The Needle Quandry
@nanette64 (20363)
Fairfield, Texas
April 18, 2017 10:45am CST
After reading the post by @TheInvisibleMan asking if you were afraid of needles, got me to thinking about a few experiences I had that almost turned me into a vampire.
There have been a few occasions where the Phlebotomist went right through a vein causing unbelievable swelling and turning my arm black and blue. When asked how long she'd been doing this, she said 10 years. Really? And you went right through my vein? Now mind you, I have veins that stand out like a waving flag and I don't even need the rubber tube wrapped around my arm.
Then when I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance when my appendix had been ruptured for 3 days, the EMT stabbed me in the arm muscle. When I told her she hit the muscle instead of the vein, she argued with me. In the lousy 5 minutes it took me to get to the hospital, my arm was swollen from the saline solution. When the ER nurse saw my arm, she was mad and chewed out the EMT.
One thing's for sure; I'll never be a drug junkie.
12 people like this
12 responses
@Marilynda1225 (91068)
• United States
18 Apr 17
I've had some bad experiences with having blood drawn but I'm not afraid of needles....just incompetents who use them
3 people like this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
Makes ya want to grab the needle and shove it up their..... don't it @Marilynda1225 ?
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
Can you imagine if they did that to me what it would be like for older people who's veins aren't very prominent @marlina ?
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
I know what you mean @LadyDuck . I'm just glad I don't have to inject insulin or something on a regular basis.
2 people like this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
@LadyDuck Yeah, me neither. Ain't no way.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
18 Apr 17
My veins are getting smaller and they sometimes have a problem hitting one.
3 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
19 Apr 17
@nanette64 I guess that's one way to phrase it.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
Oh ouch @AbbyGreenhill . Are your veins playing Hide & Seek?
@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
18 Apr 17
When they went to take blood from me when I was in the hospital with meningitis, it took 27 people to get blood out of me. That's including someone who had been taking blood for over thirty years. Im hard to stick, they always have to use baby needles.
3 people like this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
Oh wow @thislittlepennyearns . That would be a nightmare.
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
She treated me like I was stupid or something @Kandae11 . Well I'm sorry but just because I don't have 'initials' behind my name don't mean that I am.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
20 Apr 17
i'm not afraid of needles (i accept it's a necessity) and they had no problem when i was younger, but now it takes them a long time to find my veins. one time they did both arm.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
20 Apr 17
@nanette64 yes, it happened the night before a procedure. the nurses were calling the anesthesiologist a sharpshooter, but when the needle went it, the skin ballooned a bit, so he stopped.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
20 Apr 17
Hopefully they'll never have to do the top of your hand @hereandthere . Now 'that' hurts.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
23 Apr 17
Sometimes all it takes is just that one @valmnz .
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
It's a good thing the other EMT was busy wrapping a BP cuff around my other arm or that one with the needle would have gotten smacked @jaboUK .
2 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (54715)
• United States
21 Apr 17
What a nightmare that must have been....
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
22 Apr 17
If I compare the needle incident in the ER to the hospital stay of 8 days for the ruptured appendix; I'll take the needle incident @Tampa_girl7 . The surgeon said I had about 2 hours left to live had I not gotten help.
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
20 Apr 17
Me either, Nanette! About the junkie thing, that is. I faint when I see needles. In fact, just typing this response has made me a bit lightheaded. 0_o
I hate it during flu season or when there's a drive to get everyone vaccinated and they show people getting shots on tv. ARGH. I look away or change the channel!
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
19 Apr 17
You are welcome @TheInvisibleMan . That's what friends do.
1 person likes this
