Thick blood question please

When I went to hospital yesterday to have the sst test done The nurse kept saying she was struggling to get the blood samples as my blood was so thick.She was very patient and just kept massaging my arm and fingers to try and get the blood flowing so I’ve no complaints about her she was great.Would this be a consequence of my injections of b12 every other day,would this cause my blood to be thicker and should I try taking natural blood thinners? Any advice would be most welcome. X

[cocoa]

If I were you, I would wait until the blood test results come through.

As you went privately it should be quick ... if not, chase it up because it is your money

[Nackapan]

I dont think every other day b12 Injections would make your blood thicker.

I was on them for months and had blood tests without a problem. I would ask reasons for it when you discuss your blood results. TC

[Clags]

I recollect being told this can be a dehydration issue so it may have been just on that day that you had what the nurse called ‘thick blood’ and that you hadn’t had much liquid or it was a hot day.

[Hidden in reply to Clags]

Your probably right there Clags it had been a very long trip that morning and I was up very early which always makes me feel nauseous so I do tend not to eat or drink as I should.That could very well be all it was as I’ve not had any comments before about this when having blood taken.Id had bloods done two weeks previously and there was no problems.thank you for your comments everyone.x

[TrishEtc in reply to Clags]

I'd like to second the dehydration theory. Some friends of mine ran into this same issue when they decided to donate blood after an intense swim workout. All three of them were turned away for having 'thick' blood and told to make sure they were well hydrated next time. A week later, they returned, having made sure to drink enough water before, during and after the workout. Problem solved.

[Hidden in reply to TrishEtc]

Thank you x

[deniseinmilden]

It definitely would NOT be due to you having frequent B12 jabs.

B12 is essential to your body and helps it to be well and function properly. It does not cause problems, no matter how much ill-advised or ignorant medics try to scaremonger!

If you need it, you need it!

You may have been dehydrated and drinking more over the 24 hours before your blood test may have helped.

It is likely that the phlebotomist only found a very small vein and, like a small hose pipe, it didn't have much flow rate! If she'd been lucky and found a fireman's-hose of a vein she'd have filled all her sample pots in no time! Once they have found a vein they usually are happy to be patient because looking for another one is likely to be painful and cause bruising.

If you do not have enough of the cells and other blood components it purely means that your body does not have enough of the essential vitamins and minerals, including B12 (and water), to make them - you have a deficiency or deficiencies - or something in the mechanisms in your body which use these nutrients to make the blood isn't working as well as it should. This might mean that you would need more B12, not less.

I have 3x as much B12 as you and I'm lucky as my veins are reasonably large and easy to find so blood tests are no problem.

Don't worry! Keep up your B12, even if the tests say it's "over range" because you should go by your symptoms once you have injections.

Remember to drink plenty too, especially if it's hot - the fluid will help your body move everything around to where it's needed and is good for your liver and kidneys. You need to drink more than 2 and a half pints every day and in hot weather you might need as much as 4 or 5 pints just to maintain basic hydration, and hence keep your blood at the right consistency. It can be in any sort of drink (it's nonsense to say it must be water, it's just encouraged in children as water isn't fattening!) but if you drink things that are diuretic like coffee or with alcohol in, you will need to drink more of other drinks to compensate.

I hope you feel better soon. x

[Hidden in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thank you Denise I just wondered maybe if my b12 shots were making new blood cells that this could be the reason behind the thick blood comments and of course I googled and panicked because it was saying I’d be more prone to blood clots with thick blood.

your right my veins are tiny,she put the cannula in the back of my hand using a baby needle.I felt absolutely nothing during the sst no changes of any kind I was surprised with that as I’d expected racing heart etc.

Thank you for the well wishes and hope you are well too.x

[fbirder in reply to Hidden]

No.

Your body makes the blood cells it needs. It won't make more than that just because it has more than the usual amount of B12.

[Hidden in reply to fbirder]

Thank you fbirder.

[FlipperTD]

As a scientist, not a medic, but a very experienced phlebotomist... A few observations on blood collection.

Some people are really quite difficult to bleed. We're all different. It is fairly safe to say that 'thick blood' isn't the cause here [unless I'm proven wrong!] I never had problems taking blood from someone with genuinely 'thick blood'. [This is another topic entirely and we'll keep off it for now.]

Using smaller gauge needles makes the phlebotomist's job more difficult. Using 'baby needles' [by which I suspect that's Orange, 25 gauge] then the flow rate is dreadful at best. They're great for delivering fluids but not good for getting blood out of veins.

Each time you drop a needle size, the flow rate halves. So, from the 'huge' 19 gauge, through 21, 23 and down to 25, the flow rate at the 25 gauge is 8 times slower. The chances of getting a really good quality sample through such a 25 gauge needle are reduced, and some things really aren't worth measuring under those circumstances. My advice, in training phlebotomists, was to use the largest needle you can get away with! Any suggestion that 'bigger will hurt more' is hard to define. they're all very, very sharp indeed, and the quicker the process the better, and the better quality samples. If you tell the patient that 'this is a large needle and it will hurt more' then be assured, it will. However, if the patient doesn't see what you're using, then it's over in a matter of seconds. [Yes, I've had hundreds of 'blood lettings' with a wide range of needles, so I'm speaking from the experience of 40 years+].

I accept that some patients just present us with difficult choices.

Good luck!

[Hidden]

Thank you flipperTD it’s good to hear from your experiences of this.I didn’t feel any pain when she was working on getting the blood out,she had to take three samples over 1.5 hours ,and I didn’t feel the effects of the injection either.Im just hoping it all goes well and they do get accurate results for the sst as it’s not something I want to repeat lol.

Many thanks for taking the time to explain.

[briarhillcat]

Have you always had B`12 every other day. That does seem an awful lot. We are all different in having our B12 injections. I had it every day when I was first diagnosed (along with ulcerative colitis) but gradually they spaced it out. I do not think man of the doctors understand abut the need for B1`2 injections. It makes you wonder. Hope you can get it sorted out Thrones. Briarhill Cat.

[Hidden in reply to briarhillcat]

I have confirmed p.a and although I’ve tried reducing the frequency of injections my symtoms return very quickly so since I started the loading doses in April I have injected on a more regular basis tryng to stretch the days out every now and again or stopping for a couple of weeks to have I.F testing and it’s awful when I’m off them.I may even increase to daily at some stage if I feel I need it,everyone has varying levels of deficiencies and symptoms and what seems to help some just isn’t enough for others on a cellular level from what I’ve learned.

I’d love to reduce to monthly as I hate the needles but sadly right now it’s very early days for me.

Hope you stay well too briarhillcat take care x