I hate needles!! (a little rant)

kaylacat

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I went to the doctors yesterday for a checkup and had to have my blood taken.
I am scared to death of needles so when the doctor said that I wanted to run out of there.


The lady comes in to do it and goes for my right arm...I told her that she wouldn't be able to get any from there because no one ever can and she insisted on trying there anyway.
After jabbing me a couple times she said "oh looks like you were right' (DUH!).

Then she moves onto my right hand and I KNEW she wouldn't be able to get any from there either....I was holding my left hand up and trying to tell her that she would have more luck with that one but the idiot wouldn't listen so she jabbed me a couple more times.


Finally she moved onto my left hand but had trouble finding the veign at first and I could feel her moving the needle around in there. By this point I was ready to go off on her and run out of the room with the needle still in my arm.
She finally got it and then I got my flu shot and left.

I felt sick to my stomach and like I was going to faint by the time it was all over.


Why do they always have to act like they know better than you?
Its my body, I have had blood taken before and I know that they won't be able to get it from certain places because I have "rollers".

Sorry.
 

weldrwomn

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Awwww


I don't have a fear of needles, but I hate it when they "fish" around for the vein with the needle. That is the sort of theing that leaves bruises
With me, there is no way that anyone should have to fish around, you could throw a needle from 10ft away and still get a good vein. It seems like I always get the newbies who need to fish around
 

natalie_ca

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I can totally relate!!

I'm heavy and I have deep veins which are hard to access. Even when I'm thin my veins are hard to access.

There are 2 places on my arms that they can get blood from me. One is the back of my hand, and the other is my inner wrist. Other than that there is the tops of my feet.

However some of these lab techs have no clue how to draw blood anywhere but from the inner elbow area and when they can't get it from there they get into a flap and panic.

The last time I had to get a blood test the girl wanted to try my inner elbow. I told her to forget it. That for 20 years no one has ever been able to draw blood from there and she has a better chance of winning the lottery. I pointed out the 4 places (both arms) where she is guaranteed to get blood. She insisted that she wanted to try the inner elbow saying she was "really good at this". I rolled my eyes and decided to let her knowing that she wouldn't be any more successful than anyone else! Of course I was right
And I had no problem saying "I told you so!" She wanted to try the other arm. I bluntly told her that I am not a pin cushion and that I have lived with my body for 45 plus years and have had many blood tests during that time and that she would do well to listen to me about where the best place on me is to draw blood!

She didn't know how to draw blood from the vein in the back of my hand so she went and got someone else. That person wanted to try the inner elbow!! I told her that she had to try the back of the hand or the inner wrist. Again she wasn't "comfortable" doing that and wanted to try the inner elbow. I told her to go find someone else.

The next person came and it was the same thing again!
Finally I left the room and went to the desk and asked the girl to find someone who could draw blood from the back of my hand!

A guy came in and tried 3 times despite my telling him exactly where to poke (right next to a nice little freckle. You can't miss it!)

Finally I just told him to give me the stuff and I'd draw my own blood! I"ve never drawn my own blood before but I was ticked right off! I got the vein where he had poked me 3 times, immediately!

I get so tired of people not listening to me when I tell them something they need to know about MY body!

Years and years ago I went to the same lab and some guy poked me 11 times and didn't get blood! He tried both inner elbows, both hands and then he wanted to try my feet! I practically ran out of the room while screaming at him that he was an incompetent jerk and that before he comes near me again he better produce some certificate to show me that he's qualified to do the job and that if he wanted to play darts to use a dart board and that no one should have to poke someone 11 times to get blood and still not get any! He called the next number and not one person in that room moved to get up


I left without having my blood drawn and called the doctor and asked how badly they needed it. I was told it was essential. So I went back a couple days later and he was the only one there. I told him that I wouldn't let him stick a needle into a dead body never mind try drawing blood from me or anyone else. The receptionist said he was the only one there. I asked her if she drew blood. She said she was certified but hadn't done it in about 2 or 3 years. I let her have a go at it anyway. She got it first try!!! I don't know what happened to that ape but I hope he was fired!

My advice to you for the next time is to be insistent with them and tell them that there is no way you are letting them poke you anywhere other than where there is a good chance of them hitting a vein, and then point out the best locations. If the person won't listen ask to speak to the supervisor or senior lab tech.
 

tari

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I have roly veins, too, and I hate needles as well. I REFUSE to let anyone who won't listen to me draw my blood anymore. If they won't listen to me I demand someone else. If they say there's nobody else available I ask when I can come back and see someone else. I don't get hysterical or lose my temper, I just won't allow them to proceed. You're well within your rights to do that. It's your body and if you aren't comfortable with what they're doing there's no reason you have to stand for it. I also won't give them much more than two tries before I demand they change tactics or get someone else.(I've worked with medical people for 15 years and I've lost all my fear of them.
 

lemur 6

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Ahh, incompetent and stubborn nurses... They should really train these people on hitting mouse tail veins before they're even allowed to go near a human being with a sharp instrument. If you can hit one of those 99% of the time, human veins should be piece of cake.
 

carolpetunia

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I give blood regularly, and I don't mind the pain much, but I still dread it every time -- because at the local facility, it's luck-of-the-draw whether you get one of the few techs who are professional about it... or one of the majority, who completely ignore infection-control procedures, and who constantly gossip with each other rather than paying attention to the people they're working on.

I dearly wish there were a place to donate where the people took their work more seriously, but the only other option is... well, it's a very well-known charity, and when I went to their place once, it was no better.

What is it about phlebotomists? Why are there so few who seem to care about doing the job well?

ETA: Ha! "Luck-of-the-draw!" I didn't even notice that pun!
 

stacyd1987

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They think they know your body more than you do because of their training. IMO, they should teach nurses to listen to their patients advice sometimes but what do I know, I don't have a medical degree.


When I was in my last days of bootcamp in Lackland, TX, I had gotten food poisoning and was throwing up in the middle of a ceremony.
Thankfully I was excused before I spewed but when they were trying to get an IV in me, they stuck me about 6 times on each arm! Mind you, the guys in the hospital are also in training and they finally got a 'veteran' doctor to stick me because I have really small and deep veins. I was so bruised after that, it looked like I was either a drug addict or I was beaten up!
There's one spot that I always tell them to go for now because that seems to be the only place where a needle can get in.
 

tarasgirl06

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Well, I have to say hating needles is a lot better than loving them. If you wanted the flu shot, I guess it's good you got it, finally, without MORE stress. And yes, you're right -- you know your own body! I'm really thin, but it's hard to find my veins, too -- so I empathize on that score.
 

lunasmom

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That sucks...that's probably why I hate needles too.

I've had a few really great plebotomists that I wouldn't mind drawing my blood more often, but I've had way too many bad ones that at 30 I still cringe when I see a needle.

The worst was very similar to your experience where she tried a couple of different places, couldn't get a vein, then fished around and finally got one. The funniest/worst part about it? I was anemic at the time. Soooooo....I had nice dark circles and bumbs up both insides of my arms
 

stacyd1987

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I don't mind needles. I know, I'm weird but I like to watch them do their work. It's kind of fascinating to me in a scientific sort of way, which is probably why I liked biology class so much.


Originally Posted by lunasmom

I was anemic at the time. Soooooo....I had nice dark circles and bumbs up both insides of my arms
Nothing a good amount of makeup can't take care of, right?
 

pat

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Honestly, don't let them do that to you next time. Fwiw, I'm never drawn by a nurse, but by a tech or phlebotimist (can't spell, sorry). I'm sad to see the comments re nurses.

I was on one of the few units in my hospital where the nurses were trained to draw blood...I HATE needles. Learning to use them on someone else was difficult.

I simply do not let anyone try to draw my blood if they will not go where I tell them to - I have 1 vein, 1 and it is shallow, and narrow but it produces beautifully and is not that difficult to palpate. I show them where it is (after the tourniquet is on) request a butterfly needle (hurts less if they do have to fish a bit) and that seems to work.

I can't speak for all nurses for dang sure, but the ones I worked with, were all good because frankly, when things are happening fast, you'd better be able to draw the labs and get the iv started
 

arlyn

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I tell them straight up to use a butterfly, and where to hit the vein, and that if they do not take my advice then I will not cooperate.
 

rachelh1018

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I know how you feel!!! I have to get my blood drawn so many times because of my health and I pretty much know how my veins are going to act! They always hide and even disappear under my skin when they tap at them. Then they always say, "Oh well, I guess I'm just gonna have to poke around until I hit the vein."
It hurts sooo much!!!!
Sometimes they will hit a vein and try to fill the test tube and my blood just stops dripping!!! That happened not too long ago. They had to dig around, find my vein, then it stops dripping! Poked me again and they dug around, and it stopped dripping...Poked me a THIRD time and finally got out a enough blood to fill a tiny test tube!! It made me cry it hurt so bad!!! I hate needles too!!!
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I was on one of the few units in my hospital where the nurses were trained to draw blood...I HATE needles. Learning to use them on someone else was difficult.
The hospital I work in doesn't have an "IV Team" so we are trained to not only insert IV needles but also to draw blood. We still call for a tech to come for blood drawing because it's time consuming and takes us nurses away from our other duties. But if a tech can't come for some reason, or the patient is in a crisis and we need to send an emergency sample, we draw it ourselves.

Prior to going off work sick a few years ago I was one of the nurses that other nurses would come to in the event they couldn't get the needle in. I can't say that I was 100%, but I got more than I missed. I was fortunate that during one of my specializing courses for learning to administer Chemotherapy, that I was paired up with a nurse who also worked on the IV team at another hospital and she taught me so many techniques and little tricks that it really helped me.

I'm sure I'll have to have an inservice for when I get back to work because it's been so long. But inserting IV's was one of my favourite things to do at work.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

The hospital I work in doesn't have an "IV Team" so we are trained to not only insert IV needles but also to draw blood.
Our IV team was for the other floors, not for our unit where we were supposed to do all blood draws and ivs. I am proud of how good I became at drawing blood, but I was only adequate at IVs. I worked with some nurses who could have put an iv in a fly's leg, and I watched and watched and watched them, and got some improvement from doing so, but I just wasn't as confident as I was when drawing blood.

All I had to find was a piece of a vein - I've drawn from the side of a finger, foot, bit of vein a drug addict patient had missed and didn't know was useable. I actually liked drawing blood (okay, cue in Halloween music
)
 
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kaylacat

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Next time I will tell them to use a butterfly and to use that hand right from the start and not let them push me around.
I was so mad when I left.
But I couldn't wait to get out of there.

Now I have a bruise in each place they poked me and the biggest one is from the shot. Feels like I have been beat up.
I am a big wimp when it comes to stuff like that though.


The reason they had to take blood is to check out my kidneys and stuff because I am on paxil and klonopin. Hopefully they won't have to again for a lonnng time.
 

cat52

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Kaylacat, that's really aggravating & I hope with you that you don't have to go through it again any time soon! But at least you have a plan for dealing with it.

All these tales remind me...When my daughter, Heather, was about three or four, she had to have a shot. Get this...the pediatric nurse came in with a (non-toxic) magic marker thingy and she drew a happy face, minus its nose, on Heather's arm. I had no idea what was going on. The nurse cooed at Heather, "Isn't that a nice smiley face? But he needs a nose, let's give him one." With that she whips the hypodermic out and bang! right in the arm.

Of course, Heather shrieked bloody murder, no doubt as much from the surprise as the actual shot. I immediately comforted her as the nurse left the room and, as soon as she'd settled down, I was outta that treatment room and in that nurse's face faster than a cat after a housefly! When I told the pediatrician what had happened, he gave her a little talking too as well. Seems she was new and thought it would be a good approach. My response was that it sure made things easier for her, but not for her victims!!
 

gayef

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Due to health issues, I have to have very frequent blood draws and I also have to receive weekly injections of a chemotherapy-type medication. I finally asked for a port and thankfully, they gave me one. I have six more months to go on this treatment and my arms were beginning to look pretty battle-weary. My port has two sides; one for drawing blood out and one for putting chemicals in. It is relatively comfortable most of the time and unless I really jar it about, it bothers me less than the frequent poking about hunting for a good bleeder.

I also have rolling veins and insist upon a butterfly clip-needle at all other times though.
 
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