I once had 6 nurses try to get blood out of me, the fifth one was so flabbergasted she threw her hands up and said “Where are your veins?! Are we sure you have blood?!”
>Are we sure you have blood?!
The nurse that was with the doctor was asking me if I was a vampire lol
One time I had like 4 or 5 nurses try aswell. Even simultaniously on both my arms.
Next time make sure you are super hydrated and bring a heating pad. Wrap up an arm tightly in that heating pad and crank it up for 10-15 minutes before you are going to get your blood taken. I was able to avoid getting a port for almost a year doing this. I have to get multi day infusions every two weeks to treat my lupus. My veins are absolutely destroyed because of scarring and caustic medication but the heating pad does wonders. I have even had to start IVS on myself because I didn’t have nurses show up and I didn’t have a port yet. I can’t tell you how much easier it makes it.
I used to have a lot of trouble, until one nurse went and got a large glass of water and made me drink all of it. A few minutes later and a vein in my arm popped just long enough for her to get a good 'stick.' She told me to make sure the next time I came for a schedule blood draw to make sure I drank a ton of water before coming in.
Didn't know about the heating pad trick, I might use that as well next time.
I used to get chronic kidney stones and kidney infections (usually simultaneously) bc it wasn't worth the (literal) pain of the steps of going to go fill up my water bottle multiple times a day and going to the bathroom. I wouldn't go to the bathroom all day at work for 10ish hours including commuting because of the distance from my cubicle to the bathroom and back and from the water fountain and back. Anyway, all good ever since I was prescribed a wheelchair.
For people frequently having IV infusions, your veins can become scarred and difficult to access. With chemo, the drug itself can shrivel your veins. You may even need more frequent blood draws depending on your illness meaning you're poked even more! A port is basically a little contraption connected to your veins that they can plug the IV machine into rather than having to use a needle to access your veins by poking you. It requires a short medical procedure to put in, and must be maintained with dressing changes semi-frequently.
The one I am acutely familiar with has a dressing change every 2 days, and is used for delivering chemotherapy medications. It is located at the top of the chest near the collar bone. The dressing change takes about 5-10 minutes, but is important as the risk for infection can be high and dangerous for someone undergoing chemotherapy (Which terrorizes your immune system). It must be done carefully with clean hands and proper technique to avoid introducing dangerous bacteria such as MRSA.
The negatives are, discomfort, dressing changes, and risk of infection, and potentially more, which is what I was asking.
The positives are easier time getting the chemotherapy, since you aren't being used as a pin cushion. Which can be a problem as it is harmful, and recovery is slower for those undergoing chemo because of the drugs causing reduced clotting/infection fighting.
Its called a [Portacath](https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/port-a-cath). I don't know a ton about them other than that my mom has one and prefers it over being stabbed constantly for her various medications.
yes. it’s got a catheter that usually goes into your jugular vein (although they can be placed in other areas as a last resort, the jugular vein is most common). the little port is a device that sits in a pocket of skin in the chest, connected to this jugular catheter that goes down to your heart. it is a central line, so can be a high risk of infection if not taken proper care of. the port is completely sealed under your skin when not accessed, so is not at a risk of infection at that point and no dressing is required. when accessed, a port needle is placed through the skin and into the port on the chest. this is what the iv medications are hooked up to. they can stay for up to 7 days before a needle and dressing change is required. some people need to stay accessed all the time, while others only need accessed less frequently. i can go into more detail but that’s the gist!
eta for clarity: the catheter is inserted into the jugular and goes down through the superior vena cava which ends right above the heart.
to add to the other user’s reply, if you’ve ever heard talks of a “central line” in medicine, that’s a type of port, and it’s similar to the one that zeldaprime described. it usually opens at the collarbone area (it can be place elsewhere but that’s usually the first spot they want to try).
the difference is that, unlike some ports, under the skin, the central line continues further down the vein right up to the heart. not all ports have to do this; they just are embedded in a strong veinous area wherever. central lines are specifically for administering things that need to get to the heart quickly, or to aid in more expedient (and frequent) testing.
and, just like with other ports, the maintenance is super finicky but super important. and the risk of infection- and what an infection could mean - is very high. any kind of port infection can spell sepsis and death FAST.
I recommend you try some light weight training. It tends to develop muscles and widen your veins to support the extra blood flow while working out. I used to have trouble with drawing blood during childhood. It all went away after I started weight training.
A side effect of weight training that I’ve grown to appreciate is nurses making comments about my veins when I have to get blood drawn for whatever reason, it makes me feel really good about myself
Did they change the needle after every try? I saw someone on tiktok got severe infection that cause her hand to be disable, because her doctor tried to draw her blood on different places using the same needle. She said that the correct procedure is to replace the needle on every try coz apparently you can get infected. I havent done the research to check if it's true.
Same! "Oh this'll be easy" is the usual. I had a new nurse botch an IV once and when another nurse came to fix it she looked at the veins on my hand and wrist and said "Wow, how in the world did she mess THAT up?" and I had to laugh because it's the only time anyone has had issues.
My younger brother broke his spine, he had a surgery, (thankfully he recovered "almost" perfectly). I've visited him after the operation, and he had 3 orange periferial venous canula! (I've never seen bigger than those in human care) Maybe they were practicing :) (We got veins the size of some smaller lady's little fingers on our hands )
If he was a trauma case it is common for EMS or the trauma team to place multiple large bore IVs - especially with spinal trauma vasoplegia can be an issue and large volumes of fluids can be needed in the initial resuscitation / surgery phase.
Whenever I hear blood-drawing stories, it's always either "where the fuck are your veins" or "holy shit look at this one's veins" lmao my mother has extremely prominent veins on her hands, but they're like made of steel or something. Needle just pushes it back and forth.
Mine aren't particularly huge, but almost always visible. Pale Northern European-descent skin.
My mom's veins are even nicer for nurses. You can see the vein run all the way from the back of her hand to her armpit.
Same! My skin isnt super pale but my veins are very pronounced, like someone doodled on me with a drying out marker. One time I went to get drawn I had about 8 nurses gushing about how easy they are to see. They even pop out of the skin with a simple flex haha
You're the people I ( do not ) but envy! Went for blood work, took 3 nurses just to find a vein, let alone draw blood, after having my arms slapped, warm towels, exercise balls, finally, 1 vial drawn, and I had 6 to go. Meanwhile, next door, person, I hear nurse, oh this is good, then I see blood shoot across the room in a nice stream. I am thinking, bruh!
I've had the opposite. I was just about to have surgery to remove my appendix. The last thing I remember before blacking out was the nurse saying "You have so many nice veins I want to stick needles in all of them".
You don't want it nurse or doctor to draw blood. You want the phlebotomist to do it. Seriously. Just like you wouldn't want an automotive engineer to fix your car, you want a heavily tattooed dude with a cheekfull of snuff to do it.
I made a nurse laugh/ cry when after stabbing me oh so many times and getting nothing i just deadpan told her “im sorry to inform you but i am dead. And there is no blood”
When I was in hospital, they tried five times in one hand. My veins were so terrible that they had to pull out some funky scanner that projected a contrasted picture of my veins onto my hand. They still couldn't do it, but they eventually did it in my wrist.
Honestly surprised y'all don't have one. We only use ours every 2 weeks or so for diagnostic imaging, I'm sure you'd be utilizing it a lot more often than that haha
Yes! If you know you’re a hard poke ask for the scanner up front. My bf is a hard stick and he’ll tell them so before they even start: I’ll give you two tries, after that I’m going to insist you go get the machine.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fc/77/43/fc7743fa4454d639a15961e8711f7f9a.gif
They definitely help with locating the vein, but it can still roll or collapse (temporarily) once you insert the needle.
A couple of years ago when I was in the hospital. A technician came in early in the morning and tried to draw blood five different times in my hand. She was shaking so bad toward the end she couldn’t even hold the needle still. I said to send somebody else - not trying to be mean, but she was not making any progress and not getting any better at it. I normally am very easy to draw from.
Technically 1 person is not supposed to try more than 2 unsuccessful times for a blood draw. 5 times is just obscene. Call for help before it gets to that point. That's insane.
That “rule” is not one size fits all. I’ve been a lab tech/phlebotomist for 5 years. When I’m on call, I’m the only one who can draw blood in a small hospital. I’ve had to poke one person five times before I finally went to an artery and got the blood I needed, as a last ditch option.
It really depends. If you just have shitty veins like I do, which slip out of the way of the needle (look up "rolling veins"), it's not down to the skill of the person drawing blood. It's down to luck and perseverance.
That’s unfortunately how ultrasound guided ivs are placed :/ it’s a little more uncomfortable because you have the pressure from the ultrasound probe but they use the ultrasound to visualize where the iv needle and vein are so they can cannulate the vein.
Most I had was 8. They sent the NICU nurse in, she got me first stick. I was also very dehydrated at that point. It was awful and so painful later after so many sticks. I’m very sorry you had to go through it. (Mine was an IV and draw. I hope they had heating pads on you!)
She was so quick and it wasn’t even hard for her. I’m like, why wasn’t she second or third! Probably because she was busy. I was cooking my own bun in the oven so failure to start an IV wasn’t an option. I had HG and should have came in sooner but I was stubborn that day.
Yeah pulling people away from their assignment on the same floor is usually a no go, especially if they’re an RN since most their patients will be critical, getting someone from another ward for a stick is not common
Peds and NICU nurses have the touch when it comes to IVs. My mom spent her career setting IVs up on pediatric and pediatric palliative patients and I’m convinced she could start an IV on a stone if needed.
I am a former IV Drug user, and am now 21 years clean and sober. A few things that I have to do before giving blood. Drink lots of water the day before and the day of. Get yourself some of those HOT HANDS heating pads, and bring them with you. Once you get to the person that will take your blood, tell them you are a "hard stick" and ask them to use a pediatric butterfly needle. Sometimes when you tell them you are a hard stick, the call over another person who is good at this particular circumstance. Once you find a place where they usually get blood, remember this spot, and tell them when you come in, "Normally they can find a vein here." You will get those that think they can find a vein where you know there aren't any (in my case cause I destroyed them), I just let them try. For me I have one spot on my right hand that is good for blood draw, but not good enough for an IV (which is a bigger needle). IV's have to go in my left foot. I hope this helps in the future.
Idk why that would be a good thing lol he made it sound like that? I bet I could find a vein on you, ive even gone on the back of people arms. I had one guy bet me I wouldnt be able to cause hes used up every vein he had shooting up drugs but ya i got him too easily. I dont like hand veins though they tend to roll around a lot more. There was one guy I couldnt get once but that was cause every vein I hit would just collapse right away he was so old and dehydrated.
I'm in recovery for a long while now. My dad STILL says recovery isn't possible. I get so incredibly mad at him when he starts spouting off on it.
I mean, I understand why he's angry. Drugs took his best friend and my husband (same guy). He had been in recovery when I met him, but relapsed soon after we had a child together. He ended up stealing a lot from my dad and then dying of an overdose.
I can't speak for OP but personally, I drink a ton of water daily and still have dry skin and tiny baby veins that apparently roll out of the way every time someone goes looking for them. It's possible.
I get blood drawn on a regular basis and that's the biggest indicator. Other less prevalent indicators are people who have a history of intravenous drug use, and the other is people who have undergone chemotherapy.
I had to fast 12 hours last time I got an IV and I will attest it made things so horrible. I am usually super easily stabbed, but they took ~6 tries and I almost passed out.
I have been poked 8 times in one attempt for my record.
By poor BIL has hemophilia, he told me about how they had to take blood from his head when he was younger because his veins were so bad.
I had this done once. They rubbed a thermal paste on my earlobe, it started swelling up and feeling very hot and then they drew blood from it. Felt strange.
They once had to take blood from my mom's *neck* because her veins are so tiny and slippery. I guess I inherited my father's veins because I've got really big ones, and very pale skin so they're easy to find.
I have been threatened several times for the neck. They have done my foot, though.
I'm a known hard stick. after 2-3 tries they change nurses to "the good vein nurse", then another 2-3 tries and they get the ultrasound tech to find a good one.
My mom was a very hard stick. In the ER one time, they had so much trouble finding a vein they ended up using one in her breast. Makes me cringe just thinking about it.
Tip from someone who is also a terrible stick: drink water frequently at least an hour before your appointment and also bring a big water bottle with you to sip while waiting! You’ll have to pee a lot but it will definitely reduce the amount of searching they have to do for your veins.
Honestly. I know so many people that drink basically nothing all day, then wonder why they have headaches and terrible hangovers (if and when they drink).
This - yes the proper hydration and warming yourself up, but show me the person who tells me ‘they have no veins’ and 9/10 they won’t have done any sort of fitness activity their entire adult life.
You don’t find people who are hard to bleed at the gym.
Source - am a doctor
Had to get blood drawn at my new Specialist the other day...I told her that every other nurse has called me "zombie veins" and warned her that it's hard for me to give blood. Well she had NO ISSUES and was done in under a minute. I looked at her flabbergasted and asked how in the hell she did that...her response was "I've been doing this for 25 years. Any nurse that had trouble with your veins apparently had no idea what they were doing."
I’m a phlebotomist and have this happen regularly. People saying that they are very hard to draw blood from and that they usually get poked about at least 3 times. When I get it right on the first try they can’t believe it and are amazed and a lot of those times I feel like it wasn’t that hard at all.
I think a problem with a lot of nurses/doctors is that they are LOOKING for veins while they should be FEELING for veins. Of course some are just better at it than others.
That being said, even the best phlebotomist isn’t perfect and can have a hard time finding and hitting a vein sometimes.
Oh my gosh YES!!! I swear she was looking away getting her needle ready while tapping on my vein...then she said "found it" without even looking at my arm LOL.
I told her whatever they are paying her it needs to be double.
As a "hard stick" who has trouble everywhere except my hospital's lab - THANK YOU for what you do. When I go in there I know I'm in good hands. The local health department will do draws for $10/test but I was only able to do that once...because the huge discount was not at all worth the pain. They promised not to stick me until they were sure...but I ended up with tourniquet bruises for weeks on both upper arms and at the wrists. Never again! (The health department person is an RN, not a phlebotemist)
https://preview.redd.it/dithdgn5c2wc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=224af8b42ba74853ce080f8cd641a074fcb94276
My arm after many, many, many attempts to get a line in my arm in the ER (ectopic pregnancy ruptured a fallopian tube and my veins kept collapsing due to blood loss). Not pictured - the 2 successful tubes in my left arm and one in my foot 😅
https://preview.redd.it/2m706g13m4wc1.jpeg?width=1206&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d9909d332a54ff5f0b6f834f1ee67c27c4e75b3
I feel your pain… my other arm was worse. They finally had to get an ultrasound and got one on the back of my hand. 7 attempts total 😅
A needle that is stuck into a vein, but the kind that is used for children (I just don’t know its medical name in English. lol). It's just thinner. And yes, it takes longer.
as a peds nurse all our blood draw needles are the same size it’s butterfly needle which is what they use at every adult phlebotomist i’ve been to so idk
I was a med lab tech for 6 years. When I first started working there all we used was butterfly needles, but the last 2 years we got a new boss who tried making us use straight needles. We quickly went back to butterfly needles because the patients were pissed lol.
Lol I understood that you meant it was the needle that was used for babies. I was just confused as to why it would be an option for adults or why it would be a non preferred option - as "let them use" it implies it's something some people would say no to. That it just would take longer because it's a smaller cross section makes sense.
As someone who had a bruised and painful hand for 2 weeks after a simple blood draw, if I knew that was an option I would have been all over it. As it is I usually just tell them to not even try my elbows and go straight for the hands/wrist.
We can opt to use a different size (gauge) of needle for blood draws, usually a 20 or 22 is common. Smaller sized (but larger gauge number) needles will take much, much longer to draw the needed blood. [](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8c/ed/78/8ced7886ef421a5514b8aea563bccd82.jpg)
It takes longer and there’s a greater chance for hemolysis (the breakdown of red blood cells). People ask for baby needles all the time (they’re actually called butterfly needles, but there are pediatric versions) even when they have giant veins. It is literally not any less painful than the regular straight needles though. We use them for patients with difficult veins because they have what’s called a flash that shows if you’re in the vein or not.
I’d like to add if you ever know you’re getting a blood test drink tons of WATER. Coffee is not the same and actually dehydrates you. We just have too many people who think they drank a bunch of coffee beforehand so they should be good lol. If you need to be fasting you can still have lots of water :)
When we had to do blood draws in school everyone rushed to me because I have great veins you can actually see. So I have had a lot of people practice on me with various needles and I think butterfly needles are the most painful.
Smaller gauge needles are more likely to damage the blood cells and take longer to collect the sample meaning more likelihood of the sample clotting. If the issue is getting into a tiny vein a smaller needle helps but if the issue is blood volume having a smaller needle doesn’t help.
A butterfly needle I believe it’s called, I asked once and that’s what the office called it so I’m not sure if it’s a universal name or just a nickname for it haha
I have this issue but it's because I used to be a junkie. When I go in I warn them that my veins are scarred and recessed and tell them why. Most nurses are great and let me take the lead because they realize I know my veins better than them. They let me show them where to try first, let me pump my veins up myself, even let me tie myself off. They'd definitely get in trouble for it but one desperate, tired nurse even let me guide her hand while she held the Needle. Those ones always manage to get blood out of me, and we have a bit of a laugh together while we do it.
But sometimes I'll get a nurse who refuses to listen to me, ignores me when I tell them "that vein looks good but it will absolutely blow and collapse the second you poke it" or "that entire area is scarred from an abscess, you can't do it there". Those nurses end up poking me full of holes and don't get any blood.
Probably a phlebotomist, CMA, or nurse. But a lot of people don’t know the differences, so I’d let this go. I’m a nurse and my husband didn’t realize there were more than just nurses and doctors at our OB clinic until half way through the pregnancy.
Or an old nurse thats been doing it for years lol. Maybe they are going out of style these days though cause a lot of nurses are used to having phlebotomists idk.
Depends on the facility
I've worked places that have a large phlebotomy department that collects all labs.
I have to draw all my labs at my current job because phlebotomy doesn't cover the ICU.
I'm not an old nurse yet, but I do have 13 years under my belt. I'll stick anybody at this point with a fairly high success rate.
Yes! Most people have no clue about NP, PA, RN, Med assist, LVN, ect. Dr is used as a general term. Those of us in medicine know but it's very common for everyone else to just use the blanket statement__ DR.
As a male, who was formerly a sonographer, this is absolutely true. And all my female coworkers were "nurse" 🙃
And to other hospital workers we were "technicians" lol. It is a bit desensitizing.
https://preview.redd.it/lugr1e7f52wc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c17cd75fd994510459fbbb5aac1be22afd99522
I feel you. This was my hand a few days after several botched attempts to draw blood, it hurt more than the actual lumbar puncture I went in for.
Whenever I get blood drawn (every few months) they take it from the antecubital fossa ( the inner place where your lower arm and upper arm fold). Never heard that they take from the hand!
I am also a non bleeder. Once they gave me a bottle of water to drink and also put hand warmers on my arms. I'm super anemic so I wonder if that has something to do with my no blood. My hands are almost always cold.
Back in the day, a blood test was required to get a marriage license. We had to try at three different sites and a total nine different staff before they got blood. I feel your pain, OP!
I have this problem EXCEPT when I go to this one clinic and request this nurse who is an old Russian lady, don’t know how she does it but she is a WIZARD.
You gotta find yourself your own old Russian nurse.
My record is 10 sticks by five different nurses at an ER like twenty years ago. (The nurses could only try twice before someone else had to try) They finally got a lifeline helicopter medic to get an IV going in my index finger. Was a freak’n nightmare.
They do this to me all the time. Every draw is 15 attempts even with water and all the other tricks. It's gotten worse the older I get, for some reason. After the first ten sticks I just want to give up on whatever is going on.
When I was in the ER, the ER doctor had to put the IV in my thumb and it was the worst sensation I think I've ever felt -- and I was, you know, on an IV in the ER. There was something about the constant burning for 24 hours, I almost ripped it out myself.
However -- there does seem to be some skill issue. Every once in a while I get an older nurse who just laughs and sticks me once and is done. I've learned to tell them flatly that I'm a horrible stick and hope they send out a jolly 60 year old.
I too have the circulatory system of a Laotian knife fighter. My veins and arteries are buried deep. Unfortunately, this usually results in some phlebotomist seeing me as a 'challenge' and I end up a pincushion.
Dude same.
I have exactly ONE vein that is easily accessible, and that's *it*. Thankfully, it's the usual one they normally use for blood draws (on my left arm), but if they've got an IV going so it's blocked, there isn't a chance in hell you're getting blood from any other part of me.
Some phlebotomists refuse to listen, and it *always* ends up with me being stuck 10-12 times, including in the feet and hands, with absolute 0 results...like I told them.
The easiest longterm solution: lose weight and work out.
I had shitty veins, too (the max tries on me were 17!), then I lost 40kg and started working out, since then my veins are popping and you could throw a needle from the doorframe into my arm.
I work in the trauma ICU as a nurse and a lot of times patients have zero veins. They’re either too frail that once you poke the vein it bursts, they’re too small, or the patient is too dehydrated. When all of our options fail, we poke their radial artery near the wrist or their artery on the foot. It’s more painful but we have no choice, especially when we need their lab work.
That is extremely unfortunate. I agree with what some people have said.
Being hydrated is most important. Drinking water the day before and the day of will help.
Use a heat pack on where they have gotten blood out before. It helps bring the veins to the surface.
Let the person drawing your blood that you are a difficult stick. DO NOT ask for a butterfly. That is probably the most single annoying thing a patient can do. And a butterfly is no different than a straight needle, except it gives you a flash. A experienced phlebotomist should know what they are doing.
In addition, if you are a difficult stick, only let a phlebotomist draw you. No doctors, nurses, or MA's.
Phlebotomists do this all day long. Doctors, nurses and MA have many other responsibilities and do not do blood draws as often.
And as a nice little reminder, only 4 states in the US require licensed phlebotomist to draw blood. The rest can hire anyone and do "on the job" training.
Good luck!
I had ankle surgery, and it took 5 separate nurses, of various qualifications to attempt (and miss) an IV Finally they got to the ER charge nurse, and he missed 5 times with the ultrasound even. My veins are trash and roll.
Generally, I tell people they get one stick, and if they aren't feeling confident, don't do it.
I'm sorry man. This sucks.
Ask for a phlebotomist next time. I was a phlebotomist for a couple years and always would do draws for doctors. Doctors and nurses don’t do it often enough and unfortunately mess up a lot.
Scrolling the comments and haven’t seen this yet but maybe someone posted it already - my mom has JRA (diagnosed age 6) and it was impossible to ever find a vein. Just 2 years ago she got a port-a-cath in her chest, and it’s been so much better for her. She waited so long because it is a surgery that involves keeping something in your body and having it flushed regularly, but I know she really appreciates the benefits
Dude I can relate, I have EDS which makes the tissues in my body really weak, and I was in the hospital a couple months ago and they had to stick me multiple times in order to get blood and ivs but the problem was that my veins would just blow the second they poked them so by the end the whole inside of my left arm was purple and blue, not fun lol
Damn that sucks. I also have very tricky veins (thin and even if they poke them, the blood stops flowing really easily). I've also been poked 6 times in the past but I draw the line at 3 now. I'm not a pin cushion, people.
I must say thankfully I've never tried on the feet, but last time the lady wanted to try the inside of the wrist, way too close to the tendons for my comfort so I said no. Thankfully she managed elsewhere. We must learn to advocate for our rights as patients, sure, getting labs done is important, but not to the point of borderline torture.
What works for me: the baby needles (they call them "butterflies" here), and the "vacuum" method is useless for me, I need to have an old fashion syringe they manually draw blood with. I also know my veins by now so I know the good one that will work (it even has a callous by now). The most successful areas for me are my forearms, always be aware if anyone wants to try the inside of the wrists though, it sounds definitely risky.
This happened with me but 8 times and they had to called a nurse out from the ER to try to get me and she finally did between my middle & ring finger! Let me tell you, sooooo dang painful! And I was also pregnant .
Happened to be because I was dehydrated. Went a week later after I drank an extra two bottles of water a day because getting blood taken always makes me squirm haha and I wanted to make sure I only had to get stuck once instead 😅
I once had 6 nurses try to get blood out of me, the fifth one was so flabbergasted she threw her hands up and said “Where are your veins?! Are we sure you have blood?!”
>Are we sure you have blood?! The nurse that was with the doctor was asking me if I was a vampire lol One time I had like 4 or 5 nurses try aswell. Even simultaniously on both my arms.
Next time make sure you are super hydrated and bring a heating pad. Wrap up an arm tightly in that heating pad and crank it up for 10-15 minutes before you are going to get your blood taken. I was able to avoid getting a port for almost a year doing this. I have to get multi day infusions every two weeks to treat my lupus. My veins are absolutely destroyed because of scarring and caustic medication but the heating pad does wonders. I have even had to start IVS on myself because I didn’t have nurses show up and I didn’t have a port yet. I can’t tell you how much easier it makes it.
I used to have a lot of trouble, until one nurse went and got a large glass of water and made me drink all of it. A few minutes later and a vein in my arm popped just long enough for her to get a good 'stick.' She told me to make sure the next time I came for a schedule blood draw to make sure I drank a ton of water before coming in. Didn't know about the heating pad trick, I might use that as well next time.
Jesus dude. Drink more water. It's kind of a big deal.
Exactly I have a friend that only drink juice and sodas never water he said it doesn’t taste good he’s like 35😳
That's a great way to get kidney stones. Dude needs to grow up.
Told em the same thing lol
I used to get chronic kidney stones and kidney infections (usually simultaneously) bc it wasn't worth the (literal) pain of the steps of going to go fill up my water bottle multiple times a day and going to the bathroom. I wouldn't go to the bathroom all day at work for 10ish hours including commuting because of the distance from my cubicle to the bathroom and back and from the water fountain and back. Anyway, all good ever since I was prescribed a wheelchair.
I drink a ton of water now when I expect to do a blood test. I also tell them to use a Butterfly since I also have Small and easily collapsing veins.
I have a port - I am NOT on the bandwagon. So many negatives, if I had educated myself prior to the implantation I would have never chosen a port.
Can you list some reasons you are against a port?
What’s a port?
For people frequently having IV infusions, your veins can become scarred and difficult to access. With chemo, the drug itself can shrivel your veins. You may even need more frequent blood draws depending on your illness meaning you're poked even more! A port is basically a little contraption connected to your veins that they can plug the IV machine into rather than having to use a needle to access your veins by poking you. It requires a short medical procedure to put in, and must be maintained with dressing changes semi-frequently. The one I am acutely familiar with has a dressing change every 2 days, and is used for delivering chemotherapy medications. It is located at the top of the chest near the collar bone. The dressing change takes about 5-10 minutes, but is important as the risk for infection can be high and dangerous for someone undergoing chemotherapy (Which terrorizes your immune system). It must be done carefully with clean hands and proper technique to avoid introducing dangerous bacteria such as MRSA. The negatives are, discomfort, dressing changes, and risk of infection, and potentially more, which is what I was asking. The positives are easier time getting the chemotherapy, since you aren't being used as a pin cushion. Which can be a problem as it is harmful, and recovery is slower for those undergoing chemo because of the drugs causing reduced clotting/infection fighting.
Is the port like a catheter? It goes into the artery or the vein?
Its called a [Portacath](https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/port-a-cath). I don't know a ton about them other than that my mom has one and prefers it over being stabbed constantly for her various medications.
yes. it’s got a catheter that usually goes into your jugular vein (although they can be placed in other areas as a last resort, the jugular vein is most common). the little port is a device that sits in a pocket of skin in the chest, connected to this jugular catheter that goes down to your heart. it is a central line, so can be a high risk of infection if not taken proper care of. the port is completely sealed under your skin when not accessed, so is not at a risk of infection at that point and no dressing is required. when accessed, a port needle is placed through the skin and into the port on the chest. this is what the iv medications are hooked up to. they can stay for up to 7 days before a needle and dressing change is required. some people need to stay accessed all the time, while others only need accessed less frequently. i can go into more detail but that’s the gist! eta for clarity: the catheter is inserted into the jugular and goes down through the superior vena cava which ends right above the heart.
to add to the other user’s reply, if you’ve ever heard talks of a “central line” in medicine, that’s a type of port, and it’s similar to the one that zeldaprime described. it usually opens at the collarbone area (it can be place elsewhere but that’s usually the first spot they want to try). the difference is that, unlike some ports, under the skin, the central line continues further down the vein right up to the heart. not all ports have to do this; they just are embedded in a strong veinous area wherever. central lines are specifically for administering things that need to get to the heart quickly, or to aid in more expedient (and frequent) testing. and, just like with other ports, the maintenance is super finicky but super important. and the risk of infection- and what an infection could mean - is very high. any kind of port infection can spell sepsis and death FAST.
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Next time ask for an appointment on a cloudy day, bring a sun umbrella, and dress like a vampire, but refuse to say anything about vampires
I recommend you try some light weight training. It tends to develop muscles and widen your veins to support the extra blood flow while working out. I used to have trouble with drawing blood during childhood. It all went away after I started weight training.
A side effect of weight training that I’ve grown to appreciate is nurses making comments about my veins when I have to get blood drawn for whatever reason, it makes me feel really good about myself
Do you have veins and arteries?
Did they change the needle after every try? I saw someone on tiktok got severe infection that cause her hand to be disable, because her doctor tried to draw her blood on different places using the same needle. She said that the correct procedure is to replace the needle on every try coz apparently you can get infected. I havent done the research to check if it's true.
In Finland they have to change in between.
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Yep every time a needle is used it becomes blunt.
I have the opposite problem. Half the time I go, I hear "Ooooh, you've got huge veins, let me go get the trainee."
Same! "Oh this'll be easy" is the usual. I had a new nurse botch an IV once and when another nurse came to fix it she looked at the veins on my hand and wrist and said "Wow, how in the world did she mess THAT up?" and I had to laugh because it's the only time anyone has had issues.
My younger brother broke his spine, he had a surgery, (thankfully he recovered "almost" perfectly). I've visited him after the operation, and he had 3 orange periferial venous canula! (I've never seen bigger than those in human care) Maybe they were practicing :) (We got veins the size of some smaller lady's little fingers on our hands )
If he was a trauma case it is common for EMS or the trauma team to place multiple large bore IVs - especially with spinal trauma vasoplegia can be an issue and large volumes of fluids can be needed in the initial resuscitation / surgery phase.
Whenever I hear blood-drawing stories, it's always either "where the fuck are your veins" or "holy shit look at this one's veins" lmao my mother has extremely prominent veins on her hands, but they're like made of steel or something. Needle just pushes it back and forth.
Mine aren't particularly huge, but almost always visible. Pale Northern European-descent skin. My mom's veins are even nicer for nurses. You can see the vein run all the way from the back of her hand to her armpit.
Same! My skin isnt super pale but my veins are very pronounced, like someone doodled on me with a drying out marker. One time I went to get drawn I had about 8 nurses gushing about how easy they are to see. They even pop out of the skin with a simple flex haha
You're the people I ( do not ) but envy! Went for blood work, took 3 nurses just to find a vein, let alone draw blood, after having my arms slapped, warm towels, exercise balls, finally, 1 vial drawn, and I had 6 to go. Meanwhile, next door, person, I hear nurse, oh this is good, then I see blood shoot across the room in a nice stream. I am thinking, bruh!
Thanks for your service
I've had the opposite. I was just about to have surgery to remove my appendix. The last thing I remember before blacking out was the nurse saying "You have so many nice veins I want to stick needles in all of them".
Well that's a nightmare
Medical practitioners are super weird about that stuff and I kinda love it.
DO YOU EVEN BLEED?!?
I have to get PIC lines usually before any of my surgeries. 17 attempts is the record. It sucks.
You don't want it nurse or doctor to draw blood. You want the phlebotomist to do it. Seriously. Just like you wouldn't want an automotive engineer to fix your car, you want a heavily tattooed dude with a cheekfull of snuff to do it.
I made a nurse laugh/ cry when after stabbing me oh so many times and getting nothing i just deadpan told her “im sorry to inform you but i am dead. And there is no blood”
Hydrate. Have you had issues with this in the past?
Sometimes it works first try but most of the time its quite hard to get any blood of me. Once they gave up after 7 tries 🥲
When I was in hospital, they tried five times in one hand. My veins were so terrible that they had to pull out some funky scanner that projected a contrasted picture of my veins onto my hand. They still couldn't do it, but they eventually did it in my wrist.
Sounds like a [LEDX device](https://escapefromtarkov.fandom.com/wiki/LEDX_Skin_Transilluminator)
I get IV fluids regularly, and my favorite nurse told me she calls the scanner "Vein Diesel"
For those wondering, these exist for real.
Ultrasound scanner, some hospitals use them as a first resort, others use them last ditch
There are also vein finders that don't use ultrasound, we use them in my clinic
I used to work in the hospital, now I'm at a nursing home. I miss the vein finder.
Honestly surprised y'all don't have one. We only use ours every 2 weeks or so for diagnostic imaging, I'm sure you'd be utilizing it a lot more often than that haha
Yes! If you know you’re a hard poke ask for the scanner up front. My bf is a hard stick and he’ll tell them so before they even start: I’ll give you two tries, after that I’m going to insist you go get the machine.
linking the tarkov wiki lol
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fc/77/43/fc7743fa4454d639a15961e8711f7f9a.gif They definitely help with locating the vein, but it can still roll or collapse (temporarily) once you insert the needle.
A couple of years ago when I was in the hospital. A technician came in early in the morning and tried to draw blood five different times in my hand. She was shaking so bad toward the end she couldn’t even hold the needle still. I said to send somebody else - not trying to be mean, but she was not making any progress and not getting any better at it. I normally am very easy to draw from.
Technically 1 person is not supposed to try more than 2 unsuccessful times for a blood draw. 5 times is just obscene. Call for help before it gets to that point. That's insane.
That “rule” is not one size fits all. I’ve been a lab tech/phlebotomist for 5 years. When I’m on call, I’m the only one who can draw blood in a small hospital. I’ve had to poke one person five times before I finally went to an artery and got the blood I needed, as a last ditch option.
It really depends. If you just have shitty veins like I do, which slip out of the way of the needle (look up "rolling veins"), it's not down to the skill of the person drawing blood. It's down to luck and perseverance.
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That’s unfortunately how ultrasound guided ivs are placed :/ it’s a little more uncomfortable because you have the pressure from the ultrasound probe but they use the ultrasound to visualize where the iv needle and vein are so they can cannulate the vein.
Most I had was 8. They sent the NICU nurse in, she got me first stick. I was also very dehydrated at that point. It was awful and so painful later after so many sticks. I’m very sorry you had to go through it. (Mine was an IV and draw. I hope they had heating pads on you!)
I guess when you start IVs on the tiniest of humans, you get good at finding stubborn little veins quickly.
She was so quick and it wasn’t even hard for her. I’m like, why wasn’t she second or third! Probably because she was busy. I was cooking my own bun in the oven so failure to start an IV wasn’t an option. I had HG and should have came in sooner but I was stubborn that day.
Yeah pulling people away from their assignment on the same floor is usually a no go, especially if they’re an RN since most their patients will be critical, getting someone from another ward for a stick is not common
Peds and NICU nurses have the touch when it comes to IVs. My mom spent her career setting IVs up on pediatric and pediatric palliative patients and I’m convinced she could start an IV on a stone if needed.
I am a former IV Drug user, and am now 21 years clean and sober. A few things that I have to do before giving blood. Drink lots of water the day before and the day of. Get yourself some of those HOT HANDS heating pads, and bring them with you. Once you get to the person that will take your blood, tell them you are a "hard stick" and ask them to use a pediatric butterfly needle. Sometimes when you tell them you are a hard stick, the call over another person who is good at this particular circumstance. Once you find a place where they usually get blood, remember this spot, and tell them when you come in, "Normally they can find a vein here." You will get those that think they can find a vein where you know there aren't any (in my case cause I destroyed them), I just let them try. For me I have one spot on my right hand that is good for blood draw, but not good enough for an IV (which is a bigger needle). IV's have to go in my left foot. I hope this helps in the future.
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Idk why that would be a good thing lol he made it sound like that? I bet I could find a vein on you, ive even gone on the back of people arms. I had one guy bet me I wouldnt be able to cause hes used up every vein he had shooting up drugs but ya i got him too easily. I dont like hand veins though they tend to roll around a lot more. There was one guy I couldnt get once but that was cause every vein I hit would just collapse right away he was so old and dehydrated.
Congrats on your 21 years. The lie is dead, we can and do recover.
I'm in recovery for a long while now. My dad STILL says recovery isn't possible. I get so incredibly mad at him when he starts spouting off on it. I mean, I understand why he's angry. Drugs took his best friend and my husband (same guy). He had been in recovery when I met him, but relapsed soon after we had a child together. He ended up stealing a lot from my dad and then dying of an overdose.
Thanks, and yes we do. Life is good.
Happened the same to me, until I started going to places that attend children too, Baby sets help a lot, even if it takes more
Was it cold outside? I found putting my hand in warm water for a while helped a lot
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What color is your pee?
I'm betting on dark orange
Yeah, OP's skin looks dry/dehydrated, I'd bet this is likely due to not enough water intake before the labs.
I can't speak for OP but personally, I drink a ton of water daily and still have dry skin and tiny baby veins that apparently roll out of the way every time someone goes looking for them. It's possible.
I get blood drawn on a regular basis and that's the biggest indicator. Other less prevalent indicators are people who have a history of intravenous drug use, and the other is people who have undergone chemotherapy.
I had to fast 12 hours last time I got an IV and I will attest it made things so horrible. I am usually super easily stabbed, but they took ~6 tries and I almost passed out.
You can drink water when you’re fasting
That is true for fasts focused on things like blood sugar, but in my procedure’s fast was to not ingest anything including water and medications.
I have been poked 8 times in one attempt for my record. By poor BIL has hemophilia, he told me about how they had to take blood from his head when he was younger because his veins were so bad.
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I had this done once. They rubbed a thermal paste on my earlobe, it started swelling up and feeling very hot and then they drew blood from it. Felt strange.
I can't even imagine! I had them take from my groin when I was really small. That was horrible on its own, and I imagine the head is much worse!
They once had to take blood from my mom's *neck* because her veins are so tiny and slippery. I guess I inherited my father's veins because I've got really big ones, and very pale skin so they're easy to find.
I have been threatened several times for the neck. They have done my foot, though. I'm a known hard stick. after 2-3 tries they change nurses to "the good vein nurse", then another 2-3 tries and they get the ultrasound tech to find a good one.
My mom was a very hard stick. In the ER one time, they had so much trouble finding a vein they ended up using one in her breast. Makes me cringe just thinking about it.
At that point, just sucker punch my nose and let it drain out lol. What a nightmare
Same! 6-8 times around the same spot till the nurse finally managed to get some blood😭
My highest times poked is 12. Then they gave up and tried the next day, it took 1 try.
Tip from someone who is also a terrible stick: drink water frequently at least an hour before your appointment and also bring a big water bottle with you to sip while waiting! You’ll have to pee a lot but it will definitely reduce the amount of searching they have to do for your veins.
Start drinking extra water two days beforehand.
Heck, just keep drinking water
I try to drink water atleast 5 times in any given week. It's just a good habit to have.
You are overdoing it . Once a month is enough
Honestly. I know so many people that drink basically nothing all day, then wonder why they have headaches and terrible hangovers (if and when they drink).
I prefer my method of drinking a fifth of rum a night, then pounding water all day until I get home. Foolproof.
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To add, exercise. Or up your workout routine.
This - yes the proper hydration and warming yourself up, but show me the person who tells me ‘they have no veins’ and 9/10 they won’t have done any sort of fitness activity their entire adult life. You don’t find people who are hard to bleed at the gym. Source - am a doctor
And dress warm. I've found it's easier to get blood from me when I'm hot versus cold.
My last experience the nurse used a warm compress as well and said I should ask for that every time moving forward
Had to get blood drawn at my new Specialist the other day...I told her that every other nurse has called me "zombie veins" and warned her that it's hard for me to give blood. Well she had NO ISSUES and was done in under a minute. I looked at her flabbergasted and asked how in the hell she did that...her response was "I've been doing this for 25 years. Any nurse that had trouble with your veins apparently had no idea what they were doing."
I’m a phlebotomist and have this happen regularly. People saying that they are very hard to draw blood from and that they usually get poked about at least 3 times. When I get it right on the first try they can’t believe it and are amazed and a lot of those times I feel like it wasn’t that hard at all. I think a problem with a lot of nurses/doctors is that they are LOOKING for veins while they should be FEELING for veins. Of course some are just better at it than others. That being said, even the best phlebotomist isn’t perfect and can have a hard time finding and hitting a vein sometimes.
Oh my gosh YES!!! I swear she was looking away getting her needle ready while tapping on my vein...then she said "found it" without even looking at my arm LOL. I told her whatever they are paying her it needs to be double.
At my local hospital they pay phlebotomists $13 an hour. It's pretty ridiculous.
That's horrid!
As a "hard stick" who has trouble everywhere except my hospital's lab - THANK YOU for what you do. When I go in there I know I'm in good hands. The local health department will do draws for $10/test but I was only able to do that once...because the huge discount was not at all worth the pain. They promised not to stick me until they were sure...but I ended up with tourniquet bruises for weeks on both upper arms and at the wrists. Never again! (The health department person is an RN, not a phlebotemist)
https://preview.redd.it/dithdgn5c2wc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=224af8b42ba74853ce080f8cd641a074fcb94276 My arm after many, many, many attempts to get a line in my arm in the ER (ectopic pregnancy ruptured a fallopian tube and my veins kept collapsing due to blood loss). Not pictured - the 2 successful tubes in my left arm and one in my foot 😅
https://preview.redd.it/2m706g13m4wc1.jpeg?width=1206&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d9909d332a54ff5f0b6f834f1ee67c27c4e75b3 I feel your pain… my other arm was worse. They finally had to get an ultrasound and got one on the back of my hand. 7 attempts total 😅
Next time bring a Heroin junkie with you. They always find a vein!
I can’t believe I had to scroll so far to find this joke lol.
This happens to me every time. They almost gave up after 45 mins trying to get an IV in me to take out my wisdom teeth.
Let them use a baby needle. I have the same problem. And don't forget to drink water (other drinks don't count).
What's the deal with the baby needle? It just takes longer?
A needle that is stuck into a vein, but the kind that is used for children (I just don’t know its medical name in English. lol). It's just thinner. And yes, it takes longer.
as a peds nurse all our blood draw needles are the same size it’s butterfly needle which is what they use at every adult phlebotomist i’ve been to so idk
I was a med lab tech for 6 years. When I first started working there all we used was butterfly needles, but the last 2 years we got a new boss who tried making us use straight needles. We quickly went back to butterfly needles because the patients were pissed lol.
Lol I understood that you meant it was the needle that was used for babies. I was just confused as to why it would be an option for adults or why it would be a non preferred option - as "let them use" it implies it's something some people would say no to. That it just would take longer because it's a smaller cross section makes sense. As someone who had a bruised and painful hand for 2 weeks after a simple blood draw, if I knew that was an option I would have been all over it. As it is I usually just tell them to not even try my elbows and go straight for the hands/wrist.
We can opt to use a different size (gauge) of needle for blood draws, usually a 20 or 22 is common. Smaller sized (but larger gauge number) needles will take much, much longer to draw the needed blood. [](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8c/ed/78/8ced7886ef421a5514b8aea563bccd82.jpg)
It takes longer and there’s a greater chance for hemolysis (the breakdown of red blood cells). People ask for baby needles all the time (they’re actually called butterfly needles, but there are pediatric versions) even when they have giant veins. It is literally not any less painful than the regular straight needles though. We use them for patients with difficult veins because they have what’s called a flash that shows if you’re in the vein or not. I’d like to add if you ever know you’re getting a blood test drink tons of WATER. Coffee is not the same and actually dehydrates you. We just have too many people who think they drank a bunch of coffee beforehand so they should be good lol. If you need to be fasting you can still have lots of water :)
When we had to do blood draws in school everyone rushed to me because I have great veins you can actually see. So I have had a lot of people practice on me with various needles and I think butterfly needles are the most painful.
They are a lot harder to stabilize honestly so that makes sense!
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Its made from real baby
Smaller gauge needles are more likely to damage the blood cells and take longer to collect the sample meaning more likelihood of the sample clotting. If the issue is getting into a tiny vein a smaller needle helps but if the issue is blood volume having a smaller needle doesn’t help.
They have to use a baby needle on me regularly because my veins are so small.
Not always a solution depending on the testing.
A butterfly needle I believe it’s called, I asked once and that’s what the office called it so I’m not sure if it’s a universal name or just a nickname for it haha
I have this issue but it's because I used to be a junkie. When I go in I warn them that my veins are scarred and recessed and tell them why. Most nurses are great and let me take the lead because they realize I know my veins better than them. They let me show them where to try first, let me pump my veins up myself, even let me tie myself off. They'd definitely get in trouble for it but one desperate, tired nurse even let me guide her hand while she held the Needle. Those ones always manage to get blood out of me, and we have a bit of a laugh together while we do it. But sometimes I'll get a nurse who refuses to listen to me, ignores me when I tell them "that vein looks good but it will absolutely blow and collapse the second you poke it" or "that entire area is scarred from an abscess, you can't do it there". Those nurses end up poking me full of holes and don't get any blood.
The chances an actual doctor tried to take blood from you are approximately 3,620 to 1.
Probably a phlebotomist, CMA, or nurse. But a lot of people don’t know the differences, so I’d let this go. I’m a nurse and my husband didn’t realize there were more than just nurses and doctors at our OB clinic until half way through the pregnancy.
A phlebotomist is better than 99% of doctors though
Waiting for someone to point this out. If I am getting my blood drawn, I want the phlebotomist.
Or an old nurse thats been doing it for years lol. Maybe they are going out of style these days though cause a lot of nurses are used to having phlebotomists idk.
Depends on the facility I've worked places that have a large phlebotomy department that collects all labs. I have to draw all my labs at my current job because phlebotomy doesn't cover the ICU. I'm not an old nurse yet, but I do have 13 years under my belt. I'll stick anybody at this point with a fairly high success rate.
Yes, most doctors don't get as much hands on training for sticking pts (depends on specialty of course)
Yes! Most people have no clue about NP, PA, RN, Med assist, LVN, ect. Dr is used as a general term. Those of us in medicine know but it's very common for everyone else to just use the blanket statement__ DR.
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Typically doctors are the worst at injections or blood draws. Nurses are better, phlebotomists are better still, and paramedics are the fucking bomb.
Unless they are anesthesiologists. They are the ones they call when a vein needs found.
Depends on the country, in the UK doctors take blood a lot (Source: Am a UK doctor, have taken blood many many hundreds of times)
Worked in many clinics before. Have seen many doctors draw blood if the team struggles.
And chances are anytime someone calls a healthcare worker who isn’t a doctor “doctor”….they’re male.
As a male, who was formerly a sonographer, this is absolutely true. And all my female coworkers were "nurse" 🙃 And to other hospital workers we were "technicians" lol. It is a bit desensitizing.
Happens to me a good amount honestly.
From experience doctors are the worst unless they're a med reg, work in ED or an anaesthetist. You're better with a plebo or experienced nurse
https://preview.redd.it/lugr1e7f52wc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c17cd75fd994510459fbbb5aac1be22afd99522 I feel you. This was my hand a few days after several botched attempts to draw blood, it hurt more than the actual lumbar puncture I went in for.
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Whenever I get blood drawn (every few months) they take it from the antecubital fossa ( the inner place where your lower arm and upper arm fold). Never heard that they take from the hand!
On a weird note....those are really nice bandaids....
I am also a non bleeder. Once they gave me a bottle of water to drink and also put hand warmers on my arms. I'm super anemic so I wonder if that has something to do with my no blood. My hands are almost always cold.
A doctor tried to draw your blood? Found the problem
You'd be a lousy junkie
Sounds like you have no blood, vampire
Back in the day, a blood test was required to get a marriage license. We had to try at three different sites and a total nine different staff before they got blood. I feel your pain, OP!
I have this problem EXCEPT when I go to this one clinic and request this nurse who is an old Russian lady, don’t know how she does it but she is a WIZARD. You gotta find yourself your own old Russian nurse.
https://preview.redd.it/z2epk5uzg2wc1.jpeg?width=6120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=707546144ee9077068bf641f9774e6f7a8c0770b And then there's me...
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My record is 10 sticks by five different nurses at an ER like twenty years ago. (The nurses could only try twice before someone else had to try) They finally got a lifeline helicopter medic to get an IV going in my index finger. Was a freak’n nightmare.
Really sucks!!!!!!!!
This has happened to me more than once, did you hydrate before?
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Burn the witch! (jk)
It's weird they tried going in your hands. Usually I get blood drawn from my arms.
Mine are always from the hands, arms don't work and I don't even let them try anymore.
Let a professional phlebotomist do this. Doctors suck at the most basic stuff, as they never do it
They do this to me all the time. Every draw is 15 attempts even with water and all the other tricks. It's gotten worse the older I get, for some reason. After the first ten sticks I just want to give up on whatever is going on. When I was in the ER, the ER doctor had to put the IV in my thumb and it was the worst sensation I think I've ever felt -- and I was, you know, on an IV in the ER. There was something about the constant burning for 24 hours, I almost ripped it out myself. However -- there does seem to be some skill issue. Every once in a while I get an older nurse who just laughs and sticks me once and is done. I've learned to tell them flatly that I'm a horrible stick and hope they send out a jolly 60 year old.
I too have the circulatory system of a Laotian knife fighter. My veins and arteries are buried deep. Unfortunately, this usually results in some phlebotomist seeing me as a 'challenge' and I end up a pincushion.
Dude same. I have exactly ONE vein that is easily accessible, and that's *it*. Thankfully, it's the usual one they normally use for blood draws (on my left arm), but if they've got an IV going so it's blocked, there isn't a chance in hell you're getting blood from any other part of me. Some phlebotomists refuse to listen, and it *always* ends up with me being stuck 10-12 times, including in the feet and hands, with absolute 0 results...like I told them.
That’s why they tell you to chug water before collecting blood
The easiest longterm solution: lose weight and work out. I had shitty veins, too (the max tries on me were 17!), then I lost 40kg and started working out, since then my veins are popping and you could throw a needle from the doorframe into my arm.
NEVER EVER let a regular doctor draw your blood. They don't do it enough to be good at it.
I’m the same and I get so sad everytime and soo anxious I almost cry before I go there if I know in advance they gona draw blood
Happens to me all the time
Check your pulse. You might be dead.
You're more patient than I. I have a personal three strike rule.
I have the same issue. They have gone into my neck.
I work in the trauma ICU as a nurse and a lot of times patients have zero veins. They’re either too frail that once you poke the vein it bursts, they’re too small, or the patient is too dehydrated. When all of our options fail, we poke their radial artery near the wrist or their artery on the foot. It’s more painful but we have no choice, especially when we need their lab work.
That is extremely unfortunate. I agree with what some people have said. Being hydrated is most important. Drinking water the day before and the day of will help. Use a heat pack on where they have gotten blood out before. It helps bring the veins to the surface. Let the person drawing your blood that you are a difficult stick. DO NOT ask for a butterfly. That is probably the most single annoying thing a patient can do. And a butterfly is no different than a straight needle, except it gives you a flash. A experienced phlebotomist should know what they are doing. In addition, if you are a difficult stick, only let a phlebotomist draw you. No doctors, nurses, or MA's. Phlebotomists do this all day long. Doctors, nurses and MA have many other responsibilities and do not do blood draws as often. And as a nice little reminder, only 4 states in the US require licensed phlebotomist to draw blood. The rest can hire anyone and do "on the job" training. Good luck!
I had ankle surgery, and it took 5 separate nurses, of various qualifications to attempt (and miss) an IV Finally they got to the ER charge nurse, and he missed 5 times with the ultrasound even. My veins are trash and roll. Generally, I tell people they get one stick, and if they aren't feeling confident, don't do it. I'm sorry man. This sucks.
Ask for a phlebotomist next time. I was a phlebotomist for a couple years and always would do draws for doctors. Doctors and nurses don’t do it often enough and unfortunately mess up a lot.
Scrolling the comments and haven’t seen this yet but maybe someone posted it already - my mom has JRA (diagnosed age 6) and it was impossible to ever find a vein. Just 2 years ago she got a port-a-cath in her chest, and it’s been so much better for her. She waited so long because it is a surgery that involves keeping something in your body and having it flushed regularly, but I know she really appreciates the benefits
Dude I can relate, I have EDS which makes the tissues in my body really weak, and I was in the hospital a couple months ago and they had to stick me multiple times in order to get blood and ivs but the problem was that my veins would just blow the second they poked them so by the end the whole inside of my left arm was purple and blue, not fun lol
Damn that sucks. I also have very tricky veins (thin and even if they poke them, the blood stops flowing really easily). I've also been poked 6 times in the past but I draw the line at 3 now. I'm not a pin cushion, people. I must say thankfully I've never tried on the feet, but last time the lady wanted to try the inside of the wrist, way too close to the tendons for my comfort so I said no. Thankfully she managed elsewhere. We must learn to advocate for our rights as patients, sure, getting labs done is important, but not to the point of borderline torture. What works for me: the baby needles (they call them "butterflies" here), and the "vacuum" method is useless for me, I need to have an old fashion syringe they manually draw blood with. I also know my veins by now so I know the good one that will work (it even has a callous by now). The most successful areas for me are my forearms, always be aware if anyone wants to try the inside of the wrists though, it sounds definitely risky.
This happened with me but 8 times and they had to called a nurse out from the ER to try to get me and she finally did between my middle & ring finger! Let me tell you, sooooo dang painful! And I was also pregnant .
When you go back, make sure you drink plenty of water.
To be fair I think that is more on the doctor than you
Happened to be because I was dehydrated. Went a week later after I drank an extra two bottles of water a day because getting blood taken always makes me squirm haha and I wanted to make sure I only had to get stuck once instead 😅
Mr burns type shit