Bad phlebotomy.

[Liberal Veteran]

Grr.

Jeers to the phlebotomist who drew my blood today and left me with a nice bruise and bandage that must have used gorilla glue for an adhesive.

All that for one fucking tube of blood.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Liberal Veteran...

I used to do sticks for a living (Red Cross Blood Services nurse, for whole blood and platelets), and there are many things that can go wrong...

Careless technique, dehydrated donor, poor veins, stuff like that.

I'm sorry you had to deal with the bruise...

We used to use hot packs to get the vein to come up, but probably that's not an option for a simple tube of blood.



I hope it goes better next time...

Oh, and put some ice on it today, every few hours, 10 to 15 minutes at a time. That'll help it heal.

[Liberal Veteran]

2. Thanks, CP!

I usually am a super easy blood draw (I even let them practice on me for interns at the hospital).

I just needed to vent after taking the band-aid and a significant number of arm hairs off.

I appreciate it!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Anytime, sweetie...

I've got pretty good veins too, and also my share of bruises...

[petronius]

4. I mixed up phlebotomy with phrenology - was really curious to

see how head-measuring could go bad...

Sorry you had a bad one; good blood-drawing is an under-appreciated art (I still have fond memories of the best one I ever experienced, even 15+ years after the fact).

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. I'm what's known as a tough stick (actually more of a bad motherfucker stick)...

.
.
.
... due to my condition, number of times they had to stick me, etc.
.
That said, there were some phlebotomists I REJOICED at seeing come
in the door. Gifted.
.
Instead of a Band-Aid, see if they'll wrap some Co-Ban around a plain
old gauze square. It's the stuff that wraps all the way around your arm,
sticks to itself and is very easy to remove. Bright designer colors, too --
I bet they could coordinate with your wardrobe!!!
.
Sometimes I had SO much Co-Ban (and I bet that's not how it's spelled)
that I used to put on the "Batman voice" and announce:
.
.
.
"I'M CO-BANMAN"
.
.
.

[nolabear]

6. I'm so sorry. I was once a lab tech and drew blood. It's so embarrassing to do that.

Veins are tricky things. The same person can be a breeze one day and it can all go wrong the next. Some veins are tough and some are so thin-walled, and some roll, which is just awful for all concerned (though I'd rather be the sticker than the stickee any day).

Whatever the draw was for, I hope you get the results you're after.

[elleng]

7. SORRY!

My worst was by a DOCTOR who took blood for test for marriage license, 28 years ago. Don't recall that the stick was so bad, but had a huge bruise for a LOOOONG time!

[BiggJawn]

8. There's a tech at my lab I call "The Excavator"

Because if she don't hit it on the first stick, no worries, dear, just pull back a bit and go digging for it...

[Aristus]

9. Sorry to hear about the trouble, LV.

Back when I was a phlebotomist, they used to call me "Painless", because that was my style. In and out of the vein before you know it. As above, sometimes the variables work against the phlebotomist. Also, the tubes contain a vacuum when they are still sealed; The blood doesn't simply pour into the tube once the vein is punctured; the tube actively sucks the blood in due to the vacuum. Sometimes that creates bruising.

Get better soon...

[Skittles]

10. oh boo hoo to you

I donate platelets every 2 to 3 weeks (that's 90+ minutes with a needle in my arm) - try having a newbie accidentally jar the SALINE line loose

[HeiressofBickworth]

11. In a similar manner

Last time I had a colonoscopy, the tech putting the line in the vein in the back of my hand did a horrible job. I've had lines in my hand before and have had no problem. This guy hurt me -- I was writhing in the chair begging him to stop. He held my hand down and continued. After he got it in to his satisfaction, he said he must have been scraping a nerve on his way in. I wanted to bitch-slap the guy.

[Bucky]

12. Same thing happened to me Saturday. I donated red blood cells.

When you give red cells, it takes about three times as long to get it out. They take out two, not one pint, and then they swirl the blood around and then centrifuge out the red cells, and then pump back in the pint of plasma. It started hurting about 1/3 of the way in and just got worse. It took about 25 minutes. Ouch.

[gkhouston]

13. There are days when I think all phlebotomists should be ex-heroin addicts.

My veins roll, so I'm a tough stick. I've had some good experiences, but lots of bad ones.