3061

Yup, on both the explanation and the reason it is needed.

3062

Is it nerd rage to rage about other Star Wars nerds getting their rage wrong?

3063

Which ones?

3064

New star wars movie spoiler

https://twitter.com/kylor3n/status/681511010277154816

Edit: ACK! No spoiler tag

3065

Now that the EU stuff is non-canon, another author is free to reinvent what Han meant by that line.

I hope they make him out to just be saying nonsense to try and impress, but everyone else knew how stupid he sounded.

3066

Those zipper-top packages that things like comforters, sheets, mattress pads, etc. come in. I know I will never use that packaging again, but it seems to have been designed so gosh-dawn reusably that I always feel bad tossing it. In an era when most packaging requires a pair of scissors to open, how do these over-engineered marvels of convenience even exist?

3067

Not so much nerd rage but just rage in general okay? Nurses that don’t take your advice before they take blood. Example:

Arm nipple

I told her that drawing from my arms has always been an issue for other doctors. I told her that using a vein on the back of my hand was the way to go.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

A few minutes later, “Hey you weren’t kidding. So the hand?”

Yeah. Two seconds and she had her samples. And I ended up with an arm nipple. Man she dug around a lot. Luckily I was already in the arms of Percocet. Now I understand that you draw a lot of blood. And I don’t mean to tell you your job. But trust an old man. I used to be a heroin addict. I know my veins better than you do. :)

3068

Probably should have opened with ex-heroin addict, if you want to make the point.

3069

I never mentioned anything about my past. I’m not a complete idiot. The problem there is that you can be tagged as a drug seeker. But I have regular blood tests due to my diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol. Which I did mention. As well, the veins on the back of my hand are quite prominent. I know phlebotomists and this person was obviously very new. Still, trust a 57 year old man sometimes.

Edit: To clarify, my foot was obviously broken. But I know that hospitals are wary about ex-druggies or obviously non-ex-druggies. If I made a big deal about my previous use, I know for a fact that you can get your chart tagged as ‘drug seeker’. So you don’t mention it. It’s the difference between getting enough pain meds for a week or getting Tylenol. Tylenol does nothing for me but fuck with my liver. That small bottle of Percocet got me to sleep for the first two weeks until the pain was less. Then I took nothing. There are other people here that can chime in, if they want to.

3070

I had abdominal pain late one Friday afternoon, so I call my doctor. She says you better go to the ER, just to be sure.

I go to the ER and tell the nurse about the abdominal pain. She starts pressing her fingers WAY into my abdomen. Does this hurt? How about this? She says we need to do a scan, just to be sure, but the scan lab is a long wait. They want to give me a room. I start thinking maybe it doesn’t hurt so bad. Maybe I should go home. She starts to tell me about how your appendix can literally explode in your abdomen, if you let it go. Another doctor wants to touch my abdomen. She says I have to gauge the pain. The exploding appendix is weighing on my mind, so I go high. 8, maybe even a 9.

I go for the room.

Nurse says they’re going to give me something for pain. Asks if I know what dilaudid is.

Haha, I do know what dilaudid is. It was actually one of my favorite drugs. I don’t go to the doctor so much, but I feel weird about telling them the truth. You can’t be all, like, “Fuck yeah! Dilaudid? I LOVE dilaudid.”

But you have to say something, right? So, okay, I’m not proud of this, but I decide to go full retard. I said, “Wh, Wh, What’s going to happen to me?” Stutter, everything. hahah, I even said it with a little tremor in my voice (okay, maybe I’m a little proud).

Then I have to try resist the urge to giggle or roll my eyes at myself.

She says something comforting. I think she may have even patted my hand. It’s going to be all right, she says.

Damn right, lady!

They don’t put it in your vein, nor do they crush it up and boil it in water. It comes already mixed in liquid form, in a little vial. They shoot it into the flabby part of your arm. It’s not as good as hitting a vein, but it’s still pretty cool.

And totally legit.

3071

One time I got a gal who missed the first time. I smiled.

She missed again and I was neutral.

The third time I glared AND I sighed. I was fasting and it was early in the morning.

She said, Do you think you can do better?

I said, I know I can do better.

She dropped the little butterfly needle on my arm and backed away. I picked it up, poked it, and got a hit. I tried not to be smug, but I was very pleased I got it on the first try. I pumped my fist, then loosened the tie.

She said, Nice job.

I said, Thanks.

3072

Thanks Tim. Glad it isn’t just me. :)

3073

Was your appendix about to explode? Don’t leave us on this cliffhanger.

3074

Yeah, man, did you survive? <g>

3075

Re: Blood draws

I have what have been described as “difficult” veins. I get my blood checked every 6 months for testosterone, thyroid hormone, and recently hbA1c. Also the usual panel, to make sure I’m not dying I guess. So I get like 4 vials of blood taken twice a year. I hate needles and get a little woozy, especially since these draws are always on an empty stomach. Every doctor’s office I’ve been to has either a) a nurse who does blood draws, but mostly does other nurse stuff or b) has a phlebotomist come by on certain days of the week to draw blood. I’ve given up on them. Nothing but bad experiences. One time in my primary doctor’s office, the nurse is digging and digging in my arm, seriously for minutes (probably approaching ten) and I say “I’m starting to feel really queasy, like I’m going to throw up.” The nurse gets up and runs out of the room. The desk person says, “Oh, she just can’t handle the sight of vomit.”

So, my solution? I go directly to the lab now. These ladies (and men, I suppose, though I’ve never had one draw my blood) draw blood all day every day. If they can’t find your vein, no one will. And I’ve never had a serious problem. One time a newer person tried to draw and had issues, and a total pro (who’d poked me before) comes over and helps her out. That time it took 30 seconds to find a vein. Mostly they just go straight in. That nurse who does 4 draws on a really busy day? Not your friend if you don’t like needles.

3076

Heh, I know that feeling, arrendek. I’m. . . not a huge fan of needles, and they tend to make me a little queasy. The sight of blood itself really isn’t that bad, but needles always get me a bit woozy, and I’ll admit I’m a total baby about the stick.

Still, as I got older, I mostly learned to deal with it. But last year when I started selling plasma, the fear was particularly renewed when my pressure dropped enormously one day and blood stopped cycling back into me, which is generally where I like to keep it.

After several vomit-witholding minutes while the staff there stuck me several times in each arm seeking a vein that would accept my precious blood, they finally got it going again and eventually wrapped up the procedure.

Honestly one of the most taxing, terrifying experiences of my life. Giving plasma fucking blows.

3077

Yep, I’ve just noped the fuck out of donating plasma ever. Thanks. :P

3078

Heh. I had a broken foot. Just the usual emergency room procedure.

And yeah, I have quarterly blood tests as well. The clinic people are real pros. Night staff at the ER is touch and go.

3079

They did the scan and saw nothing. She said it was probably gas. :)

3080

Commercials that use the trope of an adult playing catch with a child and don’t. Get it. Right. I mean, commercials are bad enough, and they are to be endured not enjoyed. But it drives me through the roof crazy any time I see this trope; be it baseball, frisbee, whatever; and the participants are standing like 10 feet from one another. And then they make that lame, meek, half-hearted, wimpy toss back and forth because, you know, they don’t want to break each others faces with a real throw. Meanwhile the voiceover is droning on but all i can think about is how much I want to throttle whoever choreographed this and said ‘meh, good enough’. FUCK YOU!