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Fun Stuff => CHATTER => Topic started by: Thrillho on 24 Dec 2012, 05:20

Title: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Thrillho on 24 Dec 2012, 05:20
If we do just merge the fuck out of my thread and that one.

I ordinarily really struggle to come up with resolutions, but this year I have shitloads.

- Stop doing cocaine
- Quit smoking
- Start jogging again
- Start lifting weights again
- Get counselling.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: valley_parade on 24 Dec 2012, 05:46
-Continue current levels of awesome
-Maybe start going to the gym
-Attempt to make girlfriend appreciate baseball (aka bring her to Fenway Park)

edit:
-part together another guitar
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 24 Dec 2012, 05:55
1) Start driving
2) Get a car of some sort
3) Lose weight, any amount really, but at least 20 pounds
4) Get to the point where I can see my ex without wanting to sob and beg him to take me back
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 24 Dec 2012, 06:27
1) Survive.
2) Take care of myself.
3) Make the attic into a beautiful living space.
4) Get back into martial arts.
5) Quit worrying about weight.
6) Plan mid-term goals (this is probably the biggest one; I always have long-term and very short-term goals, but never much in between)

That's all for now, I think.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 24 Dec 2012, 06:36
1) Stop procrastinating.
2) Think of some resolutions.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Lines on 24 Dec 2012, 08:46
1. Do awesome on my licensure test.
2. Find a job related to my skills and try not to fall back on retail unless absolutely necessary.
3. Make stuff and sell it.
4. Join a gym, get fit, and try to lose a decent amount of weight by May.
5. Be happy!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: celticgeek on 24 Dec 2012, 08:53
I did my resolutions for Solstice, but here they are:

Quit smoking
Start my exercise program again
Start my diet again
Start practicing guitar again
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Redball on 24 Dec 2012, 18:09
1. Continue developing new friendships, over-60 women included.
2. Resume exercise; weight loss should follow.
3. Get my bottom off the sofa, the computer off my lap and do more interesting and creative stuff.
Any of these would be grand.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: dr. nervioso on 26 Dec 2012, 08:39
I am not going to mae any real resolutions this new years
I usually do something about my health or weight, but both of those have been pretty good this year, in the sense that I pretty much maintained it all. If I keep up the way I am, I might be dropping a shirt size sometime next year.
I made a lot of positive steps this year, nothing extraordinary (Okay maybe coming out and dealing with the whole sexuality business fall into that category).

So:
1.Keep Kicking ass
2. Maybe actually kiss someone this year. Maybe.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Patrick on 26 Dec 2012, 15:14
1. Turn 24
2. Play better shows
3. Record and release Troubador's 2nd album
4. Git mo' money
5. Fucc mo' bitches
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 26 Dec 2012, 17:49
I'm going to [try to] resolve to:
A-yup.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Carl-E on 27 Dec 2012, 09:04

At least one of these is a guaranteed failure...
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: bainidhe_dub on 27 Dec 2012, 09:31
But succeeding at either of the first two could lead to success at the third.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 27 Dec 2012, 19:27
Except for the issue of willpower. QCforums is like the One Ring...it just...keeps drawing you closer...the preceious...preciousssss.....
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: lepetitfromage on 31 Dec 2012, 13:03
Hey, a resolutions thread!!

According to last year's thread, I haven't done too shabby with those but there is always room for improvement.

(click to show/hide)



I'm kinda proud of the resolutions that I came up with this year. They feel more attainable and don't feel as though I'm making huge changes, just focusing on more things that have already proved to be helpful. Plus....they aren't as harsh as last year's. I'm nice to everyone else, why should I be mean to myself?

- Continue employing "Wise Mind" awareness. I will not ignore the signs if I find myself starting to slip, I will catch myself and work on climbing back up without placing any blame on myself.
- Decrease negative statements about myself and stop feeling guilty when people offer to help me with things.
- Start using Dave Ramsey's money management method. Don't get angry if it doesn't work right away.
- Throw out 50 things.
- Try not to put off doing things you don't want to do- it will only make them worse.
- Perform more random acts of kindness.
- Make more art.

Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Carl-E on 31 Dec 2012, 15:51
- Throw out 50 things.

I could do that and not even notice...

Have I mentioned that my wife's a bit of a hoarder? 
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 31 Dec 2012, 18:21
lepetitfromage - before you get into the life drawing, you might want to get back into yoga - not necessarily go back to classes, but practise what you did learn. It's a good exercise in stretching your body out and getting you ready to comfortably hold yourself in various poses - when I did modeling I got a lot of requests for a vajrasana/rock pose, which was incredibly hard to manage for more than thirty seconds or so at first, but with practise I could hold for 10-15 minutes before having to switch positions up.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: bainidhe_dub on 01 Jan 2013, 19:52
Ok, my two resolutions are to get back into running/food tracking/getting in shape, and to make an effort to spend time with my friends.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: lepetitfromage on 02 Jan 2013, 07:30
Carl- I am too.....easy to do when you are a wannabe art teacher/couponing impulse buyer who loves crafting shoes clothes home decor books lots of things that take up lots of space. The nice thing about this challenge is that more than one of the same thing only count as one. For instance- If I get rid of 5 old towels, 3 chipped mugs, 7 blouses, 10 cruddy paintbrushes and 1 pair of ugly platform shoes, according to the challenge, I've only gotten rid of 5 "things".


Unicorn- good thinking! I can imagine my feet falling asleep if I held that pose for too long. Amusingly, I find Supta Vajrasana more comfortable than that one. However, the same might not be said for pose+nudity+room full of people looking at me.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Asterus on 02 Jan 2013, 16:31
1366 x 768. It's my highest and recommended setting.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 02 Jan 2013, 19:02
1080p represent, yo! 1920x1080 HDMI FTW.

...It's a TV repair thing. :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Welu on 04 Jan 2013, 09:20
- Continue being awesome.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Lupercal on 05 Jan 2013, 04:22
1. Continue developing new friendships, over-60 women included.

Bloody hell, friendships with over 60 women? I'm not sure I know 10 women that would want to be my friend. Bad-dum-pssh

So, I'll throw my hat into the "get fit" ring. Would like to be able to enter a half marathon by the end of the year. I just need to find the time to do it (with commuting, I do a 12 hour day, kind of hard to find time). I will endeavour to try and run more without getting shin splints like last time.

Take care of my finances - I've had this job for three months and now I need to start looking properly at how much I can save per month and be happy with.

Take the girlfriend somewhere nice for our five-year anniversary (01/01/13) - its okay to be later on this because we both have pretty busy lives and taking time off before you start the new year is frowned upon.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 10 Jan 2013, 17:50
the new years resolutions I've ended up working on instead have been 'keep getting pissed off,' 'stop pretending to care about shit I don't care about,' and 'be self-important'. so far, I've lost ten friends!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 10 Jan 2013, 20:10
so far, I've lost ten friends!

Fuck em. :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 11 Jan 2013, 17:31
That was actually my exact response.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Patrick on 11 Jan 2013, 22:41
Worth it.

My resolution has been to bitch less about things that don't really matter but I'm not really off to a very good start so far. First I bitched a ton about my tat hurting and then itching, now I'm bitching about being sick. And dammit now I'm bitching about bitching (and about bitching about it).

It's a vicious cycle.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Carl-E on 11 Jan 2013, 23:03
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li6fb3z0vS1qbu0yxo1_500.jpg)
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 13 Jan 2013, 12:41
I booked a blood donation appointment for Tuesday because I am FINALLY able to give again - I haven't had any kind of medical procedure, dental work, inexplicable illness, medication or trips abroad recently. Hurrah!

Then I read that Alice Pyne (http://alicepyne.blogspot.co.uk/) has died. And now, when I go to my appointment, I will be putting myself on the bone marrow registry in her memory. I can't donate platelets because I don't weigh enough, but if you do (in the UK you can find out at the Blood Donor website (http://www.blood.co.uk) and I don't know about the USA rules) then that's a great thing to do too.

Make it your New Year's resolution to go save some lives. If you can't donate yourself, badger your friends and relatives who can.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Thrillho on 13 Jan 2013, 18:29
I think I just became able to give blood again, actually.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 13 Jan 2013, 20:46
Lucky...

I was deemed ineligible to give blood about six years ago. A preliminary test turned up a positive result for Hep B (surface antigen test), though the three follow-up tests (one surface antigen, two core antigen) were all negative. The Red Cross is so picky...
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 14 Jan 2013, 01:54
I haven't given in about two years because I was undergoing tests to see if I was lactose intolerant, then I went to the dentist, then I had a laryngoscopy, then I went to the USA... all of which are well-known blood-borne diseases of course.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 14 Jan 2013, 06:20
We are just chock full of diseases over here, let me just tell you.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Lines on 14 Jan 2013, 07:09
May, kudos to you for wanting to donate bone marrow. From what I've heard, it's an incredibly painful procedure, so...yeah.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: ackblom12 on 14 Jan 2013, 07:12
Bone Marrow donation registrys are a weird thing. You basically sign up for them, might get a call at some point in your life that you are a match for someone who is a possible candidate, and then you may or may not ever get a call again. I got my match call a few years ago for example, still no follow up on it at this point.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 14 Jan 2013, 07:25
From what I know, there are two ways to donate. One is painful as it involves sticking a needle into your bones. The other is not really painful (no more so than blood donation) but does involve five days of injections before the blood is taken. But indeed you might never get asked to donate. I would be prepared to put up with some pain and inconvenience to save someone's life.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: ackblom12 on 14 Jan 2013, 07:30
The way I've heard the direct needle donation described is that it feels like being kicked by a mule. Sadly that does give me a good reference. Mules kick pretty hard.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 14 Jan 2013, 09:38
I'm not allowed to give blood because I'm trans and queer.

Oops, my bad!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Thrillho on 14 Jan 2013, 09:59
In this country they just made it legal for gays to give blood if they've not had gay sex for a year.

That's why I just became able to give blood.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 14 Jan 2013, 22:29
I'm not allowed to give blood because I'm trans and queer.

Like I said...they're so god damn picky!

Some things are understandable, such as malaria regions (my wife couldn't donate for a year after traveling to Nicaragua), but some things are just plain ridiculous.

Example: you can't give blood if you've had gay sex with another man, EVER, since 1977. It's considered a "risk activity"...apparently homosexual monogamy is an oxymoron to them. Because, you know, all men have secret AIDS glands right under their testicles, and women are immune to it. Right?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: ackblom12 on 14 Jan 2013, 22:33
This is why I wholly approve of lying your ass off if you want to donate blood. There is a 0% chance it's not getting tested anyways.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 14 Jan 2013, 22:34
My friend did that and got caught. Blacklisted from every Red Cross donation site in all of North America, now.

I mean, there's worse fates.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: ackblom12 on 14 Jan 2013, 22:35
In my experience, if it's the kind of thing that's likely to get you blacklisted like that, you're probably not "supposed" to be donating anyways, so no loss on you or them.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 14 Jan 2013, 23:17
Yeah...by the sounds of it, he was blacklisted because his blood tested positive for something, right? I mean, I'm only condoning lying to give blood if you're being morally conscious of what your blood is carrying. If there's doubts (regardless of being straight, gay, male, female, trans, white, black, green, polka-dot, or jewish), you're better off waiting.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 14 Jan 2013, 23:18
No, they were blacklisted because it was found out that they were trans.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: ackblom12 on 14 Jan 2013, 23:31
Yeah, when I say "supposed" I was assuming it was gender or sexuality related.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: K1dmor on 14 Jan 2013, 23:56
 In here, since november-december (2012), whatever you sexuallity, you can donate blood.
The project was since 2008, but there're a lot others to look too.
 I can't find something about trans*, but i read the law and they modificated the article so they can't ask you about your sexual orientation or anything like that.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: ackblom12 on 14 Jan 2013, 23:58
Sexuality was going to be taken off the listing in the US a couple years ago, but due to some outcry by special interest groups the CDC recanted it.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: K1dmor on 15 Jan 2013, 00:04
 Give it some time...or make a lot of noise so they approve it faster  :-D
 
 They took a couple of years here because it wasn't a priority. But in the vote, it had full acceptance.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 15 Jan 2013, 01:07
In what way does being trans make you high-risk? I can't think of a single reason they could even offer to justify that.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 15 Jan 2013, 10:04
Trans* people are the highest risk group for HIV/AIDS.

Also, hormonal regimens tend to muck up the bloodwork, apparently.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 15 Jan 2013, 10:23
Oh. So it's possible that I wouldn't be allowed to donate anyway. I'm on alllll sorts of medications now, and soon I will be adding two more. Fun!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 15 Jan 2013, 10:28
I can understand hormone regimens making tests a little hard to read, but...the rest is just plain discriminatory. As a scientist, I can understand the Red Cross's carefully-worded notice (click on "Donor Deferral") (http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-topic#lifestyle) supporting the FDA's findings, but it doesn't change the fact that freewheelin' sexual escapades aren't so freewheelin' anymore...I would assume (correctly, I hope) that everyone who's responsible enough to give blood is at least responsible enough to be educated about STI's.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 15 Jan 2013, 10:38
Oh. So it's possible that I wouldn't be allowed to donate anyway. I'm on alllll sorts of medications now, and soon I will be adding two more. Fun!

I'm pretty sure Spironolactone alone is enough to disqualify your blood.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 15 Jan 2013, 10:59
This means that, at least, I don't feel guilty about not donating.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 15 Jan 2013, 12:19
Hmmm. If statistically that's the case, then it is hard to argue with. But rather like the issue of men who have sex with men (and I asked at my appointment today, they are still banned for life in the UK), it is a blanket ban when it might be more effective if they were to take a more nuanced approach. I don't know.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Thrillho on 15 Jan 2013, 13:27
Really? I thought it was reduced to a year of non-man-sex-havin' now.

Guess I'm not giving blood  :psyduck:
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 15 Jan 2013, 13:32
They said that it's being looked into and isn't currently possible, but I just looked on the Blood website and it says that it's one year. So I am confused!

Edit: just checked and the change was indeed implemented in November 2011. So my donor centre is VERY out of date!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 15 Jan 2013, 14:21
I think it's probably for the best though. I saw a penis once, and now my blood drips black and burns holes in the floor.

Thank god that's all that happened (http://gawker.com/5972910/ex+gay-former-porn-star-joseph-sciambra-on-why-satan-loves-anal-sex)...
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Lupercal on 15 Jan 2013, 15:00
I was born about two months early, had a blood transfusion as a baby (thanks, science!) and as such cannot donate blood. By the sounds of it I'm now allowed to have lots of gay sex. Hoorah!

Should probably check if there's a way to donate my time, though.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 15 Jan 2013, 15:12
To...to gay sex?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 15 Jan 2013, 15:24
Oh. So it's possible that I wouldn't be allowed to donate anyway. I'm on alllll sorts of medications now, and soon I will be adding two more. Fun!
I'm pretty sure Spironolactone alone is enough to disqualify your blood.

Really? If so...that's just stupid...loads of people are on that. I know it can tweak hormone levels, but it's typically used as a diuretic.

I was born about two months early, had a blood transfusion as a baby (thanks, science!) and as such cannot donate blood. By the sounds of it I'm now allowed to have lots of gay sex. Hoorah!

Have fun.  ;) Seriously though, I think it the blood transfusion were dangerous, you wouldn't have survived this long.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Thrillho on 15 Jan 2013, 15:36
They said that it's being looked into and isn't currently possible, but I just looked on the Blood website and it says that it's one year. So I am confused!

Edit: just checked and the change was indeed implemented in November 2011. So my donor centre is VERY out of date!

Can I suggest you report that? If they're over a year out of date on legislation then what the fuck else are they missing?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 15 Jan 2013, 16:10
Can I suggest you report that? If they're over a year out of date on legislation then what the fuck else are they missing?

Not that this excuses them, but Red Cross makes mistakes all the time. They really need to get their collective head in the game.

Example: My wife (and I, by unfortunate extension) were watching the Duggars ("[X number of] Kids and Counting"), and they were all going to a blood drive. Those old enough were donating blood, because they're all about "doing the right thing." That's fantastic. But then I remembered: They all (the whole god damn family, all 21 of them) just came back from HONDURAS...or maybe it was El Salvador...anyway, they go there EVERY YEAR. Both countries are chock full of mosquitos, and both are considered HIGH RISK MALARIA ZONES, making anyone entering them ineligible for 12 months. And since they go every year, they shouldn't be donating AT ALL. EVER.

This is all on national TV, and it scares me that I'm probably one of about a dozen people (arbitrarily estimated) nationwide who have put these puzzle pieces together.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Thrillho on 15 Jan 2013, 16:24
I know someone who works for the Red Cross and if you tell me the address of the one you're talking about I could get it through to the right people.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Akima on 15 Jan 2013, 17:06
Blood-banks are hyper-cautious, at least in Australia. I had a co-worker who was among the thousands banned from giving blood here, simply because he had lived in the UK for a period covered by the "Mad Cow Ban" (1980-1996).
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 15 Jan 2013, 17:27
Yeah, Mad-cow madness is still rampant in Red Cross eligibility nazis.

I know someone who works for the Red Cross and if you tell me the address of the one you're talking about I could get it through to the right people.

I don't know...All I know is that it's in or near near Tontitown, Arkansas (zip 72770).

Wait...scratch that, here you go: (http://www.redcrossblood.org/news/greaterozarks/duggar-family-donates-blood-little-rock-center)
Quote from: RedCross.org
their   special visit to the American Red Cross, Lowery Blood Center in Little Rock.

Just to cover all my bases, here's their local one, for the record.

Tontitown American Red Cross
Tontitown Blood Donation Center
250 Industrial Circle East
Tontitown, AR 72770

Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 16 Jan 2013, 02:15
Yup, I can't give blood in America or Australia ever because I spent the first five years of my life (in fact, almost all of the 22 years of my life, but the point is the first five) living in the UK. And of course as a vegetarian infant living in a town, I was at great risk of contracting mad cow disease...

Anyway. Gareth, next time I go I will check again and if I'm not told that it's been changed (and if the leaflet hasn't been updated) I will tell them, and write to them. It really surprises me as it's the permanent donor centre for one of the country's top teaching hospitals; they ought to be on this stuff. I hope it's just the one woman who I spoke to who wasn't with it - she was the receptionist - but the leaflet being wrong too worries me.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Jace on 16 Jan 2013, 03:04
I can't give blood because I get a tattoo about once every 9 to 11 months. Also I'm afraid of needles and I don't really like the idea of my blood being taken. And we all know the Red Cross is run by vampires*. I don't even know my blood type.



*See Dr McNinja's Spooky Stuff Page 18 (http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/10p18/)-Ed
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: BeoPuppy on 16 Jan 2013, 03:11
I can't give blood because I get a tattoo about once every 9 to 11 months. Also I'm afraid of needles [...]

So, how do you even get your tattoos done?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 16 Jan 2013, 05:49
Needles that draw blood are completely different from tattoo needles.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: lepetitfromage on 16 Jan 2013, 05:54
I'm actually the same way- I used to pass out when I had to have blood drawn (now I just let lightheaded but still- no fun), but have sit through 7 tattoos to date and have never had an issue. Actually kinda feels.....nice. Plus- it's on a whole different side emotionally- tattoos mean excitement, something new that you've been looking forward to. Having life juice taken out of you is a little scary to think about. Just fuel for my already panicky brain...


Ninja'd by Neko!  :-P
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 16 Jan 2013, 06:07
I get excited about donating blood - it feels like an important and useful thing to do, and I have felt so guilty for the last two years about not being able to that finally having managed to give a full donation was a great feeling! If you think about it as "having life juice taken out of you" then of course you're going to feel panicked. I see it more as donating the excess of something I have in abundance to provide for people who don't have enough (just like any form of charity).
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 16 Jan 2013, 06:11
I wish I could get excited about that sort of thing. I don't think of it as anything being taken from me, but the needle hurts and it terrifies me every time. It's also really difficult to find a vein on me, no matter how hydrated I am. Turns out if you have to stab me three times, I pass out. And when I pass out, I wet myself. And so it's a very embarrassing and scary situation for me.

I was scared about my two tattoos, but I knew that I could ask her to stop at any time with no consequences. I also was definitely more excited.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 16 Jan 2013, 06:14
Needles that draw blood are completely different from tattoo needles.

Yes, quite. I'd actually rather get a tattoo than a piercing...at least the tattoo needle isn't going to come out the other side of my arm. >_<
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 16 Jan 2013, 06:37
Well piercing needles are completely different as well. I have 9 piercings right now, plus one that had to be retired. I got all these from age 16 on up. I was plenty scared - anxiety does that to you - but I still could handle a piercing needle better than getting blood drawn. I didn't allow any needles near my veins until I was forced to give blood when I got really sick and went to the hospital.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 16 Jan 2013, 07:06
Bluesummers, if the needle they use to take blood from your arm comes out the other side then they are doing it badly wrong...
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: BeoPuppy on 16 Jan 2013, 07:20
I have been stabbed through the hand in a medical procedure once ... okay, granted, the needle didn't come out at the other end, but not by much.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 16 Jan 2013, 07:25
What was the medical procedure? Are you sure it wasn't actually some kind of torture?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: lepetitfromage on 16 Jan 2013, 09:10
I get excited about donating blood - it feels like an important and useful thing to do, and I have felt so guilty for the last two years about not being able to that finally having managed to give a full donation was a great feeling! If you think about it as "having life juice taken out of you" then of course you're going to feel panicked. I see it more as donating the excess of something I have in abundance to provide for people who don't have enough (just like any form of charity).

I think it's less about "life juice" and more about the idea of anything medical in general. Needles, doctors, the crinkly paper you sit on after you've seen the nurse and are waiting for the doctor.....it all makes me start to sweat. Occasionally I'll get hives but not always. It's a hurdle that I'd really like to get over but I'm thankful that it's not as bad as it used to be. I'm always convinced that something will go terribly wrong because I overthink every lump, bump and mark. Then I convince myself that it's nothing and that I'm being ridiculous and then I don't say anything to the doctor so I don't look completely insane.


Re: Piercings- I can't handle that needle any better but it's less of a mental thing and more of a "holy shit this is going to hurt".
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 16 Jan 2013, 09:41
I do understand that, and it's a perfectly valid reason to feel unable to give blood. I'm glad I don't have that reaction to doctors, but I do feel it about dentists so I understand. One thing that is nice about donating blood rather than having it taken for medical reasons is that you can only donate blood when you're healthy, so I never have the worry of "what will the tests show?" that I had when I had to have loads of blood tests (and the tests were... inconclusive. Helpfully).
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: CardinalFang on 16 Jan 2013, 10:00
I started giving blood back in 1996 right after my mom died. She didn't die of anything a blood transfusion would've helped but after spending a few days in ICU it seemed like the right thing to do. That lasted a year or so when I received a letter from the Red Cross saying that the test they ran on my blood indicated something possibly wrong with my liver and that I should fo see a doctor NOW, oh and that they never ever want to see my blood again. My brother has a serious liver problem (I want to say it's cryptogenic hepatitis) and was actually on the list to get a transplant. His doctor wanted to make sure he was on the list in case things got bad quickly. Luckily it hasn't gotten worse over the years.

Anyway you can imagine that it freaked me out. I called my doctor and had more blood drawn. When the results came in my doctor was out of the office for a week and I was told they had the results but the doctor that was still there wanted my doctor to go over them with me. To this day I can't figure out how the stress didn't just kill me. So,  I finally get to talk to my doctor and he basically waved his hand and said basically that the Red Cross overreacts and that taking an aspirin before giving blood or just jogging could have caused the result. He saw nothing in my blood work that should worry me.

A few years later the Red Cross changed it's policy and I could give blood again. Sadly I haven't gotten back to donating regularly since it is never ever easy for me. My veins are apparently both deep and roll or something. When I do give the person trying to get to my vein invariably has to call over the senior person to give it a hot. My record at my doctor's office to just give a test tube full is six sticks. Three in one arm, two in the other, and one in the hand. Funnily enough that coudln't get it out of my hand although the vein was clearly visible. Apparently my blood likes me and doesn't want to leave. However I am O- and really really really need to start giving again. Perhaps I will.

Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Patrick on 16 Jan 2013, 10:53
The Red Cross doesn't like me having lived in Albania. Hepatitis A & B outbreaks in the tapwater are fairly common there, and I was immunized against them before I went, but between that and possible tick-borne encephalitis, they really just don't wanna talk to me. It's bullshit. I bring my vaccination records and GINORMOUS FUCKING ARTERIES and they just don't care.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Thrillho on 16 Jan 2013, 11:25
He's got arteries so wide you could fit a dick in them. That's a fact, that I know.

Erm.

What were we talking about?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Papersatan on 16 Jan 2013, 12:16

The FDA has a number of bullshit rules which prevent perfectly healthy people from donating and which don't account for equal risk factors in other groups.  I think it would be far better if the questions asked about unprotected sex (of any kind).  So as a woman, sex with a man does not disqualify me, but here are the questions I am asked:

Have you ever had sex with a man who had sex with a man since 1981?
Have you ever received sex or drugs in exchange for sex?
Have you ever given anyone sex or drugs in exchange for sex?

While those things may well put me at an increased risk of having a disease which is communicable by blood, they don't asses the risk very well.  If I were paid for sex 10 years ago, any potential problems would be obvious by now.  When they test my blood, it would be clear if I had caught anything or not.  On the other hand the questions don't ask me about new sex partners or unprotected sex.  If I had unprotected sex with a new partner two weeks ago, I am at risk of having contracted something, and not know it because not only would I not have symptoms, I might still be testing negative. 

My understanding about why the rules have not been changed wrt gay men, is that hemophiliac groups are still fighting against the change.  People with hemophilia need blood products regularly to survive.  When HIV was new, and we hadn't figured out where it came from or how to stop its spread, as many as half of hemophiliacs contracted it.  It is terrifying to think about what it must have been like to be a member of any of the high-risk groups at that time. The actual virus had not been identified, but people kept getting sick and dieing. Even when the CDC had narrowed the risk factors, there was nothing hemophiliacs could do to reduce their risk.  Gay men could abstain from sex, or use condoms.  Heroin users could get clean, or use clean needles. Hemophiliacs had to go, month after month, and be injected with clotting factors which might be infected.  Hemopheliacs who lived through that still lobby against allowing gay men to donate.  I think it is a combination of the still elevated risk a gay man has of contracting HIV, and a vague terror that it could happen again with some new disease.  I understand their position, but I don't think the FDA should have caved to them.
Some people actually protest these rules by refusing to give blood even if they are eligible, to take a stand, but  I could never do that.  Having blood products available to those who need them is too important to me.

When I was little my parents both gave blood regularly.  I grew up thinking it was a thing most people did: the red cross calls and tells you it is time to give again, and you make an appointment and go.  This is a thing adults do. 
I gave blood the first time right about a month after I was old enough to do it.  I only gave twice before they revealed my blood was (nearly) useless.  I am type AB+:

1. AB+ can take any other type of blood
2. AB+can only be given to other AB+ people
3. AB+ people are pretty rare

AB+ is the universal plasma type though, so for a while I gave plasma pretty regularly, and the apheresis machines were also set up to take platelets, and I have a high platelet count, so they took them too. 

Donating blood was something I was raised to think was a social obligation if you could do it.  My father is actually pretty scared of needles, though I didn't realize it until he was hospitalized when I was in high school and I watched him squeeze his eyes shut, and look away, the color draining from his face, as a nurse took a blood draw for testing, and that made me even more impressed that he had given blood regularly. 

Speaking of his  hospitalization, it is another reason why I think blood donation is important.  My father's life has been saved by blood products.   When I was in high school he received several units of whole blood to keep him alive while they figured out where he was bleeding from internally.  I asked my boyfriend at the time if he gave blood, or was an organ donor.  He told me no, because he didn't like the idea of a piece of him being inside of someone else. I told him he didn't seem to feel that way about his dick, and it was the beginning of the end for us.  Last year, when my father was in a coma with sepsis, the doctors used imunoglobulin to help him fight the infection.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Redball on 16 Jan 2013, 15:10
I related how I fainted when I first gave blood, at 17, but with a note from my dad.
The impulse came from an experience a couple of years earlier: My mom cut her hand slicing something at the kitchen sink. I applied a tourniquet, then promptly fainted, going down like a tree and leaving a dent in the pedestal that held up the kitchen table. So we both went to the hospital.
I thought I could get over the fear by giving blood. I guess I did, if I gave as much as I did.  ut I still close my eyes and look away every time a needle goes through my skin.
With one exception: My wife in one of her chemo series would experience a precipitous drop in white blood cell count after every infusion. She would come home from the hospital with 10 injections of neupogen to rebuild the WBC count. I was amazed that she could inject herself.
A couple of years later, I was told I needed Forteo, an injectable drug to combat osteoporosis. I did it with only occasional pain, for two years. It was easy. I think the ease transferred over to being easier with blood draws after that. Maybe the fat in my tummy helped too.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: pwhodges on 16 Jan 2013, 15:15
There was one dentist where I would faint when having an injection in the gum; after a while we found that I fainted before the needle touched me...  I never did it at any other dentist's, and I didn't dislike or fear the one where I did.  Very strange - maybe the chair was uncomfortable or something.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: bainidhe_dub on 16 Jan 2013, 15:36
I hate hate hate getting novocaine shots at the dentist, but with this new dentist I saw last month, I learned that the serious discomfort I used to have during fillings that gave me heebie-jeebies just thinking about it too long? That's not normal, that's what it feels like when you're not numb enough and can feel the freaking drill bit. So I still hate the shots, and need three or four vials, but it's a hell of a lot better than having your face numb for hours afterward and still feeling the drill.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 16 Jan 2013, 17:06
I'm apparently better than I was w/r/t/ shots, especially dental shots - I used to get incredibly freaked out thinking about it, much less reading up on it.

I still don't think I'm ready to have one in my face, though I've managed to overcome my crippling generalised fear of needles - thanks EMDR!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Redball on 16 Jan 2013, 17:44
My dentist has a neat way of distracting from the needle. As I recall it (since it's a needle, I don't focus on the whole thing that much), he pulls on softer tissue, maybe my lip, wiggles it back and forth a little roughly, then inserts the  needle. It's like my first ever penicillin shot, following a root canel in 1948 or so, in my bottom: The dental surgeon spanked me twice, 1, 2, and inserted the needle on 3. I hardly felt it.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: bainidhe_dub on 16 Jan 2013, 18:41
I didn't have dental coverage for a few years so I just finally went last month and needed a ton of fillings (shocker) including in my front teeth, and the shot for that one went into the gum right above and left the tip of my nose numb for about four hours.
But now that it's all done my teeth/jaw/face/skull keep hurting, which they didn't do when I just had the cavities. I have to take Aleve two or three times a day, or else I wake up in the middle of the night from it. I'd go back but I'm not really sure what's the cause, if it's the fillings actually or just the fact that, y'know, I had like 18 fillings in three weeks.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Redball on 16 Jan 2013, 18:52
You should go back. My root canal as a child was in a tooth which had been worked on; the dentist had drilled a little too far. Your symptoms sound too general to be only a tooth, but you should have it checked.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Jace on 16 Jan 2013, 21:13
I can't give blood because I get a tattoo about once every 9 to 11 months. Also I'm afraid of needles [...]

So, how do you even get your tattoos done?

One I never look at the needle touching my skin. Two it doesn't so much go in and stay there as it hits a bunch of times really fast.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: BeoPuppy on 16 Jan 2013, 22:32
I'm impressed.

My dentist has never ever hurt me with an injection. And I have had tons. It always makes me wonder what people are talking about when they describe the pain from such an injection. And I wonder why not everyone goes to my dentist.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: bainidhe_dub on 17 Jan 2013, 03:43
I think it's not actually the needle so much as the drug. There's this burning sensation as it starts into your gums. One of my old dentists said it was because it's a different pH balance from the body.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 17 Jan 2013, 04:35
I can't watch the needle go in unless I'm in one of my very upswing moods where everything is fascinatingly interesting and I'm queen of the world (thankfully for my energy levels and the sanity of everyone around me, those aren't too common so they don't usually coincide with blood donations). But as Kat says, it's just too important to let discomfort put me off.

I do like the warmth of the blood going through the tube which is taped to my arm, though. Once the needle is in I can look at it and I like to watch the collection pouch swinging back and forth and filling up with blood. It's quite a nice colour, nothing like the stuff on TV.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: VonKleist on 17 Jan 2013, 04:44
Haha. Reminds me of when my Doc told me she had to "puncture" my sinuses because of an infection. She didn't explain what that implied and just told me to come back in the morning.
I show up the next day and have to face basically being stabbed in the back of the inside of my nose with a giant hollow needle. It made an audible *crack* as it went through. "Hum hum, your septum is unusually thick", she said merrily, "most people don't even feel the needle going through". She then told me she didn't explain the procedure to me the day before lest I wouldn't show up for fear of it.
I like her. Sheīs a nice lady and competent physician.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 17 Jan 2013, 05:07
My dentist puts a little topical anesthetic wherever he will be injecting anything, waits a couple minutes, and then does the injection while wiggling my lip. It still sucked, partially because that syringe was just terrifying, and then it had a giant needle, and I didn't want to be there in the first place. But I haven't gotten any dental work done before, so I don't know how bad it can be.

My dentist did make sure to tell me that most dentists don't do that - he wanted me to stop saying that something hurt. Even though it did and I needed another injection. -_-
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 17 Jan 2013, 05:22
It made an audible *crack* as it went through. "Hum hum, your septum is unusually thick", she said merrily, "most people don't even feel the needle going through".

OH GOD....now I have to hold my nose in my hands the rest of the day.

My new years resolution is to NOT read things like this...involuntary cringing is not fun....
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: VonKleist on 17 Jan 2013, 05:34
Uhh, Iīm sorry. Thatīs how I felt the other day when I was eating and read the things about people's shaving habits :laugh:

Maybe I should have gone for the other doctor-story where someone stole my favourite scarf from the waiting room while I was seeing the doc. An empty waiting room, except for some old folks that had just left. And the staff were just like "meh, itīs gone, some old person took it, move on" and rolling their eyes while I was impotently shaking my fists in anger.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: lepetitfromage on 17 Jan 2013, 06:32
Urrrgh...I didn't even realize that something like that was possible! I get sinus infections fairly regularly. Used to be about twice a year- getting better slowly but surely since I can distinguish sinus infection-y sick from regular sick and run as fast as I can do a doc. But no one has ever said anything to me about puncturing sinuses. That's terrifying!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 18 Jan 2013, 05:56
Um ok seriously guys, does the USA not have informed consent laws?! If a doctor straight-up told me that they hadn't explained the procedure in case I didn't want to go ahead with it, I would be on the phone to a lawyer and I'm not from the famously-lawyer-happy country!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: jwhouk on 18 Jan 2013, 06:38
They throw so many things at you when you go into the doctor's office, it ain't funny.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 18 Jan 2013, 06:50
I'm sure if they asked the doctor directly they would have to answer truthfully. But not asking means the doctor didn't feel the need to explain it all. Not exactly a good thing but I would think it's technically legal.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 18 Jan 2013, 07:08
In the UK, every procedure requires informed consent. That means that the patient knows what the procedure entails, why it would be offered, and what the risks are of both having it performed, and not having it performed. They must have the opportunity to refuse, and the only time that refusal can be overruled is if the person has lost the capacity to consent and the treatment is in their best interests.

Obviously the amount of detail that needs to be gone into depends on the nature of the procedure. For something like listening to a heartbeat with a stethoscope, a simple "can I listen to your heartbeat?" whilst holding/indicating the stethoscope would be enough. Sticking a needle into someone's face? That definitely needs explaining and getting consent, to the extent of "this is what I'll do, this is why I'll do it, do I have your permission to do it?".

Take ownership of your autonomy, people! Doctors do not always know best, and even if they do, you have the right to know about it too! This isn't the 1940s.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: VonKleist on 18 Jan 2013, 07:16
Hmm, never really thought about it.
The procedure isn't a big deal, from what I can google it may be done if an infection of the sinuses persists for 10-14 days to ventilate the sinuses and aply antibiotics. Which wasn't done, because it turned out it wasn't so bad after all.
But I know jack shit about the legal ramifications and I don't really care.
I mean, I just trust that woman to know whatīs best to do about my breathing apperatus and everything attached to it.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 18 Jan 2013, 09:13
I guess that studying medical law means that I don't trust doctors as much as most people. Also, wanting to be a midwife means believing strongly in the importance of informed consent, autonomy, and leaving things the fuck alone if that's what the person whose body it is wants.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: lepetitfromage on 18 Jan 2013, 10:26
In the UK, every procedure requires informed consent. That means that the patient knows what the procedure entails, why it would be offered, and what the risks are of both having it performed, and not having it performed. They must have the opportunity to refuse, and the only time that refusal can be overruled is if the person has lost the capacity to consent and the treatment is in their best interests.

Our healthcare system leaves so much to be desired......the typical risks I hear about are the ones that will happen if I DON'T get the procedure/meds/etc that they are sending my way. And I don't know if this is just my personal guilt filling every aspect of my life, but I always feel like I did something wrong to end up at the doctor's office in the first place.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 18 Jan 2013, 10:49
When I was stuck in the ER earlier I had a doctor asking me stuff about my junk after he found out I was trans. I was pretty purposefully vague because he had exactly zero right to know, since it had nothing to do with why I was admitted.

Well, he gave me an 'examination' afterwards that mostly consisted of him finding out what I had between my legs. He said, "That's what I thought," and walked away. I asked him what the purpose of that was, and he just laughed, shook his head, and kept walking.

Fuck doctors.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Game and Watch Forever on 18 Jan 2013, 11:03
Said doctor shouldn't be allowed to practice ever again... I'm so sorry that happened to you, Uni. I don't suppose there was a way to report him for misusing his authority?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 18 Jan 2013, 11:16
I have, though I severely doubt it'll change anything.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 18 Jan 2013, 11:19
At the risk of teaching the proverbial grandmother to suck eggs: did you tell him to get bent at any point during this?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Zingoleb on 18 Jan 2013, 11:28
Given that I was in the hospital because I was considered a "danger to [my]self or others," I think acting out against the physician might have backfired against me.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Carl-E on 18 Jan 2013, 11:29
We have informed consent in the form a ridiculously long document in fine print that you have to sign before a procedure that outlines everything that can go wrong and holds the doctor and hospital blameless except for obvious negligence and intentional damage. 

No one actually reads the damn things, though.  They're written by lawyers, for lawyers. 
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 18 Jan 2013, 11:30
Good point. Maybe find multiple ways to report him? You can contact the state medical board about it, and the group he works for, and the hospital, and possibly even the American Board for whatever his specialty is.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: pwhodges on 18 Jan 2013, 11:39
that outlines everything that can go wrong

As I was being wheeled from the ambulance to the theatre for my angioplasty and stent, the surgeon walked beside me saying something like "We're going to poke a tube into your heart arteries and expand a balloon through it; the mortality rate is about 1%; sign here".  Subtext: "sign here, or die anyway".
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 18 Jan 2013, 21:25
Good point. Maybe find multiple ways to report him? You can contact the state medical board about it, and the group he works for, and the hospital, and possibly even the American Board for whatever his specialty is.

Or you could go the grassroots method and publish his info and what he did on 4chan, and let the hivemind do your dirty work.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 19 Jan 2013, 01:41
I wouldn't go down that route until it's clear that the authorities aren't doing anything about it because it would probably ruin any legal proceedings.

That is absolutely appalling and if I could, I would kick up a fuss on your behalf. And/or punch them in the face.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 19 Jan 2013, 05:42
Yeah I kind of want to kick someone's ass for you, Unicorn.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 19 Jan 2013, 06:05
I wouldn't go down that route until it's clear that the authorities aren't doing anything about it because it would probably ruin any legal proceedings.

Understandable.

Report him to the State Medical Board...I'm assuming you live in a state with actual common-sense people on the board, not one of those theocratic bible-thumpin' states. Good luck either way.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Game and Watch Forever on 19 Jan 2013, 06:25
Add me to the list of would-be ass kickers.

I mean seriously, the thought of pulling my pants down for a doc is awkward enough. There should never be the concern that I'm doing it for their benefit and not my own. I hope the guy gets what's coming to him somehow and that your regular doctor at least treats you with the respect you deserve.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Barmymoo on 19 Jan 2013, 07:41
Well as you will surely know, at birth all English people are injected with a dose of mad cow disease in order to produce herd immunity.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 19 Jan 2013, 08:41
I'm not allowed to give blood here because I am English. Seriously, even though I've lived here for most of my life.
It specifically says 'no people born in England'

Does it give a reason? What if your parents, grandparents, great^n-parents were Belgian by birth but your mother happened to be in England when you were born?
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Welu on 19 Jan 2013, 13:30
Unicorn, that is appalling and I don't like threatening violence but that person need to get punched.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Papersatan on 19 Jan 2013, 13:56
On the topic of informed consent and medical malpractice.

When my father was hospitalize last year I went home for a few weeks to be with my family.  I have discussed my father's illness here before, but for those of you who are new or missed it: My father had a sore under his compression stocking which became infected.  The infection spread to his muscle and ultimately to his blood, putting him on the edge of death for several months.  He was in an induced coma, and they did a series of operations to removed dead and infected tissue from his leg.  At first this was done bedside, but it became clear that he would need to be transferred to an OR for actual surgery. 
The doctor and his two residents came to explain the procedure to my mother and then the resident pulled out the consent from and started reading it outloud to my mother to make sure she understands it.  "This form gives Hospital permission to perform procedure on the left leg of.... blah blah risks, benefits"
I look at the paper, then at my father, and then I stand at the foot of my father's bed, facing away from him, I look back at his bad leg, hold up my hands "left hand makes an "L" ", and then let out an "uuuuhhhhhh"

"It is his right leg....."

"What?"

"That form is for his left leg, his right leg needs the surgery"

"Oh! let me fix that, I'll be right back."

Now, I would like to think it would have been clear when they got to the OR, that it was the leg with a necrotic wound dripping puss that needed the surgery, but his other leg was not in great shape really, and my poor mother holding back tears and being brave and signing the forms hadn't noticed, and the doctor who had just looked at his leg hadn't noticed... 

Apparently this sort of mix up happens all the time.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Carl-E on 19 Jan 2013, 16:04
Which is why, when my wife's knee was operated on, she wrote "THE OTHER KNEE, STUPID" on the wrong one with a sharpie. 



Even though the doctor is an old family friend.  At least he got a laugh out of it!
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: nekowafer on 19 Jan 2013, 19:51
From what little I know, the correct leg/arm/side/whatever is often marked, and the incorrect one as well, so there is no mix-up when the patient is out of it.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Carl-E on 19 Jan 2013, 21:37
True, usually by the surgeon while the patient is still conscious before being prepped.  My wife just beat him to the punch - that's how we knew he got a laugh out of it. 
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Papersatan on 19 Jan 2013, 21:47
And in my father's case, he was not able to give input.
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Carl-E on 19 Jan 2013, 21:52
Good thing someone was...
Title: Re: Do we have a New Year's Resolutions thread yet?
Post by: Bluesummers on 19 Jan 2013, 23:49
From what little I know, the correct leg/arm/side/whatever is often marked, and the incorrect one as well, so there is no mix-up when the patient is out of it.

Yeah, my father (RN for years) told me they literally write "NOT THIS LEG" in big bold obnoxious sharpie, all over the leg they're keeping.