Nurse Question

For any of you medical knowledge people, please help! I went to the Doctors for my labs today and NO blood would come out!! They tried 4 times. Then told me to go to a lab. Is there anything I can do to make this better. Of course, I am the squimish one and hate needles!! Any advice would be appreciated. Maybe I need to run around for 30 minutes before going? Does this happen to anyone else? I will take any advice. And of course I am leaving for vacation this week end, so maybe will just wait until I get back...But then I have to think about it for three more weeks. Darn, darn darn. Sara

Dear Sara: Hi ! I am a phlebotomist by profession! ( I draw blood) I can tell you it as probably the person collecting it! Many nurses do not have the experience drawing blood that lab staff do. Most phlebotomists know all the tricks to get blood out of even the stingiest patients!! It may be as simple as using the right size and type of needle for your vein. Also selecting the right vein is very importent!! One thing I can tell you to do is make sure you're well hydrated, that is drink plenty of fluids prior to your blood draw, unless the Dr tells you differently. Water does not effect fasting labs!! Hope this helps!! DeeAnn aka "the vampire"

Deeann, thanks for the response. I feel better. The nurse was very young, so I will go to labs from now on. It is hard for me to muster the nerve. My DH always laughs at me. He says I can handle 250 construction men and handle million dollar deals, but quake in my boots at a needle. So I idolize a good painless "vampire" LOL. Wish you were here. I was having visions of being there for hours. Thanks again. Sara

Sara, next time you are suppose to have your blood drawn, drink two extra glasses of water the night before and the morning before you leave. Be sure you drink EXTRA glasses, it will help you be better hydrated and make it easier for them to get what they need. Also, you are perfectly within your rights to ask that a phlebotomist (sp) draw your blood instead of a regular nurse. Nurses are trained to draw blood, and most of them do it very well, but it's not what they do all the time. Stands to reason that a phlebotomist would be better at drawing blood, that's their main job. Also, you can ask that they use a 'butterfly' needle, they are smaller and less painful for you. Only drawback with them is that it takes longer to get the blood they need. Good luck to ya!

Hi Sara: I know you asked for medical people to respond and I have no medical knowledge about this, however, I am a very hard person to get blood from. I mean almost inpossible in most cases. One beautiful phlebotomist told me to always make sure I was well hydrated before a blood test and since then I have never suffered throug a blood test. I mean I really pound the water before a test and there has never been a problem drawing my blood since. I am needle phobic like you and this has certainly helped me, hope it helps you to.

I'm an RN who has to find veins all the time on premature infants..... The hydration issue is probably the best advice for you to heed, a well hydrated vein "pops"up very easily, a dehydrated vein is consttricted and tends to "blow" easier (i.e. leak and cause bruising). The other thing I would recommend is to work on some relaxation techniques to use during your blood draw. Anxiety causes the veins to constrict and hide so if you can work on relaxing yourself, the veins will be easier to access. Try some visualization and/or deep breathing while the blood is being drawn. Good luck.

aside from hydration ask them to use a butterfly to draw the blood. its way easier for those of us with tiny veins that dont want to give