Can’t get blood out of me! Please give me some tips

[spookyastronauts]

My veins are pretty rubbish. Years ago it was very difficult to get my blood but I worked out if I drink lots and lots of water before my appointment it works.

However I went yesterday to have my blood taken, and I was in the appointment for 35 minutes, trying different places and poking around. Even when she found a vein the blood just wasn’t coming out. I really need to get this done. I have re booked to try again. If anyone else is like me, please could you give me your tips on how to make this easier and successful?

Oh me too. I was once sent home from the blood donation clinic because not one of them could get a vein up on me, including the doctor who elbowed all the nurses out of the way to show them how it's done!

I've been getting blood taken regularly lately at a hospital phlebotomy clinic and not one of them is half as good as my local GP, who gets it every time.

You need to drink loads the couple of days before the blood test. I have an iv treatment every 4 weeks on a Thursday for a neurological condition I've had for 12 years. I'm fat and even when I was much thinner had crap veins, my gran did too and she was always thin.

One nurse told me to try to drink 6-8 pints of water on Tuesday and Wednesday and then another 2 on Thursday morning before my 8am appointment. Cannula has gone in first or second time ever since!

Oh I am the same. My bloods have to be taken from the only visible vein, on my right wrist. Same with cannulas. Having a cannula on my wrist for ten days with sepsis was not fun! No advice but solidarity 😅

Had it done yesterday after several failed attempts. Last time I drank lots of water, kept it warm and tapped my arms etc. This time I forgot and she was able to get blood on about,the 3rd attempt. My veins are extremely hard to find usually!

I am the same. Last time it took 3 different people to get it done, but the third person did it with no issues. It is not the first time that the phlebotomist blame it on not drinking but then someone else do it the first time they tried, so in my experience is to get a good phlebotomist (out of your control). It is not you, it is them. I normally offer my hand as the veins are thicker there, it is more painful but easier.

Some really good advice here, thanks everyone 😄

It's the way they og "Oh I just had one there and now it's disappeared",

DD's veins are very narrow, hospital staff really struggle to get blood from her and an iv tube in. They often end tapping the area concerned, so might be worth trying that.

When they've milked me it's caused my potassium to read high. Apparently it can damage the blood cells or something and create a false high reading.

What I was taught by a phlebotomist was that you can coax a vein to the surface - slapping them into submission just makes them retreat further, but a light tickle-type stroke along it (yes, I appreciate how rude that sounds) gets them to rise. Add to that opening and closing my hand with flicking my fingers out, sort of like the actions for children to do Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but slowly, and it goes from crap but the best of a bad bunch to a perfect vein 95% of the time. The other 5%, it leaps out of the way.

I've had horrendous draws before now - one of the arm slappers turned my arm black for two months when using what felt like a fucking chopstick and my right arm is completely unusable for blood tests after decades of only ever being taken from that side due to where the chairs were placed. But most of the time, it's been fine since I started the light tickle and flicking motion to encourage flow.

Butterfly needle.
Really warm bath or shower beforehand and rub those arms.
Wear really warm clothing.
Drink lots of water.
Put those really small hot water bottles down your sleeves . Else cradle two hot water bottles.

If you're on your own take the bottles with you to cradle in the waiting room. Keep flexing and clenching your hands

My DM has always been deeply unimpressed by nursing staff who have difficulty drawing blood from tricky veins; she and her staff used to be experts at cannulating veins for cytotoxic cancer drugs so when she heard of these sort of dramas she was 🙄 why can’t they train their staff properly?

I always have to go to the hospital for my blood tests. I have a laminated (no expense spared) card that states that I am difficult to bleed so they do it via finger prick collection.
it has to be at the hospital so that it can be sent straight to the labs as I assume a much smaller sample dries out or degrades faster.
it has changed my life! I had such a terrible fear I didn’t sleep for a week before hand.
Ask if you can do finger prick instead.
good luck!

after A nurse and a junior Dr took 8 attempts to draw blood (2 on each arm and 2 on each hand) I refuse to have anyone but the practice nurse take my blood. When they were attempting to take my blood the nurse started laughing saying 'I’m glad I’m not paying for all these needles'

think I made the mistake of telling them it’s usually hard to get my blood so they went in deep and hard 😁

phlebotomist sounds a good shout If my favourite nurse leaves

i'd never trust a GP to take my blood. I had one do my B12 injection. He went to stab me with the same needle point he’d used to bang all around the glass jar and suck up the liquid.

People have trouble taking blood from me. I drink 8-10 cups of drink before going. I have to have a longer double appointment booked. I try and keep warm. Butterfly needles have worked, but even they don't always work now. They use a black needle to draw blood from me now, and that works 1st time usually. It is longer, so can reach my deeper veins.

This is interesting. I have a portacath which works in cancer settings but other nurses are usually afraid of it and want the arm whether it's a blood draw or putting an IV in, and then I get awful bruising. Taking note of some of these methods, though sometimes I'm in hospital unexpectedly and don't have time to prepare really. Also have reasons for not always wanting to drink a lot of water.

Last time I went, the nurse filled a rubber glove with hot water and held that to my arm which helped and a very very slow sample of blood was taken. I am just so mean.

#@spookyastronauts

I used to have the same problem

you need to ensure drink enough plenty of fluids water
and allways rember where the nurse taking bloods was successful at first attempt such as obviously left or right arm,
even the angle of the way the needle went into your arm,
so whatever nurse knows on which arm and which way most likely get the position that's most beneficial for this and least or no amount of 😩 stress..