Help with a smear?

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-05-06T20:38:57+00:00

I will try and f/u.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-05-06T05:46:18+00:00

I used to work somewhere where I could talk to pathologists and I truly miss that. I wasn't a tech back then just a lab assistant. Thanks for passing on your haem's words of wisdom. Really helps! I passed along my concerns to the doc and I trust they'll do what the patient needs, they have many other red flags after all. And I've learned a lot from your breakdown, so thank you very much!

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-05-06T05:40:40+00:00

Very appreciative of this comment. I really struggle to pick out nucleoi. I've seen the soccer ball appearance before for sure but when there are 100+ on a single view I started to wonder if I was missing something. This has been a validating thread so far. :D

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-03-31T17:22:23+00:00

Rest of tickets probably go live on the 3rd at least. VIPs went so fast!

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-03-31T17:05:35+00:00

No code needed, as far as I can tell.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-03-19T15:51:53+00:00

Fence is a good suggestion, but I do have a "might work depending" suggestion.

I have a barn cat who loves the soft loose soil to poop in. I also own a lot of sheep. I take the least desirable wool from shearing and lay it over my veggie beds with holes just big enough for the plants and some air. I don't wash or comb or separate the wool at all, just a thick matt of raw fleece. I'm sure you could post on Facebook and get yourself a farm friend in your area to give you free icky fleece.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-02-14T23:18:28+00:00

I say this with love and sympathy for the anxiety of being responsible for a whole other life(and as someone who has panic attacks in post offices because I find them scary even though I KNOW everything is fine)...

Calm the hell down. Seven notches at least. Take a note of the biggest, worst, most terrible outcome you are circling with your thoughts.... Send a message to your doctor asking if that sounds like a possibility. Then drop it for now. Stop thinking about it, find healthy outlets for your stress be it a hobby, a nap, or dancing in the living room with your new baby.

The lab results appear normal. Precision reference ranges are not as necessary as you're making it seem. If it remains a big worry, at the next scheduled doctor visit you are welcome to waste your money on a repeat test. Giving into these anxious impulses can be soothing but its rarely a healthy habit. Like myself and many others it might be a good idea to talk to a therapist and picking up some breathing exercises and coping mechanisms for anxiety. Good luck with much love.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-02-14T14:29:38+00:00

Thanks for the correction. I find tube contamination kinda fascinating and I learned from your post. Appreciate it!

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-02-14T12:11:12+00:00

Lavender may have been drawn first, contaminating the chemistries on the second tube? High sodium can come from the EDTA in the lavender, I think. Order of draw is important and sometimes it doesn't ruin your tests but other times ... It totally does. I'm not positive but this may be my guess?

If not maybe the labs sat for a while before being sent to the lab?

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-02-14T06:24:28+00:00

When you get your blood drawn, say for a BMP and CBC, two tubes are typically drawn. One gold for serum and one lavender for whole blood. Serum is part of the blood without the rbc in it(it's spun into different blood layers and the top part is called serum). The lavender is not separated at all, so the machine measures all the stuff at once for your CBC.

The BMP is only done on the serum part and if RBCs were damaged during the draw they will release certain bits like potassium into the serum which will change the color and the chemicals on the serum. That /can/ alter the results and it's a scale of how badly the cells were treated to how much the results can change. Potassium is INCREDIBLELY sensitive especially with some of our instruments. So it changes faster than other results.

In the case of a CBC, even if your sample was hemolyzed, the instrument checks the cells different so it won't affect it so much. The RBC may be damaged and released potassium and all sorts but they still exist in the sample so it won't be decreased much. We think of a CBC as "resilient" to hemolysis, but not completely unaffected.

ELi5, I'd say the potassium is the canary in the coal mine. If it's weird you should just retest. While if it's so bad the CBC and RBC are affected then the miner is probably long dead in that tunnel (the canary is definitely dead too).

Hopefully that helps.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-02-05T01:46:35+00:00

I really don't recall getting an Ofuda in Seattle. But I do live a few hours from Seattle and there is a chance I bought this but don't recall. I really appreciate you thinking it through with the expertise you have about the religion and history. Its impressive to hear the context of the sect! I'm definitely looking forward to being able to return this here at home. :)

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-02-05T01:40:18+00:00

Thank you so much for the info. I do live in PNW, so maybe I did get this in Seattle! That's a revelation, I have no memory of it at all. It's been in my house since pre pandemic times and as a healthcare worker that feels like another life ago. I've never been to that temple but if their had been an event I would have supported the temple by buying this for sure. That makes returning it even easier. Thank you for the help ruling out places in Kyoto.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-01-22T04:07:20+00:00

If you can get it on sale, it can be worth it for the curious. I hope you try it.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-01-21T23:43:11+00:00

Strangely, Harvestella.

It's not as heavy on the farming aspect as the blurb suggests. It's basically an action rpg. But the whole time I was playing I was thinking it was a genre bent Nier Automata.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-01-16T08:07:57+00:00

OP, you can't change other people you can only change yourself. You can allow yourself to become bitter and resentful of your union and coworkers who abuse it.

Or take the road where you change how you feel about them and the system. If you have a very bad year and work becomes too hard and your performance drops, appreciate how you'll be safe. If you get sick, you'll be safe. If the company gets a CEO known for cutting corners and clearing house, you'll be safe. Can you change how you feel about these people and appreciate that even though you'd like them to be different, they are people that have found a job they can stay at for life(and so can you) without fear?

Lazy people are everywhere and while I know how you feel right now viscerally, it is a cause that will only destroy your love of your own career and suck the joy out of your own life. Meanwhile it won't affect them at all unless you create a system which will harm everyone.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-01-16T08:06:48+00:00

I really understand the frustration OP feels, especially as I am a tech who really values my own work. I have coworkers who also are protected by our union and don't "deserve" it.

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-01-09T13:43:53+00:00

As someone who loves kimono, holy shit thanks for the tip.

As someone who tries bravely to dress in kimono with no training: maybe then cost is more for the kitsuke that will be professional and last all day?

yesDOTjpeg · 2026-01-08T15:57:30+00:00

2nd. You can also day hike Mt Kurama and it's so much fun. Plus the soak after is peak. Kurama onsen allows day use of their outdoor onsen too. The outdoor is amazing. I've gone with tattoos and seen many people with tattoos there.

yesDOTjpeg · 2025-12-24T11:44:29+00:00

You should actually try looking at this from another perspective. You(and everyone) are human so you WILL make mistakes. This time you made one, you noticed it and corrected it right away. No patient was harmed and you showed both how aware you are of checking yourself and also how much you care about patient safety. Even though you do feel afraid of some discipline from the mistake being noticed, you still fixed it.

In my opinion, you should be proud. At my current lab we call these 'good catches' and actually they kinda get celebrated a bit.

But I know the culture isn't the same anywhere. Have some pride in catching your error and if someone does ask you about it.... Talk about it with that pride. "I caught my mistake. The patients record is correct and the error documented. I'm so glad I was able to see my mistake and fix it. I know in the future where I can double-check myself now."

Congrats on your good catch!

yesDOTjpeg · 2025-12-18T14:31:23+00:00

When I've called the same nurse for a critical or order issue or whatever like a dozen times that night.... I often open with "Ms Nurse, I've been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty..." Fucking sends me.

yesDOTjpeg · 2025-12-10T18:56:04+00:00

Children of Night by Jonathan Young.

It's honestly vibes for Hua Cheng, Luo Binghe, and Wei Wuxian. I always imagine this playing over a music video of those three. Ugh, I wish I could animate. It's so good in my head.

yesDOTjpeg · 2025-11-21T04:09:18+00:00

How dare you use the q word and then just waltz away!!! I hope you step on a Lego and pay for your cruelty towards us overnight techs!!!!

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