blood tests hurt alot | Arthritis Information

so i went to the place where i get blookwork done

right, yup

 

so i had to wake up at 5:30 IN THE MORNIN

it was terrible, i was so tired

and my blood sugar was high, 112

cuz when i get NERVOUS it gets higher

and blood days make me super nervous lol

 

so when we got to the place

we had to wait a half hour

before it even opened, going early means u get done sooner tho

we got to be the first ppl to get r blood done

 

i had a different nurse than who i usually get

and this one hurt me Hi Star, I was wondering how you were feeling today after your headache.  Blood tests hurt sometimes, like you say, when someone doesn't know what they're doing.  I had one three months ago where the tech bumped the needle so that it went all the way through and came out the other side of my skin!  It was hilarious, I thought SHE was going to faint.  Then this week I had blood drawn again and no bruise, no muss, no fuss.  DIfferent tech, obviously. I just got back from one. It felt like just a little pinch. I agree some people take blood better than others. Some hurt but most don't. Not sure what my doctor ordered...she prepared a slide as well as took a vial.yeah when i woke up this mornin, my headache was all gone yay oh and it turns out I always watch them too.  I only get two vials taken.  It's just monitoring my liver and blood chemistry while I'm on MTX.wow ur lucky only 2 vials lol You can ask your doctor about using an EMLA patch if it's really bothersome its only bothersome when i get the nurses that dont know how to do it I agree that some techs are better than other's. I've had some left bruises on my arms the size of baseballs! To me the worst part is that tight rubber band thing they put on there. I hate that....but I don't dread it like i use to. It's just part of it now....you get use to it. You can also request that the phlebotomist use a butterfly needle.  That way there's not nearly as much movement of the needle in your arm when the vials are switched.

Winged Infusion Sets, or "Butterfly" needles are used in venipuncture (phlebotomy). They are often used with people who have spasticity.

Since the butterfly needle uses a flexible tube, there is less chance of the patient causing damage if they move during the procedure. Butterfly needles are usually 21 to 25 gauge needles, with two plastic 'wings' on either side, flexible tubing, and another needle, generally sheathed with some sort of rubber like material at the other end. The phlebotomist attaches a hub or a syringe to the end of the set that has the sheathed needle. This is the same type of hub used for a routine venipuncture. The needle is held by the 'wings' and placed into the vein, generally at a fairly shallow angle. The wings allow the phlebotomist to grasp the needle very close to the end, to ensure accuracy. When the needle is successfully placed into the vein, a 'flash' can be seen. The 'flash' is a small amount of blood that flows into the tubing when the needle enters a vein. The phlebotomist can then push vacuum tubes into the hub and draw blood as usual.

Butterfly needles are most commonly used when available veins are very small, fragile, or when they are in a place that would make using a normal evacuated tube system difficult. Butterfly needles are also used on very shallow veins, because the design allows the needle to be inserted at a much more shallow angle than an evacuated tube system allows. Butterfly needles are nearly always used when drawing blood from the hand, wrist, or other places on the body where veins are very close to the skin. Since a butterfly needle doesn't pull quite so hard, and the needle is smaller, the blood flows more slowly in most cases, which can reduce the chances of delicate veins collapsing. It is advisable, however, to use a syringe with a butterfly, rather than vacuum tubes directly, when drawing tubes that require a full draw, such as light blue sodium citrate tubes (which are most commonly used for coagulation tests). This is because a small amount of blood will remain in the tubing when there is no vacuum remaining in the tube.

Butterfly needle

yeah Lovie, the rubber band thing is terrible I'm a phlebotomist/medical laboratory technician and take it from me...the person performing the actual stick has a LOT to do with how bad it hurts.  I've had people stick me and it feels like the needle is going to come out my elbow and others that I don't even feel it.   Not to toot my own horn or anything but I've had many folks tell me they couldn't even tell when I stuck them and these are all vets at the local VA hospital so these guys won't bs you.  Most places I either worked or rotated through as a student didn't like it when you use the winged sets (butterfly) because the little suckers are EXPENSIVE.   They do reserve them for the difficult draws and kids most of the time.  Plus, the smaller bore of the needle can sometimes cause the sample to be hemolyzed which affects values of many tests.  (hemolyzed=broken red cells)  I almost always use butterflies with the evacuated tubes but it's like you need three hands to manipulate the darn things!  I don't know why but it suck, no pun intended, at using a syringe to do draws.  ooh so ur a blood taking person Yep, professional vampire.  I've had RA since I was 9 so I know how you feel.  I used to be so terrified of getting blood drawn that it took three people to hold me down!  After a few years of it I got used to it though.  After a while you'll get so used to it that you won't even feel it anymore.   I had the same thing happen with the bleeding once.  I didn't keep my arm bent up long enough and there was blood running everywhere!  It was sooo gross.   I felt my arm getting warm all of a sudden and then looked down and there was this river of blood running down my arm and onto the floor!   I felt bad for whoever had to clean that up.  yeah i ALWAYS hold my breath
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