What no blood?

Fleegle said:

Today before I went I drunk 4 pints of water and that didn't really help at all.

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That's exactly what I would have suggested as dehydration makes the veins shrink.

Once when I had a operation the Dr's struggled to get the cannula in the back of my hand, down in the theatre waiting area the Anaesthetist came to see me and got it in first time.

I ask for the butterfly needle. Its now in my notes, as i have difficult veins and end up with 5 or 6 attempts and bruising.

Strangely though, the nurses at the blood donation centre get me first time.

Think it all depends on the nurse. I usually end up really bruised and sore too so you are not alone.

Nurse or phlebotomist?

Phlebotomist just draws blood all day so gets pretty good, mostly.

LittleGreyCat said:

Nurse or phlebotomist?

Phlebotomist just draws blood all day so gets pretty good, mostly.

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LittleGreyCat: I think you have made a good point. My GP's surgery now do blood tests as part of my diabetic review but the nurses always have difficulty finding my blood vessel. Fortunately we have a local clinic where you can take your "Blood form" from your GP's surgery and walk in without an appointment to have bloods taken by phlebotonists. I now request this every time, explaining that perhaps I have an anxiety problem at the GP's surgery that affects me so that the staff don't feel I am criticising them. Touch wood, I have never had a problem since.

Very warm arms is often the answer. A hot water bottle wrapped in a towel over the arm for some time prior. That is what they did in the chemo unit for those that couldn't produce decent veins for infusions and blood letting. I never needed it thankfully as I had a portacath inserted in my chest.

Fleegle said:

Ohh I am going to find this out - that sounds like an option.

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Hi Fleegle. Good luck. I think once you've had a bad experience it makes you anxious for the next time which adds to the problem. If you've got another option up your sleeve it increases your confidence as you feel more in control.

Given up at local surgery, just go to the hospital clinic and get them to draw it from the back of my hand. Always happy for them to have a couple of attempts at the arm first. At some point I want it written on my notes that I am a tricky bleeder so later on in life they don't presume that I am nearer to end of life than I am - as they did with my mum!

Hello, as others have said veins like to be both hydrated and warm, did they try your hand, not a pleasant experience but usually produces a good sample. Hope you have a better experience next time.

Fleegle said:

For the second time the local surgery were unable to extract any blood for my three month HBA1C check.
Two nurses - five attempts, quite a lot of pain in the end before they have reverted to using the BUPA report I had done just two weeks ago. Sad because I wanted to see the 12 week result. Previous test was the same - took three nurses six attempts. BUPA followed the instructions my nurse gave on where to find it - and eventually found it - but today no joy.

The point of my thread other than feeling sorry for myself is.

What experiences and solutions have you specifically had - if like me you suffer from difficult to blood.

Today before I went I drunk 4 pints of water and that didn't really help at all.

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They have trouble with me too (something inherited from my mum).
I now make sure its the phlebotomist and not the reg nurses as they can't get any and I end up like a pin cushion. They last 2 nurses sent me home and told me to come back when the phlebotomist was in.. one refused to even have a go and the other had three tries and failed. I too had drunk lots of water.

It can depend on who is taking the blood ,the nurses at my GP surgery are brilliant and say that I have veins like motorways but I once had to go to the health centre for bloods and I came home with a huge bruise .I was told that I may need to put some ice on that

Some phlebotomists are not good at taking blood but some are excellent. Doctors are reasonably good because they practice on each other at medical school and that is a good motivation to get it right! D.

Fleegle said:

For the second time the local surgery were unable to extract any blood for my three month HBA1C check.
Two nurses - five attempts, quite a lot of pain in the end before they have reverted to using the BUPA report I had done just two weeks ago. Sad because I wanted to see the 12 week result. Previous test was the same - took three nurses six attempts. BUPA followed the instructions my nurse gave on where to find it - and eventually found it - but today no joy.

The point of my thread other than feeling sorry for myself is.

What experiences and solutions have you specifically had - if like me you suffer from difficult to blood.

Today before I went I drunk 4 pints of water and that didn't really help at all.

Click to expand...

I have similar problems and have had to go back on more than one occasion or they only get enough blood to fill 2 tubes not three. My sister in law is a phlebotomist and when she looked at my veins even she said that she wouldn't want to take my blood!

Fleegle said:

For the second time the local surgery were unable to extract any blood for my three month HBA1C check.
Two nurses - five attempts, quite a lot of pain in the end before they have reverted to using the BUPA report I had done just two weeks ago. Sad because I wanted to see the 12 week result. Previous test was the same - took three nurses six attempts. BUPA followed the instructions my nurse gave on where to find it - and eventually found it - but today no joy.

The point of my thread other than feeling sorry for myself is.

What experiences and solutions have you specifically had - if like me you suffer from difficult to blood.

Today before I went I drunk 4 pints of water and that didn't really help at all.

Click to expand...

Next time you go, try and imagine your squeezing a big orange and open and close your fist, this helps pump the blood and sometimes makes the vein come up a bit better, unfortunately some people are more difficult to bleed than others, this can be due to many reasons, dehydration, feeling cold, being unwell etc, etc, etc,

That's very annoying! I used to go to an extremely good pathology place, but it was shut down and since then I've always had trouble with blood tests. They accuse me of being dehydrated, and repeatedly ask about what I had to drink even though I told them I had plenty. I had also just produced a urine sample, proof that I wasn't lying about having enough fluid, since it was a very light colour. They tell me that I have "thin veins" - totally not true! I'm a young, healthy person with perfectly normal veins. They also make me pump my fist, and squeeze on a stress toy thing, to get the blood pumping. And they rarely get blood on their first attempt. Last blood test, the nurse said she couldn't get blood so she tried the other arm, and then when we were done she realised that I had bled all over my arm from the place she said she hadn't managed to get any blood! Not to mention that she got one of the tests wrong - I was having my calcium done and she didn't remove the torniquet. At the place I used to go, the nurse took my blood easily even though I was very sick (I fainted during the test. Later that day, the results came in and determined that I was type 1). As for solutions to the problem...try to find a better pathology place? My mum said that next time she'll take me to a place where they do blood tests on a lot of cancer patients, and since they have worse veins than I do, it should be easy for the nurses to take my blood.

Sorry to hear that @Fleegle, and others who have difficulty getting blood.
I'm fortunate in never having had that problem. Nurses/phlebotemists have always got blood from me easily, and have commented that I have 'good' veins.

I have to go to the city hospital and pay for parking, worth it to avoid the bruising and scars.