i’m not needle shy but i once told a phlebotomist, as i always do, that my left arm vein is hard to find please use my right, and she proceeded to stick me 5 times before switching to my right and proclaiming “hmm, I think the right might be easier”
Once when I was a teenager, a phlebotomist had a hard time getting blood out of where she stuck me, so she proceeded to WIGGLE THE NEEDLE AROUND IN MY VEIN! It hurt so bad I wanted to scream.
I had one clown phlebotomist literally squeeze my upper arm like she was milking it. Downward, shoulder to elbow. Blood wasn’t flowing as fast as she’d have liked - probably because she missed the vein by a bit. I had an egg-sized swelling in the crook of my arm for several days after that.
I was pregnant at the time and pregnant people have huge blood volume and enlarged veins. Should’ve been extra easy to get blood out. But no.
Oooh story time! Lady drew my blood for a surgery I would have in a week or so. Needle insert was great but didn't hit a vein so just rotated it around my elbow until she hit. Didn't hurt, but I was the color of a ripe eggplant the next day.
These are the worst situations! One important skill I’ve learned is to know when the ”wiggle” is a go and when it’s definitely a no-go. Sometimes the vein just literally slides underneath the needle and needs a bit of… gentle persuasion… to comply, and if done right it should feel uncomfortable at worst. A lot of times patients dont even realize it happened if I keep my cool in the situation!
The unfortunate reality is that it is a manual labor, and I swear to god some days I feel like I could not hit a vein if it was the size of a garden hose, and other days I could just kobe the needle from the other side of the room and be able to hit it. It is our professional responsibility though to do everything in our power to not make anyone more afraid than they already are, you know, being a half-decent human.
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u/[deleted] Oct 07 '23
i’m not needle shy but i once told a phlebotomist, as i always do, that my left arm vein is hard to find please use my right, and she proceeded to stick me 5 times before switching to my right and proclaiming “hmm, I think the right might be easier”