Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with needles

Recurring nocturnal paresthesia

Dag Maggot — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:52:04 -0800

My SO has a problem where her leg falls asleep completely in the middle of the night once or twice a week. Always the same leg (left) from the hip down. She's 40, healthy and doesn't have any other health problems. We've tried switching sides - and even got a new mattress. Any ideas?

Blood makes me sick, Needles make me pass out

TurquoiseZebra — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:03:48 -0800

Career in the medical field that doesn't involve blood or needles? I was laid off in early December (YAY!) and shortly thereafter begin helping a lady from my church. She is in stage 4 bone cancer and is in and out of the hospital. I've basically become her companion, doing everything from dispensing meds, taking her to and from the doctor, staying with her in the hospital, etc. I've also taken care of all of her financial issues, disability, etc.

In my previous position, I did marketing and graphic design.

My question is this: What can I do in the medical field that would actually help people, but doesn't involve blood or needles? At the sight of blood my knees get weak and needles seriously make me pass out. Just SEEING them. I've tried forcing myself to watch medical procedures and look at pictures of wounds, etc. In the ER Sat night a nurse was teasing me about my dislike of needles by shoving a needle in my face and I about passed out.

I'd love to go to school and become a nurse, however I think that with my "issues" that's just out of the question. But I want to help people! I've enjoyed what I'm doing, basically acting as a social worker. I realize that I could always do social work, but I'd like to hear of a few other things I could do.

I'm willing to go to school/college. I'm 30 if that helps.

Suggestions? Ideas?

Xmas Needle Reduction?

CaptApollo — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:41:45 -0800

Genius ways to get the Christmas tree out of the condo building without a bajillion needles everywhere? I loved my very first real christmas tree. Then I went to visit family for six days and it became dry - but not as dry as I feared. Still green, needles not *everywhere* yet.

Has some genius developed a method for getting a tree out of a house/apt/condo with minimal needle explosion? I live in a big condo building, and this will involve several corridors and an elevator.

I think there is some sort of bag number you can pre-position beneath the tree, but I failed to have the foresight to purchase such a gizmo.

I don't want to be guilted into explaining why I don't give blood!

librarylis — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:11:05 -0800

How do I get coworkers to stop asking me to donate blood? I work at a place that is very pro-blood drive. As a concept, I think that's great. It's when my coworkers continually ask me to donate blood that I am less thrilled.

Usually my coworkers will ask me to give blood, I will politely refuse, and they will ask why or try to persuade me to give blood despite my refusal. These are wonderful people who just want everyone to donate blood like they do--but I have reasons why I cannot that I don't really want to share with everyone I work with.

My reasons for not giving blood:
*Under doctor's orders, I can't--the medication I am on can pass through the blood
*Due to this medication, I have to get blood drawn every month anyway and am not eager to up the number of needles entering my body
*I have very small veins and it take quite a lot of effort and pain to find a vein that will give blood (we're talking one arm that has no veins they can use and the other arm they can only get blood from the top of my hand)
*I got a piercing in a foreign country recently (against Red Cross regs)
*I faint every month when they draw my blood, and one time I was rushed to the ER with a concussion. Needless to say, I don't like needles.

What's the best way/best explanation that will help my coworkers understand why I don't give blood while also preserving some of my privacy?

Help me explain what I call "cat mouth" to my boyfriend.

letahl — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:31:58 -0800

Help me explain what I call "cat mouth" to my boyfriend. When I had cats, if one of them walked in front of me while I was at the computer, and their hair softly brushed against the front of my face, the entire inside of my mouth would go all funny. It is like a cross between pins and needles and cotton mouth, but a very strong sensation. I call this sensation "cat mouth" per its origin.

I can also get it if something else brushes against my cheek or lips just very slightly, especially if it is fuzzy in texture. It is not a pleasant feeling at all, although its not painful.

Does anyone have any idea what causes this, or what it is? Am I the only person that gets this?

How to get better sound from a record player.

mildred-pitt — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 16:47:09 -0800

Will replacing the needle on my record player give me better sound? I have owned my Stanton STR88-80 for 3 years. I use it mainly to sample old records, many of which are VERY dirty and scratched. I'm stating to wonder if the sound from my player is getting more lo-if.... but I'm not sure.

Do better (more expensive) needles make significantly better sound?

I need a shot in the arm... FIGURATIVELY.

Ambrosia Voyeur — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:24:08 -0800

How can I learn not to fear needles? I am near phobic of all things injection-related. I say "near phobic" because I don't lose my mind right away, but if I were forced to watch an injection in a movie or even listen to people talk about having blood drawn for any length of time, I would get highly anxious and nauseated. I haven't had any injections for five years and then screamed and shook quite a lot. It was embarrassing and uncool hospital behavior. That was one tetanus shot.

So far, I've refused an IV twice and declined bloodwork a few times, and survived. But, there will be times in my life I'll need to accept a needle in the arm, but that thought sends me up a wall.

Broken skin, scrapes, or blood alone don't bug me. It's the thought of pressure on my delicate and violable membrane. How can I get okay with the thought of blunt things pushing and popping through my skin, turning my flesh into rotty, bruised, plumlike mush? Do I have to resort to sedatives?

How long until my arm feels normal again?

junkbox — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:31:44 -0800

Nerve Damage Filter: Do I need medical attention for my medical attention? During an appointment with my PCP last Friday, he ordered some routine blood tests. When the nurse inserted the needle on the inside of my elbow to draw blood, it hurt A LOT. I'm sure she thought I was being a wuss, but my left arm hasn't been right since and after 5 days I'm beginning to get concerned.

I have tingling, pain and tightness radiating down my forearm, especially when I extend it completely or rotate my arm like I'm turning a doorknob. I'm not left-handed, but I'm mixed-handed and I drive a manual transmission, so my left arm gets a lot of use. Doing almost anything with my left arm causes some amount of pain/discomfort. Looking around online, I'd say that my primary area of discomfort runs down the deep branch of the radial nerve.

I plan to talk to my PCP at our follow-up appointment, but until then I'm wondering:

-- How long will this take to heal? Is there any liklihood that the damage is permanent?

-- How should I treat my symptoms? What sort of painkillers/therapeutic treatments can I do to calm the nerves in my arm?

-- Should I put my arm in a sling? I'm trying to be careful and not put too much stress on it, but I don't know if this warrents immobilizing my arm or not.

-- Finally, how do I address this with my PCP? A member of his staff injured me, and while I'm not eager to lawyer up the longer this goes on the more upset I'm getting. Does this happen often? Am I overreacting? Is there some kind of note I can get added to my patient file that says DON'T STICK JUNKBOX REAL HARD WITH NEEDLES OMGZ!!!

I know that you are not my doctor, that this is not medical advice, and that I should seek professional treatment. That's fine, but a professional did this to me in the first place.

Needled by my sewing machine

Smalltown Girl — Fri, 25 May 2007 08:55:42 -0800

Can any sewing people answer this: How can I "recycle" sewing machine needles? It irritates me that after I've sewn some clothes or worked on a quilt, I have to toss the needles or my machine will get all huffy and start bollixing the thread -- especially the bobbin side. Can machine needles be resharpened or used for something else? I live in a small Texas town and it costs a lot (gas prices, you know) to travel over 100 miles to the nearest city to buy a new supply of sewing machine needles. Thanx.

Can't get small quantity of Huber needles

Wilder — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 08:54:41 -0800

Where can I buy a small quantity of Huber needles? Most manufacturers only sell them in 100s or sell the full infusion kit. But all I need is about 10, and all I require is the needle part. Ideas, please I've been googling for ages and can't come up with a solution

Non-drug-using piercing fetishist wants to know about needle exchanges.

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 18:55:48 -0800

I am a fan of play piercing, but I've had a hard time finding a local source of hypodermic needles to play with. We've got a heroin problem here, and pharmacies aren't willing to sell them to individuals without a prescription for IV or IM medication. But we do have a thriving (and legal!) anonymous needle exchange program. And while I know there are other options — shopping online, mail order, hospital supply houses and so on — I'm still curious... 1) I'm pretty sure it would be wrong to take needles for free that were intended for broke addicts. But what if I gave the exchange a donation to cover their costs and effort? Would there still be some sort of ethical problem then?

2) Would I be expected to prove I was an IV drug user? Might they refuse to give me needles if they suspected I wasn't?

3) What risks would I be exposing myself to? I've checked out the exchange site, and it's in a well-lit, public area in an okay neighborhood, so I'm not worried about the other clients. I'm more concerned about ending up on some government list; are there other risks of that sort that I should think about, and how worried should I be?

Extra bonus karmic answer points if one of you perverts out there has actually tried this and can tell me about your experience.

How to make bloodwork painless?

Izzmeister — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:24:03 -0800

Getting Blood Drawn- Getting a Shot- Do you find it painful? any tricks? When you go to have blood drawn or when you get a shot of any sort, do you feel just a little "pinch" or major pain, white-and-going-to-faint style?

and are there any tricks you would suggest to make it less painful?

some obvious ones people use:

1) look away
2) drink water (if this helps is debateable- it makes the skin "wetter? -or it makes the blood thinner?)
3) eating or drinking something before, when possible?
4) putting ice on the area?

also, anything that would make it more painful? for example... drinking a coffee beforehand, would that somehow (and people not being aware) would make the blood drawing or prick more painful?

medically proven facts, granny tales, alternative medicine, shark cartilage remedies... :) let's hear them!

Should alpaca yarn be knit using small or big fat needles?

luriete — Sat, 27 Nov 2004 23:40:31 -0800

Should alpaca yarn be knit using small or big fat needles?

What can be accomplished with HALF-circular knitting needles?

hsoltz — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 09:18:40 -0800

KnittingFilter: What can be accomplished with HALF-circular knitting needles? Apparently I didn't look closely enough at the photo on eBay, for when my circular needles arrived, I discovered each to have a (factory-installed) disk-like stopper, rather than another needle, on one end. Google turns up nothing (but I've guessed in calling them "half-circular"). Photo here.