Urine Collection Mistake...

Ladymouse

I'm doing a 24 hour urine collection at the moment, and in hour 18, I remembered it was supposed to be refrigerated.  D'oh!  Did I royally screw myself over here? /end salient point

The rest of this is just a wee rant.  I'm pretty sure they're having me do this due to my elevated, but not high, blood pressure at my last check up.  Mind you, I had two family members die that day, halfway across the country - my grandfather and a not-very-close brother to my other Alzheimersy grandma.  And the texts regarding the timing on my grandpa's visitation started coming in when I was in the waiting room - and my grandma was refusing to set a date.  Plane tickets varied from $250 to $900 depending on how short of notice I had.  Plus this pregnancy does not get on well with flying.  And my husband is losing his job soon - not his fault - which really makes spending money nerve-wracking at the moment.  OF COURSE my blood pressure was elevated!  And it will be tomorrow, too, since I'm flying back home alone on Thursday.  Oh yeah, and I hate hospitals to begin with, which also increases my BP.

AimeeL85

I'm not sure about the refrigeration thing, I would definitely let them know, though.  When I had to do it in the hospital they had me keep it on ice, so there must be some reason, I'm just not sure what it is.

I'm sorry to hear about the deaths in your family, I'm sure that only made things more stressful.  Still, it's better safe than sorry to make sure there's no problem. Pre-eclampsia is nothing to mess with if you are developing it.  I peed in many-a-jug and everything else and it was a PITA, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Hope it works out in your favor!

shipsshoessealingwax

I used to work in a hospital, & occasionally we would forget to ice samples... continue to collect, chill it from now on, & tell them when you turn it in how long it went unchilled - they may or may not have you repeat the collection.

6fsn

I seem to recall the chilling was simply to keep the smell down.  Keep collecting then call and ask. 

I'm sorry you are going through this.

Jade4127a

I did a 24 hour collection at week 20, and my doc told me NOT to keep the container in the fridge, just a cool dark place.  So I kept it under the sink in the spare bathroom.  Everything worked out fine on my end!  GL!

blueeyedgirl27

We store urine specimens in the hospital until the lab can get to it, too. Because urine is a body fluid that decomposes like everything else organic. Refrigeration staves off decomposition as well as bacterial growth. Other things in the urine begin to break down, such as glucose, leukocytes, and ketones, so the test results may be rendered inaccurate. I'd refrigerate ASAP after discovering the mistake, but do tell your doctor how long it was unrefrigerated for so they can determine whether or not to make you repeat it. My SIL had to repeat hers when she forgot to refrigerate. HTH!

Ladymouse

Jade4127a - Thanks!  That makes me feel better.  It was in a cool, dark place until it was in the fridge.  

 And my blood pressure was perfectly normal this time - on the lower half of normal even.