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SmileyMoM June 3rd, 2014 2:57am

Are you paranoid about or do you have difficulties with having your blood drawn or with IV starts.

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rlc63 North Carolina
06/05/14 12:09 pm

These are different things! I can have tubes of blood drawn and it doesn't bother me, but if know that needle thing is still in my hand or arm from an iv, I freak out.

imanag My heaven on Earth
06/04/14 4:18 pm

I don't have a problem with either, but I clot quickly, so it can't be a long blood draw.

rons Thanks America
06/04/14 11:54 am

I have a nice vein that sits in the crouch of my right arm. They never miss!

jrockit
06/04/14 10:32 am

Blood draw no but IV yes it took them three tries to get my IV in yesterday and it hurt like hell each time :(

slickspin Heart of Texas
06/04/14 8:33 am

The secret is to not look - at all. Never bothers me.

Injectable Trump Killed Babbitt
06/04/14 9:32 am

See, I do the opposite. Always look to make sure they aren't knocking you out to abduct you... They're everywhere!

nicolebliss31
06/04/14 8:22 am

Yes they have to be drawing blood for a few years or they are not touching me.

elianastar Gab.ai FreeSpeech
06/04/14 7:35 am

No worries. But when I get someone who *clearly* doesn't know what thay're doing, I refuse to be their human pin cushion. I have no fear, I also don't have a lot of patience for paying for incompetence w/bruises & pain for days!

elianastar Gab.ai FreeSpeech
06/04/14 7:35 am

I watch w/entire process w/fascination when done well.

elianastar Gab.ai FreeSpeech
06/04/14 7:37 am

I do have to be careful, though. Have low blood pressure & can get light headed if they take a lot. But it has to an awful lot to be any problem.

SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/04/14 7:42 am

I get a kick out of kids sometimes. Some throw a total fit, but sometimes once you get started they are totally fascinated with the whole process.

SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/04/14 7:43 am

And to pay my penance for all the sticking I do I let newbies practice on me sometimes. I have goo veins to practice on.

SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/04/14 7:45 am

Élan-I tell people when they think that I am taking too much blood that I am leaving them enough to grow on. ;)

elianastar Gab.ai FreeSpeech
06/04/14 7:58 am

My granddaughter had injection of dye for a SPECTscan yesterday. She is pathologically terrified of shots. They put numbing cream & bandage over site half hour before. She was all panicky but tech was REALLY good & cream did job. She *watched*!

elianastar Gab.ai FreeSpeech
06/04/14 8:00 am

As he was injecting purple-blue dye, which she loved the color, she says, "Hey! This is kinda FUN!" Dad was stunned & delighted! LOL! She will have another today. Later she said all she felt was no worse than when she sticks herself sewing!

elianastar Gab.ai FreeSpeech
06/04/14 8:00 am

@Smile: that's great. It helps when ppl have sense of humor!

Rosebud Ohio
06/04/14 6:29 am

I had a very bad experience with a nurse who couldn't do an IV when I was 8 and about to have major surgery. I'm past needing held down but certainly not over it.

swervin Maryland
06/04/14 5:40 am

I almost pass out when I give blood samples for testing purposes. I get woozy and I start seeing stars.

catpillow Florida West Coast
06/04/14 3:55 am

As long as it's not arterial blood, I'm fine.

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CarrieMarie Mad Science Crew
06/04/14 2:18 am

I like to watch the needle slide under the skin and see the blood flow. One of the odder things about me I think.

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SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/04/14 3:56 am

That is very cool I think.

aj1545 Cat Lady
06/04/14 7:07 am

I agree. I like to watch them do my blood draws and ivs, it's interesting. And compared to health problems involved with me getting those, a needle stick is nothing.

KAnne Atlantic City, NJ
06/04/14 1:59 am

Paranoid about what? No, I don't and have never had any problems with needles or blood.

mitchman399 Oregon
06/04/14 1:40 am

Last time I did it I full on passed out as soon as the needle went in, so I'm a bit weary of it now.

emmbeedee Arkansas
06/03/14 8:20 pm

I'm usually dehydrated so it always takes multiple sticks to draw blood or start an IV.

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cyanospool The Deep North
06/03/14 12:34 pm

Blood drawing is fine because they're just taking something out of me. Injections are worse because something foreign is going into my bloodstream, which is creepy to me

aj1545 Cat Lady
06/03/14 11:42 am

No problem. Having migraines got me over it, I even self inject for them now.

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pateach2 love my son
06/03/14 9:00 am

I used to be but since I've been pregnant I've had blood work drawn at least 5 times and have been stuck with an iv 3 times. I'm okay with it all now. Having an iv in for a few days straight is a bit much.

jmw7477 Indiana
06/03/14 4:10 am

They have a hard time sticking me & I've had issues in the past where I bled around the needle & they got air in my veins. I used to donate blood, but I've just had too many problems.

BamaGirl ROLL TIDE from Texas
06/03/14 3:45 am

I'm not paranoid, but I am hard to stick.

stickman46 NJ
06/03/14 3:35 am

I was a blood donor quarterly until I started traveling to India. Now I am not allowed.

Shiggybythebay Proud Bay Area Native
06/03/14 12:42 am

Omg I can't even watch someone else get it done. Yuck! I hate needles!!

TreeHugs Oregon
06/02/14 10:01 pm

IVs in the hand can hurt a lot for some reason, but getting poked in the arm is no big deal.

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aj1545 Cat Lady
06/03/14 11:43 am

That's interesting, I've always felt the opposite. Maybe just because I moved my arm more?

chickencookie disgusted
06/04/14 4:38 am

Im starting to get dizzy and feel the need to lay down all of a sudden.

susanr Colorado
06/02/14 9:45 pm

I don't have a problem with blood draws. (Had one last week, barely felt it.) I used to let new phlebotomists practice on me - easier than finding someone else willing to do it. I've had a couple difficult IV starts, but most have been OK.

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Zod Above Pugetropolis
06/02/14 8:48 pm

I'm OK with it, but I've learned to get super-hydrated starting the day before, unless there is some fluid restriction for the test, or they'll have trouble finding a comfortable vein.

Marzyq South of North Dakota
06/02/14 8:38 pm

Hate it. In the hospital two nurses tried for 45 minutes to start an IV. They called the doctor at 2am finally and said if you want it started, you come in and do it.

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MaxineL New Jersey
06/02/14 8:34 pm

I am lucky to have great veins for blood draws.

alynn Somewhere wonderful
06/02/14 8:28 pm

I tend to pass out. I have to lay down, pick a spot on the wall, zone out, and focus on deep breathing.

mikeey1962 on SOH where else
06/02/14 8:21 pm

I use to be terrified, but I turned 5 and it didn't bother me anymore

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SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/02/14 8:21 pm

I don't know if other places do or not, but we have an unwritten rule of 2 sticks and you are out. In other words you try twice and if you don't get it you find someone else to try. I only bend the rule if there is no one else that I think can help.

susanr Colorado
06/02/14 9:43 pm

That was exactly the general rule we had at the hospital where I worked in the 1970s & 1980s. If I couldn't get it after 2 sticks, chances were good I wouldn't after 3 or more either.

MJSeals Esq.
06/02/14 8:14 pm

You know my story…

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SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/02/14 8:15 pm

That's why I made a question out of it. Thanks MJ.

Kris Humidity Central
06/02/14 8:14 pm

Not anymore. After numerous standings, one of the corpsman at boot camp found it, the vein that isn't small and deep and rolls. My blood still is slow out, but I know the magic spot.

SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/02/14 8:14 pm

It may be a sick pleasure on my part, but the favorite part of my work day is doing morning lab draws at 0400. We get the bloods and I get the labs cranked out and then I get to go home for the day.

usernamehere Raise a little hell
06/02/14 8:12 pm

Yes. And, because the universe is just a bitch, I need IV medication twice a week.

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SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/02/14 8:15 pm

Yeah. I remember talking about that with you. Hang in there.

usernamehere Raise a little hell
06/02/14 9:04 pm

I actually started self-administering the medication now! It's so much less nerve-wracking when you have control over the needle going in.

SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/03/14 4:16 am

That's great user.

LadyA Earth Explorer
06/02/14 8:08 pm

Been a human pincushion too many times to care anymore.

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jvc1133 61535
06/02/14 8:07 pm

I can handle blood, just look away but, after my extended hospital vacation, veins BAd

chickencookie disgusted
06/02/14 8:05 pm

I hate it. IV''s should be a federal offense. I had one on top of my hand in November and it hurt. I only use butterfly needles for blood tests. . I often pass out.

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MrWolfe Nashville
06/02/14 8:09 pm

Well, you make a good point about IVs in the hand. I haven't had one of those since I was child, but I can imagine it being pretty uncomfortable & tender. Sorry, cc :(

PartyFree Nowhere in Particular
06/02/14 8:38 pm

I always seem to have IVs in my hand. They are of the devil.

chickencookie disgusted
06/02/14 8:41 pm

And then she opened it every night to check it. Ugh! This is when it pays to have "fat" arms and hands. Im thinking the extra flesh might cushion it.

BrittneyBunny Maryland
06/03/14 4:08 am

She has to check the IV site daily, unless you want it to accidentally infiltrate and then you won't complain about the IV hurting. But on my unit (before we moved) we try to avoid hands because it's a larger risk of infiltration.

Rosebud Ohio
06/04/14 6:33 am

I had one in the side of my wrist while I was in labor work my first. Not sure what that nurse was thinking. They're best top of the forearm, imo. Much less movement, easier to stabilize.

MrWolfe Nashville
06/02/14 8:05 pm

Not in the least. I think technology has gotten needles to the point where they are way above tolerable for most people. I just had my bloodwork labs done a couple of weeks ago & could barely feel it going in... just like a little pinch

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susanr Colorado
06/02/14 9:47 pm

I have no idea how they've improved the needles but I agree that they have and I love it. Wish I'd had them when I was involved with sticking people for a living.

Emily33 North Carolina
06/02/14 8:01 pm

No, I just don't like to look when they draw blood.

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KatG Liberal in Ohio
06/02/14 8:01 pm

Not a fan of IV's. Those needles are big and once in, aren't very comfortable. I don't have a fear of them, but I'm not a fan.

SmileyMoM Lab Rat Vampire
06/02/14 8:11 pm

I think IV starts are harder than blood draws because you have to thread the needle in farther so that it will stay. You have to watch more for straight veins and watch out for valves.