*sigh* well, the blood letting didn't go so good. They stabbed me three times trying to get a vein. No avail. Bleh. So I go into tomorrow (Saturday) to the professional vampires as they want 5 vials. Not really looking forward to that.

Looks like my scales are off by like 10lbs. So I will keep that in mind every time I step on it.

Bleh.

It still sounds as if you are on the right track. Keep up the good work!

I'm assuming you mean that your scale is 10 pounds lighter than the medical scale, but that's still quite an accomplishment, even if you lost "only" 14 pounds instead of 24. I think it's an amazingly good start.

RE blood letting not working:

I hate it when that happens. I once went to an emergency room with food poisoning. They spent a long, long time unsuccessfully trying to start an IV drip of the right stuff. Much of that time was spent "digging" with the needle. Finally they just left the needle in my arm even though they didn't hit a vein. And they just pretended it was working, even though no drip was happening. The whole time I was telling them "I'm a tough stick. Just give me the injection."
"No, No," they said "This is sooooooooo much faster."
So, after forty minutes of their complete incompetence, the placebo effect finally kicked in. I got so mad that I told them just to give up, I was leaving untreated. Surprising how energizing it can be to have someone moving a needle in your arm for forty minutes.
They billed my insurance company almost $500 for trying to treat me but failing.

So goes life with no veins.

Well, this was a 100% first for me. Most of the time, I'm such an easy stick.. first time round, bleed fast, boom done. This time? A 100% first. And it wasn't fun. I have 3 pinpricks in my arms. Yuck. Hurt. I didn't make it to the professional vamps this morning.. DH has a cold so I had to take care of him. *sigh* So I'll go on Monday afternoon after work. Luckily I don't need to fast, so that should make things easier. I think that the reason why they weren't able to get any juice outta me is 'cuz I'd only had 2 cheese sticks, 1/4lb of baby carrots, & 2 liters of water all day.. no real food. And, the last stick.. *BONK* almost passed out cold. Hate that, especially when the nurse is trying to help me to their bed/table thingie so I can lay down & my leg is bigger than she is. LOL. DH had gone w/me.. he ran out of the room & down to the hospital's cafeteria and got me a Gatorade. A GZero, Grape flavored. YUCK. That was SOOOOOOOOOO sickening sweet!! NASTY!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

I haven't had grape flavored anything in decades. I know exactly what you are talking about.

It's probably not your diet. Some phlebotomists are much better than others. I think some stick first and ask questions later. Others will not stick until they are pretty sure they know they'll hit a vein. I'm just about to the point where I can tell where on the spectrum each of them is. One thing is certain: if they don't take me seriously when I say I'm a tough stick, I know they will miss. Last time I had blood drawn, I think the phlebotomist at my doctor's office only stuck me so that she could say she was unsuccessful and had a solid reason to send me across the street to someone who was pretty good.

For me, the stick itself doesn't elicit fear. It's the fear of a protracted excavation process that makes me feel faint. Of course, one cannot be completely certain which it will be until the vials are full.

My veins are so available the technicians practically lick their chops! Never had a problem.

Thank goodness for small blessings.