Grrr Nurses grrr….a continuation to grrr doctor grrrr post

pinksultana

....
So after all the drama of my previous post (read the grrr doctors grrr post if you dont know what im on about) I went to the nurse this morning to get my blood drawn to be tested. Well I now have 7 holes in my arms / hands…yes she tried my right arm twice first and couldn’t draw any blood, so tried my left arm twice, on the third needle insertion finally managed to get some blood but somehow stuffed it up so my arm was bleeding out of the hole where the needle was inserted (like pumping out a lot so she had to quickly take the needle out) as well as going into the needle…so she then went on to my left hand which was poked twice before she found a vein and drew the required blood….Oh my I look like a dart board!!!
Grrrrr….. the saga continues…..


xxPINK

DBranchaud

Poor baby!!! I remeber when I went to have my blood tested..I came out with my entire elbow black and blue!! Poor baby..

3babybeans

If that ever happens again, tell the nurse (like after the second poke) that you want a different nurse that knows what they're doing.

havingitall

Ask them to use a butterfly needle. It is what they use on babies

XFitMojoMom

I had that when I was going in for my c-section. I'm not someone who minds getting my blood drawn or needles in general... but I was like - OUCH... dude!! Watch it!!

FireMonkey

In my last job I was in the outpatient IV department - a few things we used to tell our patients: make sure you're well hydrated when you come in, have your coffee if you normally drink coffee, take a warm shower before you come. All those things help to fill up your veins so we have a better chance to get you on the first poke. If people have really awful veins we would put a heating pad on their arms/hands or have them dangle their arm down the side of the chair to fill up the veins.

Some nurses are hopeless at venipuncture and should be working in a different area. I was pretty good at it but everybody has a bad day sometimes, and if that happened I would call another nurse to help. I wouldn't poke anybody seven times.

stormieweather

Awww Pink...I've been there, done that. Some phlebotomists should seriously pick another profession. And some nurses must have flunked the phlebotomy class.

I remember going for outpatient surgery once, the nurse couldn't get the IV in my arm..she poked, prodded, tried over and over, and finally walked away to get help...leaving the needle dangling out of my arm. I complained to the hospital over that one.

The hand is a last resort/horrible place to draw blood..it bruises up and swells badly. I can't believe she went there. Maybe they're just mad because you pushed the issue to make them do the blood tests :grumble: . Too bad, I say! You deserve to be treated properly, not just brushed off.

foxyforce

thats happened to me before too, i think sometimes they have a hard time finding a good vein

keiko

Awww Pink...I've been there, done that. Some phlebotomists should seriously pick another profession. And some nurses must have flunked the phlebotomy class.

I remember going for outpatient surgery once, the nurse couldn't get the IV in my arm..she poked, prodded, tried over and over, and finally walked away to get help...leaving the needle dangling out of my arm. I complained to the hospital over that one.

The hand is a last resort/horrible place to draw blood..it bruises up and swells badly. I can't believe she went there. Maybe they're just mad because you pushed the issue to make them do the blood tests :grumble: . Too bad, I say! You deserve to be treated properly, not just brushed off.

Your story sounds like mine. Only the nurse anesthetist was really nice but when he couldn't get it he told the anesthesiologist. This guy yelled at me and told me he did not have time for this. He had other patients to attend to. What? it's my fault I have small veins and you can't do your job? What do you do with babies? :grumble: :grumble:

For a regular blood draw I do make sure I''m hydrated. And I've had some really good draws and some not so good.
I watched a dr put an iv in my dehydrated DD. One try and it was in and no bruising. I wanted to take him home with me!

Pink, I hope that you find out whats going on with you. That will make this blood draw worth it.

astridfeline

If that ever happens again, tell the nurse (like after the second poke) that you want a different nurse that knows what they're doing.

better yet ask for a phlebotomist--they are trained to draw blood and that's all they do all day long--most are very good. Every hospital I've worked in, the policy has been to poke the patient only twice and then get someone else to try. Sorry you went through that! :flowerforyou:

chrissyh

That's what happens to me but finally my oncologists nurse realized that if they use a butterfly needle, it works better. Also - next time be sure you're hydrated that makes a big difference.