No, not pine needles… needles, needles. As in poke, draw blood needles. Blech. I had to have some routine labs done and I look at the lab slip and there are five things checked off. I figure, no biggie. Since these two are in this box, that equals one vial; these two are in this box, so that equals one vial; and the last one equals one vial. Three vials? No problemo. SO not the way it happened. They took FIVE VIALS! FIVE! Can you believe that? FIVE! I think I’m running a quart low now! Seriously. Five vials? Do they really need a vial for each test? Good God.
I was sitting there calm as could be, even knowing that I’m a hard stick. Chatting away with the tech about the holidays and the freezing weather, how we dodged the snow that came through Wisconsin. I look over as she’s looking at the lab slips and starts pulling out vials. One vial, two, three… I thought cool. She reached for four, then five. :shock: I’m like GAH! WTF?
I swallow hard and wait as she applies the tourniquet, then alcohols up my arm. Swallow again as she gets her needle and plastic thingie ready.
Here’s the best part. She says, “Little poke.” Laughing. It was no little poke. It was a big poke. There is no such thing as a little poke. Pffft. And even if there was- little, big, it all still hurts, right? Then come the vials… so I try to look away, but it’s like a train wreck… you just can’t turn away. One after the other my blood filled the tubes. Sigh. Five vials.
Ah well, it’s over. The needle stick or blood draw wasn’t even the worst of it. The worst of it is now it has to be 12 hours fasting–what happened to 8 hours anyway? So I was fasting… which is cool. No prob. I can go that long without eating, what I can’t do without is my morning coffee! But I had to. No morning coffee… pffft! I could have had it I suppose if I drank it black, but I have to have my Coffeemate French vanilla creamer in there <G>
So, not only was I poked (BIG POKE) by a needle and drained of five vials of my life (heh, drama), I had to go without my coffee! Sheesh.
All is well now, though. I brought my coffee to work in a thermos and am drinking some as I type this out. *taking a drink* Nice hot coffee. Now that’s what I’m talking about.
What about you? Do you do the routine labs too? How long do you have to fast? What are your thoughts on the whole process?
November 18th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Hi Marissa,
Up until a few years ago I almost NEVER needed blood drawn for anything. Now I have to get it done every two months to make sure a pill I’m taking doesn’t mess with my liver. Anyway, before they could give me those pills I had for the first time five vials taken. When I went in, the lab tech was very nice. I said, “Boy, you guys look busy today.” She said yes. I said, “I’m easy. I’m not afraid of needles.” She got this big look of relief and sighed and said, “Thank God. Everyone I’ve had today has been afraid of needles.” I laughed and reassured her again that it doesn’t bother me. We chatted away and because she was pretty quick, it went fast. I’ve only had one incident where they took blood and it hurt and that was many years ago. I learned from a paramedic (I was taking a CPR class and asked him about it) that if you are dehydrated at all while they’re trying to stick you with a needle, your veins might me smaller and harder to get to. He said that was probably what happened the one time it hurt. This isn’t to say it wouldn’t hurt if the person doing the sticking didn’t know what they were doing. So here’s a tip…drink plenty of water before you get blood drawn. It can help. I’m just weird that way with needles, though. When I was little and getting vaccinations and other kids were screaming, it didn’t bother me. The doctors and nurses would look at my mother in amazement because I was always the only baby that didn’t find the needle thing traumatizing. LOL!
Denise A. Agnew
http://www.deniseagnew.com
November 18th, 2008 at 10:08 am
There was a point last year I was going every two weeks nad yes doing 3-5 vials at a time! It was nuts! Now I only go every six months and my doctors office can do a lot of my labs so some stuff i don’t have to go to the outside lab for. I always treat myself to Starbucks afterward–for the pain and suffering
November 18th, 2008 at 10:35 am
See, this is all a racket to supply vampires with blood. They’re just going to use a microscopic amount for all your tests. The rest go to the vampire food bank. I know these things, I gots connections.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Testing…
November 18th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Okay… the blog ate my previous comment.
I’m sorry for your pain, Marissa.
I don’t have any fear of needles now, though I’m told I did as a kid. As an adult, I donated blood and plasma regularly for years. I have keloid scarring, though, which made it harder and harder to find spots to poke in my arms.
Now that I think about it, I should get back to it…
November 18th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Oh, Marissa–lady, that sucks. Glad it’s done with and you can recover with your coffee. I hate getting blood drawn because I’m a fainter. So when they have to do blood work, I’ve learned to never, ever look at the needle and sometimes, I can almost pretend the nurse isn’t stabbing me (sometimes I even manage not to hit the floor–this has happened before though, and it is so embarassing!).
November 18th, 2008 at 11:22 am
The only time I had to do labs was when I was pregnant and I am such a wuss, I had to look away when they drew blood or I got all woozy, LOL.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:25 am
hahaha Zoe…thanks for the chuckle…..and Marissa…sorry you have to go through with that…I’m with Lauren…haven’t had blood drawn since I was pregnant…but ya know…..my luck will only hold for so long!
November 18th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Laughing at Zoe’s comment. That’s awesome.
Denise! You are a rare find indeed! A phlebotomy tech’s wet dream… so to speak. I don’t mind shots at all. None of it, but do an IV or vein stick and we have issues. I’ve got rolling veins, tiny veins, skinny veins, deep veins… I’ve heard it all. It’s evil, evil I tell you!
Amie- HUGS! You have had it rough. Sending virtual chocolate and champagne for your trauma.
Azteclady- Sorry the blog at your post
I hate it when that happens. I applaud your courage for needles. I am a coward *G*
Cynthia and Lauren- The passing out, yeah, my mom is like that. I just can’t seem to look away once I get “poked”. Odd, that. *shaking head at self*
Juliana- I will only go through this annually… if not less. It’s a minor thing, but one that can, at times, be traumatic. I’m just glad she found the vein on the first stick! WOOT!
November 18th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Sorry you had such a bad experience. I was going every four months for about seven years. They’re really good at taking blood around me now. The needles are much smaller than they used to be.
The not eating part isn’t fun, but I only do it once a year for a cholesterol test.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I spent the last three months and summer following the end of grade school serving as a pin cushion for the lab technicians in my (then) doctor’s office. (One of the hazards of contracting mono). Since I went on anti-depressants ten years ago and was diagnosed w/Type 2 diabetes in 2000, I’ve again become a regular at Santa Barbara’s testing clinic–yeah, these are always fasting and they stink! We’re not even allowed to drink black coffee–can you imagine? No, blood tests are not fun; five vials is one to two more than what they usually take from my, but I’m pretty sure they don’t fill them completely…unless (going along Zoe’s train of thought) there are vampires masquerading as techs and they’re getting a few kickbacks that have nothing to do with cash.
I hope your results turn out well.