Punctured

[kiya]

Had my doctor's appointment today at last; thus prescription renewal is managed, I have evaluated the doctor, been poked and prodded, I have a form requesting an immunization update that could not be managed due to personnel absence, and I have had blood drawn for miscellaneous tests.


So I got myself settled in the chair and all locked in and such, and warned the nurse that I had skittish veins.

I asked her which arm she preferred. I honestly don't recall which one she started with; I think it may have been the right. The following ensued:

Nurse: *cinches arm* *tap tap tap* *pause* *tap tap* *pause* *tap?*
Me: *removes glasses, because paying too much attention to the blood draw has a history of inducing poor physical responses*
Nurse: *tap?* *gives up, uncinches arm*

Nurse: *cinches left arm* *tap tap tap*
Me: That one tends to work better.
Nurse: *tap tap tap*

Eventually this progressed to:

Nurse: *cinches left arm* Squeeze hand.
Me: *obediently makes a fist*
Nurse: *tap?* *tap tap tap* *tap?*
Me: *continues making fist, counting spots on ceiling*
Nurse: *poke*
Me: ...
Nurse: *poke?*
Me: ...
Nurse: *poke poke*
Me: ?
Nurse: *removes needle, coils it up and throws it in the biohazard bin*
Me (after a little bit): I'm getting a little lightheaded.
Nurse: *uncinches arm* Have you ever had blood drawn from the back of your hand?
Me: Once. The time I blacked out, they had me lie down and drew it from there.
Nurse (whimsically): Well, I don't want you to faint, then I can't go home.
Me: I can agree with that.
Nurse: Do you want to go lie down?
Me: That might be a good idea.

We wander off and pick a vacant exam room.

Me: *lies down*
Nurse: *pulls out bit of examining table that I can rest my legs on*
Me: *counting spots on the ceiling*
Nurse: *swabs down arm with grave determination*
Me: *still counting spots*
Nurse: *JAB*
Me: Ow. *counting counting counting* Did that work?
Nurse: She may be being good this time, yes.
Me: *counting, listening to the snap sounds of the vials being added to and removed from the little tube*
My vein: That's enough of that thank you. *spits out needle*
Nurse: *studying the two vials she has and the third that is entirely empty* These ... can share.
Doctor, outside the room: Did you faint?
Me: No, no, my veins are hiding, we're being careful.
Doctor: Okay.
Me: Are we all good? You have everything you need?
Nurse: *shuffles forms* Yes, all done.

I asked for directions to some water, and wandered off.


I think that's the least well-behaved my veins have been, ever.

Comments

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

A couple of weeks ago, there were free blood tests where I worked, to test for cholestorol. I went in, they wiped my finger with alcohol, pricked my fingertip, and squeezed. The result? Probably not entirely unlike provoking a bombadier beetle. There was a little jet of blood that almost hit the startled nurse in the face. I was startled, too, and then laughed. I'd never seen that before. More interestingly, neither had she. I was worried that maybe she'd cut too big a hole or something and my finger would keep bleeding, but happily except for that surprising squirt, it behaved itself.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

I've had that happen too! The phlebotomist at the time thought the wound had just clotted really, really quickly, so there was pressure created behind the blockage. Funny!

[ardaniel]

My veins misbehaved so badly in the hospital once that they finally gave up for the day...

...and the next morning, the nice smiley technician from the *dialysis unit* arrived. He did an exemplary job.

[larksdream]

I have had the twenty-minute hide-and-go-seek vein game too. It's what started my needle phobia. :P In college, though, they always got me the nurse who'd worked in a drug rehab clinic, and she was fantastic. Apparently even my veins were better than what happens to the veins of druggies. 8-o

[kightp.livejournal.com]

*sympathy* I am needle phobic (it's about the invasion, not the pain), and my veins are slippery little bastards that roll away when the phlebotomist tries to chase them down. One of the things that made a recent minor procedure an unqualified success, in my mind, was that, having been warned about that, the vampire took extra steps to make sure he could tap me on the first try. I wanted to propose to him.

[kiya]

Usually I just have the "slippery little bastards" problem.

As opposed to, apparently, "I left my circulatory system at home."

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

I'm usually not /quite/ that bad, but just recently they had to send me to ultrasound in order to get an IV into me.

So yeah, I get you.

[meranthi.livejournal.com]

I have very poorly behaved veins. I get a very similar reaction to yours (up to the point of lying down). The last time I had to go back later because it just wasn't working. The nurse now just takes blood from my hand. Which hurts like a sumbitch, but it's one less poke.

[kiya]

I didn't used to get woozy when I watched the stuff -- the one time I blacked out appears to have changed the way my lizard brain thinks of needles completely.

[meranthi.livejournal.com]

I totally understand that. I blacked out once when I was getting a fasting cholesterol test done and have had worse problems since then.