NHG: bad lab draw

[sierramist03]

I hate them I'm going to start having my coworkers draw me. I went this morning to my clinic they have a lab and the lady was not friendly never is and then she went to stick my left arm and I said you usually stick my right. She didn't say a word and continued. It hurt almost immediately and now I have a knot and a huge bruise. I got ice on it right now. I work in a lab I know it shouldnt be this bad!!
I know others have mentioned bad lab daws before.

[Deleted]

Ugh, I've had bad draws before too. Nothing worse than a not-so-nice nurse sticking a needle in your veins!

[kaylie]

I'm a very hard stick and I've had a lot of bad draws. Anytime I've been in the hospital I've left very black and blue. One time I was in there was a medical intern who had previously been a phlebotomist and she was the only person I would let stick me because she always got it on the first try. My mom is really good at getting me (she's a pediatric ER nurse, so used to small veins and wiggly children) but she lives on the other end of the country.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I'm a very nervous patient, and I always try to strike up a short conversation just to keep my mind off the needle. The last time I went in, the lab person couldn't be bothered to respond to me with more than grunt. If you dislike people that much, I wonder what makes someone go into a profession like that?

[mrs.jacinthe]

I used to be harder to stick when I was ... ahem ... a bit of a chub. I still have nightmares (literally) about a CT scan I once did with contrast where it took 3 different hospital staffers and 45 minutes to get the IV placed. I have no idea how many times they TRIED to stick me, but it was a lot.

I had a great stick on Monday morning for a life insurance exam - practically painless, fast, etc, but yesterday I developed a big old bruise. Huh?

[emjacobs]

I'm a very easy stick and my last thyroid test the nurse stuck me 5 times in my left arm (easier arm) and then 3 times in the right arm before she got something. I immediately had a 6" long bruise across my arm. This same nurse the last time perfed my vein and had blood spray and FREAKED out.

[ssmjlm]

My veins are shot after having ITP in college and getting stuck weekly for months. Unfortunately the good ones are in my forearms, but no one wants to stick you there.

I thankfully do the "it's left arm, this vein, it will roll, please be nice to me" chat at the ob/gyn office. Also I had a nurse who was a cancer survivor stick me at my NT scan and she was amazing b/c she understood.

I'm just glad DH is aware too of my history just in case something happens.

[sierramist03]

I texted to the picture to my lab friends and they all said. don't let them draw you again just get your orders we will draw you. I thought it would be easier to go to the clinic but I think next time I will ask for my lab orders. I'm not usually a hard stick though so I don't understand. They always do my right arm because you can see the vein!
Thanks for the sympathy girls I just wanted to wine about it.

[Susie]

Boo.  I had a terrible one from a blood donation once.  I'm sorry, they super suck.

[emjacobs]

SSM I can point out my draws perfectly too "Here put the turnicate on, you want this vein, go in shallow...nope nope to steep you're going to go right through"

I really wish they would let me do it myself, I've drawn blood from plenty of moving critters that are biting / running / kicking at me, I know what I'm doing.

[ssmjlm]

Feb 7, 2013 15:10:12 GMT -5 @callmefia said:

Feb 7, 2013 13:37:19 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

My veins are shot after having ITP in college and getting stuck weekly for months. Unfortunately the good ones are in my forearms, but no one wants to stick you there.

Why is it that they won't do it in the forearm? I'm a tough one. I have been better since I know to keep hydrated. I'm not usually queasy about things but I feel faint and nauseated when I get stuck and it doesn't go on the first try. Eventually some of them will go for my hand which is much easier.
I usually tell everyone who sticks me that I sometimes faint or get nauseated. Once they get a needle in, I have no problems watching the rest.

Probably a lack of training or practice.  I've had several in regular doctor's offices say "I can't do the forearm."  When I was going regularly to the oncologist/hematologist office, they were so familiar with bad veins that they would take it where ever they could get it.

Oh and I can't stand the hand.  I had to have blood drawn at home at my reg doctor b/c it had to be done weekly and I was home for break and they wouldn't do forearm, so they did my hand.  I cried the whole time it was happening b/c it hurt so bad and I was having sorority recruitment after break and didn't want to look any worse than I did from being sick.  Gah, still gives me shivers.

[sierramist03]

Sometimes it's actually in their standard of procedures not to draw somewhere I know we can't do feet and I think forearms

[adhdfashion]

My veins are terrible to find. Every time, I get stabbed like 5 times. Then they resort to my hand. I bruise really easy on top of it. The only person that hasn't left me a huge mess is my midwife. I hate getting my blood drawn.

[sweetpea508]

I had a terrible draw at my doc's office yesterday. This intern chick was being evaluated by the nurse and did a horrible job. She couldn't fill out the paperwork correctly, then didn't assemble the needle correctly at first, and then couldn't find the vein so she was just wiggling the damn needle in my arm. Then she had the balls to ask me if I always was this hard to draw from and what kind of needles do they use, normal or butterfly. That was just on my right arm (which usually is where I draw fine from). Finally, she did the left and was able to get some blood. I know she was being evaluated but I was kind of pissed at the nurse for letting it go on as long as it did.