Empathy and Advice Welcomed Complaining about Arm being sore from selling Plasma

[worthless_loser]

A couple of months ago, I started selling plasma for money.
Good thing too, because of this bullshit about food stamps.
It's going well enough I suppose.
I only make a few hundred a month, but it's better than nothing.
If I go often enough, I can cover my food stamps at least.

But right now my arm is really bad.
I had a bad needle stick, and my arm has been sore for days.
There's also a big bruise.
I almost got deferred today because of how big it is.
I hope my other arm doesn't bruise up like that.
It shouldn't, because the nurse did a better job.

It's the same nurse sticking the needle in that hurts me.
I want to get her to stop, but I don't know how.
She seems kind of mean.
I don't want her to yell at me for complaining if I ask her.
But I don't want her to get in trouble either.
She's not doing it on purpose.

I'm scared my arms are going to get fucked up from too many bad donations.

 

[Oizys Moros]

If it were me, I would call another location anonymously and ask if a donor can request a different nurse.
Depending on the answer you should feel confident enough to request a different nurse before your next appointment.

Or make small talk with the nurse about her work schedule and then you make your appointment when she is not on shift 🫣😂🤣

Additionally, would you rather be bruised and can no longer feed yourself or kindly ask for someone better equipped to insert a needle?

What if she does this to other patients who also don’t inform anyone. Maybe she needs someone to speak up so that she can correct her method. You could be doing her/the clinic a favor.

I wish you the best in determining what is best for YOU!!!!!

 

[Unenthusiastic]

On a somewhat related note, I'd love to start selling plasma myself, lol.

What is it like, besides the bruising and so forth?

 

[worthless_loser]

On a somewhat related note, I'd love to start selling plasma myself, lol.

What is it like, besides the bruising and so forth?

Well, I can only speak from my personal experience, so take with a grain of salt.

It takes a couple of hours, at least.
The longest is the first time you go.
They have to look you over, make sure you understand what you're signing up for.
I had to watch a video, answer questions, and get a small physical.
After they stick you, you have to wait about an hour and change for the whole donation to be done.

The bruising only happens sometimes.
Sometimes, I get no bruising at all.
But it depends on various factors.
Like if you move your arm, or the nurse does a bad job of sticking you.

You can't have certain health problems, like HIV, Hepatitis B/C.
My dad tried to donate, but they banned him because of the meds he takes.

You have to wait a couple days between donations.
I can only donate 2x a week, or 8x a month.
You get a bonus the first few times you go.
I made $500 for donating 5 times within 30 days.
I had to bring my Social Security Card too.

Different donation centers have different rules though, so do your homework.

I hope this helps you.

 

[worthless_loser]

If it were me, I would call another location anonymously and ask if a donor can request a different nurse.
Depending on the answer you should feel confident enough to request a different nurse before your next appointment.

Or make small talk with the nurse about her work schedule and then you make your appointment when she is not on shift 🫣😂🤣

Additionally, would you rather be bruised and can no longer feed yourself or kindly ask for someone better equipped to insert a needle?

What if she does this to other patients who also don’t inform anyone. Maybe she needs someone to speak up so that she can correct her method. You could be doing her/the clinic a favor.

I wish you the best in determining what is best for YOU!!!!!

I'm gonna call the management and see if they can help. I asked one of the nurses there and that's what they said to do.
Also, I don't get much choice in when I go. Usually only if my parents have to go to that city for some other reason.
We had to go today because my mom broke her tooth.
I went along and had a pretty okay experience.

Something I forgot to mention in my other comment: there can be a long line to wait for a booth. So if standing for a long time is bad for you (like it is for me), plan accordingly.

 

[Oizys Moros]

On a somewhat related note, I'd love to start selling plasma myself, lol.

What is it like, besides the bruising and so forth?

I’ve donated before and would do it again. I made small talk with other prospective donors and we did the referral basis for extra perks.

Look online for coupons because off the street you may be offered example $50 but with a referral and/or coupon it could be example $75

Drink plenty of fluids and eat something beforehand. If your hemoglobin is low they will have you reschedule.

That is my two cents 😉

 

[UrbanRose]

A couple of months ago, I started selling plasma for money.
Good thing too, because of this bullshit about food stamps.
It's going well enough I suppose.
I only make a few hundred a month, but it's better than nothing.
If I go often enough, I can cover my food stamps at least.

But right now my arm is really bad.
I had a bad needle stick, and my arm has been sore for days.
There's also a big bruise.
I almost got deferred today because of how big it is.
I hope my other arm doesn't bruise up like that.
It shouldn't, because the nurse did a better job.

It's the same nurse sticking the needle in that hurts me.
I want to get her to stop, but I don't know how.
She seems kind of mean.
I don't want her to yell at me for complaining if I ask her.
But I don't want her to get in trouble either.
She's not doing it on purpose.

I'm scared my arms are going to get fucked up from too many bad donations.

I think there's a bit more than your arms at stake here. If you're donating blood that often, I don't see how you can avoid getting anemic or, at least, iron deficient. Are they checking your blood for hemoglobin level before you donate? Even if that's okay, you could be iron deficient. When our red blood cells die a natural death inside our veins, the body salvages the iron that is in those red blood cells, before it discards the dead cells as waste. When you donate blood, you lose iron that can take a good while to regain, even with the most nourishing diet, which you're probably not getting either.

Hard times drive us to hard solutions. I hope things improve for you.

 

[UrbanRose]

I just want to add something I learned from having a bleeding ulcer. Low hemoglobin is a LATE sign of iron deficiency. Losing blood regularly can create iron deficiency long before it creates the anemia that shows up as a low hemoglobin. That iron deficiency can be detected by other blood tests - like ferritin level - that probably no one is checking on you. Iron deficiency is bad for the heart in ways that are not yet fully understood.

Blood is a very valuable commodity. If pharmaceutical companies knew how to make it, they'ld charge a heck of a lot more for it than anyone is paying you for it. What you're getting for your blood is not a fair exchange. You're being exploited. I'm sorry that your circumstances are bad enough to have led you to this solution. Things must be awful rough.

 

[Inastorm]

@worthless_loser

This is so cool youre doing this to make money, it may be out of necessary but it's very good. In the UK you just get a cup of tea and a biscuit, you don't get paid.

 

[worthless_loser]

I think there's a bit more than your arms at stake here. If you're donating blood that often, I don't see how you can avoid getting anemic or, at least, iron deficient. Are they checking your blood for hemoglobin level before you donate? Even if that's okay, you could be iron deficient. When our red blood cells die a natural death inside our veins, the body salvages the iron that is in those red blood cells, before it discards the dead cells as waste. When you donate blood, you lose iron that can take a good while to regain, even with the most nourishing diet, which you're probably not getting either.

Hard times drive us to hard solutions. I hope things improve for you.

I just want to add something I learned from having a bleeding ulcer. Low hemoglobin is a LATE sign of iron deficiency. Losing blood regularly can create iron deficiency long before it creates the anemia that shows up as a low hemoglobin. That iron deficiency can be detected by other blood tests - like ferritin level - that probably no one is checking on you. Iron deficiency is bad for the heart in ways that are not yet fully understood.

Blood is a very valuable commodity. If pharmaceutical companies knew how to make it, they'ld charge a heck of a lot more for it than anyone is paying you for it. What you're getting for your blood is not a fair exchange. You're being exploited. I'm sorry that your circumstances are bad enough to have led you to this solution. Things must be awful rough.

Donating plasma and donating blood aren't the same.

They put your blood back in you when you donate plasma.
They take out the blood, separate the blood and plasma, then put the blood back in you(along with saline solution) and keep the plasma.

Also, it's illegal to sell blood in America, at least from what I read.
The best you can do in that regard is gift cards from Red Cross.
But you can only donate to them once every 2 months or so.

I'm not trying do sound like a pedantic douche, so I'm sorry if I come off that way.

 

[worthless_loser]

@worthless_loser

This is so cool youre doing this to make money, it may be out of necessary but it's very good. In the UK you just get a cup of tea and a biscuit, you don't get paid.

I wouldn't mind donating once in a while, if my basic needs were met.
I like that I'm helping people and not doing something bad for money.

 

[UrbanRose]

Donating plasma and donating blood aren't the same.

They put your blood back in you when you donate plasma.
They take out the blood, separate the blood and plasma, then put the blood back in you(along with saline solution) and keep the plasma.

Also, it's illegal to sell blood in America, at least from what I read.
The best you can do in that regard is gift cards from Red Cross.
But you can only donate to them once every 2 months or so.

I'm not trying do sound like a pedantic douche, so I'm sorry if I come off that way.

Thanks for the explanation. Yes, I see that donating plasma is not as much a loss as donating whole blood.