my left again.  She still didn't seem to think she was getting anything good, so she called over the other lady.  At this point in time, I had completely leaned forward so that my arm was really hanging down so the blood would really flow.  I am short, so those chairs aren't the best for me because I feel like I am reaching up to get my arm up there.  Still, I handled the whole thing fairly well.  I did say that if she dug in my arm, I really might cry.  She said I shouldn't cry because she'd end up crying with me.  Then the other lady said that I was talking too much when she came over there to see what was going on and she finally got my blood.  Apparently I was getting nervous.  That was our first encounter.

Last Friday, she called me back and I was telling myself, "stay calm, don't get worked up..."  I put my arm up there and she felt around and pushed with her finger on my vein, then called the other lady over.  Then, they begin discussing how my vein is sitting on the tendon in my arm and they'll have to go shallow.  Well, at this point in time, I am all out headed for a panic attack.  One of them looked at the other and said "she's panicking".  Then, they told me to breathe and let me calm down a bit before the stuck me.  No blood.  Then, she starts digging around and I had to tell her twice not to dig around to just stick me again.  Then, they go for my right arm and start tapping and saying things like "superficial" about my veins.  No idea what that means.  I finally starting feeling a tightness in my throat and a teensy bit light-headed and said "I think I should lay down".  I went into the room and let my arm hang down and she had no trouble getting blood.  I may ask them to lay me down in the future just so that my arm can really hang down.  Does anyone else have this kind of trouble?  I had never had trouble in the few times before I started with IF treatments that I'd had blood drawn or gotten IV's

Oh, and while I am on a roll, that is not the only thing. Probably the reason I had such a hard time keeping calm on Friday was that I got to the office and signed in and sat down and 10 minutes later the receptionist calls me up and says that I'm not on the schedule.  Then, she smiles and looks at me.  I informed her that my nurse made the appointment for me the previous Wed. for 7:30am and told her what I was there for.  I felt irritated that she let me sit there for 10 minutes before calling me up there and then after she told me, she just stared at me instead of apologizing and saying "but, let's get you on the schedule and taken care of."  It wasn't like they were super busy or anything.  I really wasn't upset that much that I wasn't on the schedule because accidents happen and it was just a bloodwork appointment, people!  It's not that difficult.

Okay, so a quick "update" has turned into quite the post.  But, I apparently needed to get that off my shoulders.  I am having to work extra hard to keep from getting stressed out because we have so much going on at work.  We are about to go through the purchase of a company the same size as ours, roughly, so this should be an interesting few months!