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AIBU?

Bizarre conversation with phlebotomist

89 replies

carabos · 30/01/2013 11:27

I've just been for a blood test. The phlebotomist took several vials of blood in the normal way, put a cotton ball over the needle prick and immediately said "Are you on aspirin or Warfarin because this bleeding isn't stopping?"

I said no, she checked the bleeding again and said "you must be because this isn't stopping - are you sure?" - at this point only about 30 secs to a minute has gone by since she took the needle out .

I said "well I'm sure it will stop in a minute".
She said "I don't have time for this, I'm going to check your records".

Then she looked again and lo and behold it had stopped. .

AIBU to think she was over-reacting, especially as I had told her I wasn't on any medication, there wasn't a queue for her clinic and it was only a bit of blood from a pin-prick?

OP posts:

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crazynanna · 30/01/2013 14:14

I have found people who have repeated blood tests, ie diabetics, cancer patients,sickle cell, patients, would tell me they used to have fabulous veins, but now they are all gone.

I think the physiology of the body can change for anyone after certain event, such as pregnancy. My boobage sure has!

crazynanna · 30/01/2013 14:16

Sounds like you have had some bad experiences Fakebook

No wonder you have lost your faith in us.

But,I bet I could restore your faith if you came to me

theoldtrout01876 · 30/01/2013 14:27

Im a medical technologist and in my day we all learned to draw blood and took turns drawing patients on the hospital wards.We didnt have many dedicated phlebotomists then
I have awful veins and I know it. More often than not Ill draw my own from the back of my hand with a butterfly :o
I had my blood drawn yesterday,hands were too cold for the veins to pop so I had to have someone else draw it.First dude stuck me twice,didnt feel a thing either time,wouldnt have known it was happening,but he missed both times. Then a woman had a go, hit the vein,hurt like hell,bruised to buggery and hemolysed the blood. She was new to our company,didnt know who I was and tried to blame me.then she had the gall to call me HUN
I had to put her right on all counts :o

crazynanna · 30/01/2013 14:29

I would have sacked her for the "Hun"

theoldtrout01876 · 30/01/2013 14:34

crazynanna :o

I got a cheer from the other women in the lab,she calls everyone hun and it drives them mental. Yesterday was my first dealings with her so I had never been "huned" before,dont think I will be again

crazynanna · 30/01/2013 14:35

SpicyPear · 30/01/2013 14:51

YANBU. What a miserable woman.

I tried to jump up straight after a blood test recently as the vials were making me vommy, and I got told very nicely to sit back down and hold the gauze on longer. She guessed I was nervous and had a lovely chat with me to keep my mind off it until I could go.

Lifeisontheup · 30/01/2013 15:52

Crazynanna You've reassured me, I've got to learn to cannulate for paramedic science degree and I'm terrified. I'm sure all the people I have to do will be really poorly and I'll have to try and do it whilst bouncing off the walls of the ambulance and stabbing myself and my colleagues. I'm envisaging not getting a single one first time.

Fakebook · 30/01/2013 15:58

Crazynanna, I have every faith in all you phlebotomists. You're all angels in disguise . It's the doctors and midwives I don't trust.

crazynanna · 30/01/2013 19:17

I think more like Angels with Dirty Faces, FakeBook

Lifeis..don't worry...practice makes perfect is a saying that was made for venepuncture. I trained in the day of syringes (not vacutainers), and my trainer made me take a 50ml syringeful on my first go. The plunger was soooo hard to pull, and as I turned to my trainer to ask "is this ok?", I hadn't realised I had reached the capacity of the sytinge, and pulled the plunger full out Blood everywhere!

The patient, an old boy, was lovely though, and just said, "that was prime guiness,that was!"

crashdoll · 30/01/2013 19:32

I have good veins and I love phlebotomists. They are nearly always on the mark every time. I'm going tomorrow. Happy days!

I've had some traumatic experiences (despite my good veins) with doctors and nurses taking blood but never had a bad phlebotomist.

manicbmc · 30/01/2013 19:38

I have excellent veins. The nurse looks over-joyed when she sees them

It's probably to do with my high blood pressure though.

The ex had a doctor put a cannula in his elbow joint area when he was being admitted with pneumonia once. When the nurse came along she took one look, tutted, removed it and redid it on the back of his hand.

BeebiesQueen · 30/01/2013 19:44

I have a bad phobia of needles, shaking crying, fainting, throwing up :( no nurse has ever offered a butterfly. What is it and will it make it easier.

Funnily enough the only time I have been ok was when I went to see a pl...thingamy. I told her about my phobia and she said 'look that way. (pointed to the sink) you'll be fine with me I promice. What's your daughters name and how old is she? all done!' I didn't feel a thing, I was so shocked! It was great!

hazeyjane · 30/01/2013 19:51

I had to have a lot of blood tests and cannulas put in when I had a molar pregnancy, I volunteered to be a guinea pig for trainees, because I have good veins, and seem to manage them ik (gawd knows why I am an absolute wuss in every other department)

I have just come out of hospital with ds(2.7), where the phlebotomist had to take blood sample. I suggested she might want to get someone else to help, and could we do it in a treatment room rather than the ward (ds has a genetic disorder, is a nightmare to get blood out of and isi very scared of strange surroundings, new people etc). She sounded very offended and said she had done this hundreds of times, it was a small prick on the finger, and we would 'stay where we were, thankyou'. 5 minutes later, she was shouting at me, 'why is he bleeding so much,?! does he always bleed like this?!!' as blood poured out of his finger all over my lap. Ds was a screaming, sweating, hysterical mess, and the phlebotomist was shouting for someone to come and help - great.

So op, yanbu, and you aren't alone!

Sparklingbrook · 30/01/2013 19:55

DS2 had an operation when he was 5 weeks old. There were so many goes at getting a cannula into his hand they had to give up. They ended up putting it into his foot. Ouch. He screamed the place down and DH and I had to walk out we were so upset.

EnjoyResponsibly · 30/01/2013 19:58

On your way in did you pass an over full car park, broken pay and display machine, closed coffee shop and a broken heel? Or any other reason why her day was so shit she needed to piss on your chips

monkeyfacegrace · 30/01/2013 20:03

Hahahaha Im literally pissing myself here in squeamish, needle-phobic hysterics.

My DH wants to know why Im laughing. Quite honestly, Ive gone faint and would rather pop my own eyeball than discuss needle guages and blood taking.

Eeeeeewww squee BLEUGH you bunch of wierdos!

GetOrf · 30/01/2013 20:08

Oh this is so interesting.

I really quite like having my blood taken - always have a good look to see what they are doing. I would love to have a go - I imagine that once you get the knack of doing it it is rather satisfying.

They always have a job at finding a vein on the back of my hand, though I imagine that that is a difficult place anyway.

Giving blood is quite enjoyable as well, watching all that blood flow out. I am a B negative as well so always feel rather pleased with mysefl.

I am not strange, honest.

GetOrf · 30/01/2013 20:09

Oh sparkling how bloody horrible for you all.

Sparklingbrook · 30/01/2013 20:10

It's nearly 11 years ago now GetOrf, but things like that stay with you don't they? Along with the Doctor yelling 'WILL SOMEONE GO OUT AND GET THAT BABY A DUMMY'!!

Sparklingbrook · 30/01/2013 20:11

Someone did-but no taping it to his face fortunately.

GetOrf · 30/01/2013 20:15

I was in hospital with dd when she was 5 weeks, she was projectile vomiting and as there is family history of it they thought it may be pyloric stenosis (it wasn't - as soon as we got to hospital she stopped throwing up thankfully).

Anyway, they tried to catch her urine by sticking a sticky bag thing on her bum - when they pulled the sticky bit off it pulled her skin and obviously hurt her and she cried bitterly. I can still hear it. Nothing like what you went through with an op, but I felt so upset, and still makes me sad thinking of it bloody 17 years later!

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hazeyjane · 30/01/2013 20:16

Sparkling, I am looking at ds's bruised little feet at the moment, where it took 2 drs and a nurse to get a cannula in, 2 days later they had to recannulate in the other foot. He nearly passed out, it was horrible.

VivaLeBeaver · 30/01/2013 20:17

I love taking blood, it is satisfying to get the vein especially if they're a bit small, deep, etc. I've never used a butterfly in my life, we don't have them on our ward and I've never seen one be used or been shown how to do it. Occasionally if someone has bad veins I take blood out the back of their hand with a normal vacutainer needle which is probably not recommended practice but seems to work!

I'm currently learning to cannula the but am crap at it and not sure why. Get a nice vein, go in at the right angle and just can't advance the cannula. We do just practice on people. I never tell them I'm learning. I have a go and when I don't get it in I blame it on their veins and go and find a dr!

Sparklingbrook · 30/01/2013 20:18

Oooh noooo GetOrf. That's awful.

Pyeloric Stenosis was exactly what DS2 was having his op for. They also put Paracetamol up his bum.

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