Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Blog

Professional guinea pigs.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

A friend sent me a link to a Wired magazine article that talked about people who take part in medical testing. It's a great article, a fascinating look at the world of medical testing. Fargo, North Dakota gets a brief mention, which is, I'm certain, a reference to Pracs in Fargo.

I do studies at Pracs in East Grand Forks, MN.

This friend asked, in his email with the link to the magazine article, how I came to do the medical studies. Anyone who lives in the eastern North Dakota and/or western Minnesota is very aware of Pracs. They run commercials on TV all the time. That's how I heard of it. I wonder, though, if people who aren't familiar with it are curious. I've noticed a lot of Google hits on people doing searches about Pracs and what it's like to be in a study, so I figured I'd just tell you my experience in general.

First, I look on the website to find a study I qualify for, and then I give Pracs a call to set up a screening. I drive to Pracs for my screening, and answer a very comprehensive set of questions on a computer which ask me nearly every possible thing about my health that I could imagine. Some people lie, of course, so that they aren't disqualified for the tests. If you, for example, tell them you get migraines or are allergic to aspirin, you'll probably be done with any further efforts at being in a study. I am not a sickly person, and don't have a history of anything alarming or allergic, so I'm good to go.

Next, after the computer questions are finished, they call you back into an office, measure your height and weight (can't be too heavy or too thin), have you leave a urine sample, and then set you in a room with a representative who will take your temperature and blood pressure and tell you about the study. Then, you have an ECG and have about four tubes of blood drawn for various purposes.

A brief physical with a doctor happens next. Since I live so far away, they are very good about setting me up an appointment on the same day. If everything is in order, my name is added to the list of study participants.

On the day of check-in, there are more people than the study actually requires. These people are called alternates, and you don't know if you are one until the next morning when the study begins. Check-in means the staff goes through your bags and bedding to make sure you're not trying to sneak in food or anything else that's prohibited. Then, you go back to the large bunk rooms and pick a bed. I always try to get one in the corner away from the door and with an outlet handy so I can watch movies on my DVD player. Most studies require a urine sample at check in to look for drugs. Also, women usually have to have blood drawn for a pregnancy test.

Early the next morning, your blood pressure is taken. If you are in a study where you are given breakfast (a high fat, rather nauseating breakfast) you'll eat that (and eat ALL of it). If you are in a fasting study, you won't be eating until lunch time. People are assigned numbers and called up to prepare for dosing. If your number isn't called, you didn't make it into the study. You get some money for your time, and are bumped up to find a replacement study to participate in, if possible. If you do get in the study, you take the medication as directed. Everything is timed, at that point.

Back at the tables, everyone sits and isn't allowed to sleep or wander about freely until lunch. They play movies and you can read and do homework or other stuff during this time, but you have to sit up at the tables for a number of hours. I was in a study where they made us sit there for 12 hours, though you do, of course, get to use the restroom when needed.

Depending on the study, your blood draws could start ever 10 minutes or be every half hour. It varies, and the draws become further apart as the study goes on. The blood draws are timed and the phlebotomists move down the lines of tables as someone calls out the time. You swab your own arm with rubbing alcohol towelettes before they get to you.

When lunch rolls around, they bring you your food. You'll have the same food for the length of the study, including the next weekends. They make sure you've had all your liquids and check to see what you've eaten. You'll still have timed blood draws throughout the day (and sometimes through the night) but you can usually go back and sleep or hang out on your bed during the afternoon. They provide you your evening meal, and often a snack before bed.

The next morning you have a blood draw, have your vitals taken (blood pressure, possibly temperature), and can leave, depending on the study. I was in a study that had us stay for two days instead of just the one. Most studies have return draws, which is why I stay at my sister's house. You come back and have your blood drawn at certain times depending upon what the study calls for. The last weekend of the study (usually there are at least two, sometimes more), after the final return draw, you may have an exit physical with a doctor. Then, the money is yours.

From what I was told once, during a study where the man running it took the time to just tell the group of us various things, Pracs is a company that doesn't test high-risk medication (those studies have significantly higher payouts, obviously, because of the increased risk). Personally, I will not do any study that is testing hormone-related medication, though those are offered. They also check with the local blood/plasma companies to make sure no one is donating either of those, since it is against the rules to do that within 30 days of a study. You are also not allowed to do a study any sooner than 30 days after the previous one. There are a number of people I start to recognize in the studies now that I've done about nine or ten studies, which means there are a lot of people doing what I'm doing to earn money on a semi-regular basis.

As far as bad stuff that has happened, the worst, for me, was passing out in a bathroom and whacking my head on the hard floor. It was after a 2 a.m. blood draw that went bad and took multiple tries with the phlebotomist moving the needle around in my arm. I didn't feel faint when it was over, and was on my way back to bed, stopping in the bathroom to wash my hands, when it happened. I had to get checked out to make sure I was OK. I had a huge lump on the side of my head for about two weeks. I've also gotten dizzy from some medication. But, generally, it doesn't bother me much. The passing out part has happened maybe once each study, where someone gets faint or light-headed and has to lie down, particularly during difficult draws. Some people also have thrown up. The worst, really, is when the people drawing your blood have a difficult time, which happens periodically for me. When they start moving the needle around, it tends to not only hurt, but make me feel nauseated or light-headed. On the other hand, some are so good you don't even feel them doing it at all.

Most of the people in the studies are college kids, but there are a surprisingly high number of people like me who aren't in college and are just looking for ways to earn extra money. There are a lot of teachers that do the weekend studies as well.

Now, regarding the finer philosophical points of doing something like this for the money...I've talked about it a bit.

But not much.

I don't know what to say, other than it is what it is: a means to an end. In particular, it covers my Nicaragua trips, which is an extra expense I could not otherwise afford. If I didn't do the studies, I would not have the money to go. So, I can fret and worry about what I'm doing, but in the end I am a pragmatic.

One line in the article touches on an aspect of how I feel about doing the studies which may or may not make sense to some readers:

It's peaceful here, away from the hustle-bustle of home and work. This is guinea pig life at its finest.

When I am in a study, I calm down. There is a schedule on the wall, timing my entire day down to the minute. I kno what will happen when, and I don't have to worry about anything. And, I don't have to feel guilty about not working hard enough. I don't have that nagging guilt I get when I sit down to read a book at home, or step away from the computer to take a break. In the study, I can sleep and read all day and I know I am earning money. Since most of my days are a struggle with me trying to get things started, done, and find new ways to earn money, all in a mild panic, having a scheduled list of what I am to do (which will result in earning money) is very good. I can take a step back from the self-imposed rat race and competition born of mild panic that most freelancers and self-employed people know.

And there you go.