little scared

 I have veins sticking out everywhere now. Its 100 times easier.

My personal experience is that it did get bettter when I lost weight.  I used to have to get the blood drawn from the top of my hand.  Now they can get it out of my inner elbow.  It seems like with less fat it's easier to find the vein and easier to poke without the fishing once the needle is inserted.  Oh, how I hated that digging around!

Key_____ always, always   be VERY hydrated,,, makes for fatter veins,,,, as long as no fat, or sugar in it still counts only as water....

And they do get easier to find as more of our "insulation" goes away !! LOL

I was the worst for finding a vein when I was heavy. Now they love me because my veins pop right up.

Before my DS even anesthesia docs sometimes had issues. I had general anesthesia through the thumb-side vein because I was such a hard stick. LOVELY bruising on that one.

Another time after a surgery, I developed my typical post anesthesia fever and they were running blood draws about every three minutes, it seemed. They got desperate enough for a vein that they got a doc to nab me in the groin.

So I have experience :-). Now, no problem at all. I hold out my arm, flick, flick, poke, done.

Life is all about choices and accepting the consequences of those choices.  I'm willing to bet that there are a lot of people who are just as afraid of needles and pain as I am, but there is absolutley no one who is more scared.  Yeah, I'm a big baby that way.  However, I also know that there are some things in life I have to do and getting lab work is one of them.  Well, I guess in all reality I could never get them drawn.  Then when I get so sick that I have to be hospitalized for IV infusions, that's one result.  Or I could refuse to do that and end up dieing of lord knows what due to all my deficiencies.  Given these dire results, I just suck it up and get my labwork done. 

It's amazing what one can do when one thinks things through.  I had my knee replaced on August 1st.  The doctor prescribed 20 shots of anticoagulants that I had to inject into my belly.  My first thought was, "No way in hell, thankyouverymuch!"  Then I remembered that I was at high risk for developing a blood clot in my legs that could travel to my lungs and kill me.  Did I like shooting myself in the belly 20 times?  Absolutely not.  Did I do it?  Yes.  Would I do it again?  Yes.  I might whine and moan, but when it's all over, I realized it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

If I (the world's biggest wuss) can endure getting poked, so can you.  OK?

I'll chime in here with I am ALOT scared....not just a little....why you say?  Because I have something that the docs/lab techs/ and any other medical professional that has every tried to take my blood called "vaso vagel syndrome".  

I basically "pass the **** out" EVERY DAMN time they try to take my blood!   I have been doing it for 35+ years....started when I was 8 and my father swore there was something wrong with me cuz "he can't have a fat kid"................... I swear it SUCKS!!     I know it doesn't hurt.....I know that needle is TINY..........I can get shots all day long......but that damn needle in the middle of my arm puts me on the floor every time!

Now, I posted this not long ago and got some very good advice as I believe was already posted here:

From now on I am gonna make sure I am "hydrated"...........i tend to always be dehydrated anyway...........and after that I am just gonna "suck it up" and try to "overcome" that syndrome.    And when all else fails, I can lay down which keeps me from falling down or out of the chair........and I have sometimes been "successful" with "butterfly needles" in the top of my hand..........but I think that vein must be alot smaller cuz it takes FOREVER to get one vial that way let alone 12 or 14!!

That seems so odd to me - the draw from the inner arm is SO much LESS painful than the back of the hand!  I am a hard stick, and after the third unsuccessful try, the phlebotomist usually goes for the back of the hand, and that hurts!

What I now usually get, and what usually works, is butterfly needle in the inner arm.  I get my iron infusions the same way.

I don't mind watching the blood draw, but I always look the other way when they are sticking me - it hurts less that way.

That's totally me too.  I can'****ch them do the stick but I'm fine watching the blood pour out into the vial.  Wierd.

I've got the unfortunate problem of BIG veins on the back of the hand.....the lab tech usually sees them and has sometimes tried to go right for it first.  It sucks.

I just gave 18 vials of blood through a butterfly canula the other day. Yeah, it took a little while, but it went fine.

I haven't a DS yet, but I've passed out twice while doing labs. Someone told me to bring something to distract myself and ask if blood can be taken from my hands and feet! It works wonders for me! While they are taking blood from one hand I put my phone on the arm rest and play angry birds with my free hand! Im a pro at my labs now and my angry birds skills are awesome!! I've had to do three labs durning this 6 month medically supervised diet eek!!!