Had a strange experience at phlebotomy

Oh Chelle69,

I am so sorry you had a horrid experience and hope you are feeling better now. I would say in my personal opinion this is a horrid unfortunate exception. I haven't read of this happening, nor have I experienced it myself. As a norm the Venesection nurses are lovely and much more in tune with what we go through than most. How good that your husband was there and able to help and comfort you.

Hello

That sounds awful.  I am assuming that you had the general venesection pack used with that horrendous needle.  I had that used on my once and never again.  I had a huge big lump come up where the needle had gone in which lasted a couple of days but the nurse could not get the blood to flow, probably because I have small veins.  This might be why you have a lump and a swollen vein.  The reason you felt ill was that the blood came out too quickly, I saw this happen with my sister upon her first venesection.  The nurse tipped the bed up from the bottom so that the blood rushed to her head and that she did not pass out.  There is another way that you can have venesections and that is to have a smaller needle.  I have mine this way and all I am left with afterwards is a small pin prick.  I have a blue cannula and a blood bag is attached.  My sister has the same but she has a pink cannula, the needle slightly bigger than the blue one.  Mine takes about twenty minutes.  Most haematology departments will be able to do this for you and you won't be as stressed or sore afterwards.  Another reason to have a smaller needle is that you have got to have venesections for life and you need to look after your veins.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Best wishes

Marie

I think this is a pretty normal reaction and I better you asked at a blood donation clinic, they'd have incidents like this every hour.

Funnily enough, on my third venisection I had a funny turn as well. There was a trainee technician observing and they were talking about the process and at one point, the nurse said "it's usual for the blood to spurt like that a little". That immediately put me on edge and then, to make it worse, I saw the full bag at the end and then I just started to feel myself go. I told the nurse I was crashing and she tilted me so my head was lower than my legs. BP dropped to around 80/40 too. But this incident never happened again; the rest were perfect.

What I learnt, is to never look at the bag, never listen, and just kind of try and zone out. I bet you know the blood spurted because your husband told you so, and while it can be reassuring to have moral support, it can also be a curse. The nurse/technician should not be leaving the room though.

Next time I would:

I) Tell the phlebotomist you had a funny turn last week and you'd like them to stay with you at all times.

II) look straight at the ceiling at all times. Maybe a sleep mask would help.

III) Take an iPod and headphones and just zone out. If you want your husband there, don't be feeding off his reaction to seeing you undergo a medical procedure. Maybe just have him hold your free hand and try to zone out.

I'm sure this was upsetting and scary but you'll be okay. Just think, the sooner you're deironed, the less frequently you have to go!

Oh Michelle you poor girl, that nurse needs to be reported, she shouldn't have left you alone for one and taking out the needle before putting pressure on the insertion point, is inexcusable!

I have never had this faintness that you had, I can only think maybe the needle used was too large and the removal of blood too quick.

I hope you can get someone else next time, and that this is very much a one off.

Take care

Jen xxx

I never eat fast food, however prior to giving blood - I get a cheeseburger and coke.  Since doing this many moons ago, I have not once felt like passing out.  Hope it helps you as well.  16 gauge needles are not fun no matter how long you have been doing them.  I think that she bleed you out to quickly, they should have never left the room, and furthermore- I would never use that person again to draw your blood.  Most trained nurses know how to titrate your blood so you bleed nice and easy.  

As everyone has said, the blood drained too fast - they hit a good vein.  The couple of times I experienced the woozy, clammy feeling, I realised I had not raised the foot of my chair.  So if you have not done that, ensure that you do next time.

The lump is a haematoma (bruise) from bleeding under the skin.  It does dissipate, but may be tender like a bruise.  It can happen whether you have a fast vx or an unsuccessful vx.

 

Thanks everyone for your support and advice.  I will definitely not be going back to the same cottage hospital to have this done there again and will be travelling further to receive proper treatment and care next time. 

​Best wishes to you all xx

Hi, this happened to me last week and it was my third venesection too.  It was really scary, my heart rate dropped to 30 and they put another line in my hand with extra fluids and did an ECG at the same time.  I have to have 20 venesections so I am really worried about this happening again.  I was driving afterwards last week but my husband is coming with me this week as I had to stay in hospital for ages until everything came back to normal.  In future they said that they would have to give me fluids at the same time as taking blood.  I hate needles, so this is not good!  Hope you have a better experience next time.