Stupid Nurse :D

Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2010
Posts
8,828
Location
N. Ireland
well heres the story
went to the doctors today because of the stomach pains ive been having every morning for the last couple of months. he recommended to take some tablets(buscopan etc.) but my moms already been giving me these tablets, so he told me ill need a blood test because it could be the acidity of my stomach and maybe it needs to be lowered down. so went to the room where they take your blood. an old woman was taking my blood, 1st try missed the vein so didnt get any blood. second try on the other arm(right) missed the vein again, so she started wiggling the needle inside my arm. third try she had to call two other nurses to find a vein in my arm, and one of them did on my left arm. so after three tries they finally got my precious blood and they took 3 little tubes of it.
now the thing is,, i now have three ****** needle holes in my arms. do you think i should complain?(if theres anything to complain about). even my mom said it was unnecessary and shes a nurse at a care home....what do you think guys/gals?
 
It usually takes a try or two to get blood out of me. Once they got it in one arm, but the blood wouldn't flow, so they stuck another in the other arm. Then both started going at once.
 
I think you should man up, they dont always get mine first time when i go to give blood at the local donor centre and i just get over it?

Think about it, they have to get a needle into a circular shaped blood filled vein thats a couple of mm wide? Not that easy :)
 
If your veins are small or not at the surface they can be quite hard to find. Assuming she used a tourniquet, can still sometimes be awkward to find. Suck it up and be a man, quit your whinging.
 
I don't see anything wrong. It can take several attempts. I can't see any reason why you would complain.
 
its not that im complaing because of the pain, it's because of the three attempts to get my vein. and btw when one of the nurse said that my vein was "collapsing" when the old woman asked if they could get more...what does it mean if my vein is collapsing?
 
3 pinpricks? Oh woe is me!

Just tell people you're a heroin addict if anyone actually cares enough to enquire.
 
Were any of them unprofessional? Unskilled? Did they continue after you asked them to stop?
Those are the sort of things I'd complain about!

Edit: your mum should be able to tell you about collapsing veins if she works taking blood from the elderly!
 
If they pull the syringe back too quick it can temporary collapse the vein, or the irration of the three attempts...failing that, your a druggie and youve permanently collapsed your veins from all the injections.
 
Last edited:
No, you shouldn't complain. A lot of the time I've had my blood taken, it has needed two attempts, so three doesn't seem out of the ordinary at all.

I think that there's a chance you might have linked the fact that she's old to the fact that she might not be able to do her job well enough.
 
what does it mean if my vein is collapsing?

Permanent vein collapse occurs as a consequence of:
Long-term injecting
Repeated injections, especially with blunt needles
Poor technique
Injection of substances which irritate the veins.

Source: Collapsed vein

The poor technique can cause it to collapse for a short time, if they carry on they can cause damage, hense moving to another arm whilst your heart re-streamed your vein with blood.
 
Hardly worth complaining about, happens to quite a few folks, myself included, something to do with deep veins I've been told. Quite often they've gave up on my arms and taken it out of the back of my hand.

Get used to it, sometimes they get it first go, but other days like you've experienced today it just doesn't happen.
 
so how do i know if my veins permanently collapsed or back to normal? would this explain the pain i got on my arm when i got home?
 
Did you have much fluid before going to the doctors? If you're dehydrated (even slightly) it can be very very hard for them to get blood. I have to get blood done every 4 weeks and usually takes a while because I'm often dehydrated (usually it's early morning or after a drinking session).
 
Back
Top Bottom