Son couldn't get blood drawn is this a LYME symptom?

Just spent 2.5 hours getting to and from LLMD office. The nurse tried ten times to get blood from my son (for all his lyme testing). Twice she was able to get needle fully in but not blood would come out - maybe three drops. My son was such a good sport but looked pale by the end and his arms are bruised.

Is this some type of symptom of lyme? I'm not worried about something new. He ate and drank water before appt. He even exercised this morning.

Taking him to a lab tomorrow morning to see if they have better luck.

3HC,

Thanks for responding. I'm sorry you have had so much trouble. That sounds awful :(

Well I was holding out hope that he maybe doesn't have Lyme. Doesn't sound like it.

Will try again tomorrow.

Trav,

Thank you. I will make sure he is super hydrated tomorrow. They did use a kids needle.

So does this mean most likely Lyme or can other things do this as well? I felt so bad for him today.

Thanks.

Trav,

Thanks. Would this thick blood also cause things like tiredness and low stamina? He seems to have no stamina lately. I can't wait to get these tests back and get him into treatment. I know he will have to miss school on treatment and my husband won't allow treatment or missed school without raw data. The LLMD is good enough to work around this - if he sees indeterminate he will know that's enough, etc...

Sorry you have to go through such agony with blood drawing. I was like that many years ago. I was having weekly IV vitamin drips and would have to soak arm in hot water for 30 minutes prior. It was winter.

Thank you.

Sorry you went through all that and couldn't get his tests done!

How old is your son? I hope he has much better luck tomorrow!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your statement in your sig line, waterbee!!

If you are drinking plenty of water, it is not your issue. Sodium would most likely be your issue. Without enough sodium, vascular hydration is low no matter how much water you drink. Eat something salty (like convenience store chicken) 1 or 2 hours prior to having blood drawn.

Hypercoagulation in Lyme patients often comes through altered copper levels and altered immune function. WBC copper levels in patients with chronic infection increases significantly while liver stores of copper decrease dramatically. Intracellular RBC copper levels can decrease and blood levels of copper can increase. This is our body's attempt to reduce infection as copper limits many bacteria's growth but ultimately reduces valuable substrates for vital reactions.

Lyme actually decreases fibrin production and the body wants to increase fibrin to reduce dissemination. Lyme patients often end up with increased fibrin levels although not from an increase in the borrelia bacteria but from the body's attempt to suppress other bacteria that increase through the course of Lyme Disease.

A quote:
Many bacteria can bind circulating plasminogen to their surface where it can be converted to
active plasmin and subsequently induces fibrinolysis. Activation of the fibrinolytic cascade
results in degradation of the extracellular matrix, basal membrane and host tissues and
facilitates bacterial spread. Recruitment of plasminogen is important for the dissemination of
Borrelia burgdorferi, since this bacterium lacks surface protease activities.

I also had this issue for a while - very thick blood...it would clot in the needle and then in the tube. They were having a problem doing my labs. My ND put me on Boluoke (Lumbrokinase) and within a few weeks things were moving right along. It did help me feel better,too, I think my body was working very hard to move my blood and the blood itself wasn't carrying enough oxygen or iron, etc. This thinned my blood and did give me a little more energy, too. Good stuff but very expensive. I've transferred to the less expensive version that for some reason I can't think of the name now, but it has kept me steady once the Boluoke got me going in the right direction. Maybe something to talk to your doc about for your son?

Hope that helps.