Bloody Hell 💉

Today should be a mostly easy day. I’m going into work a little later because I have to go by my doctor’s office to get some blood drawn. My doctor likes to do my blood tests a week before my annual physical so he has the results at my appointment, and we can discuss them. Having my blood drawn is not something I look forward to (who does?), but I especially dread it because most nurses almost always have trouble finding a vein. I always make sure I drink plenty of water the day before and the day of so I’ll be well hydrated. I’m told that makes the blood vessels easier to find. Still, I sometimes get stuck several times or when they put the needle in my arm, they move it around to get the vein they missed when the needle first went in. They always apologize, and I tell them: it’s ok, it seems to always happen, and if I can handle 31 Botox shots for my migraines, I can handle this.

A few years ago when it was suggested that gay men get the monkeypox vaccine, I went to Planned Parenthood, the only place where they were available, and the nurse was shocked that I didn’t even flinch when she gave me the vaccine, and I told her about the Botox. She said, “Well, that would explain it. Most people find this shot pretty painful because it had to go right under the skin and the patient has to be as still as possible to correctly inject the vaccine.” Anyway, I had no problem with it, but it did leave a scar, which was pretty normal for that vaccine. When I went for the second one, they used the other method of injecting it in the back of my arm, and there as no scar that time.