OT: emergency surgery...

No thank you! I *HATE* needles!!! I only gave blood to get out of work for an hour! ;)

Doug - glad you are OK. Best of luck with the recovery. Tomes

You're such a selfless prince, Hachi

:-P

Natalie

Don't plan that if you've got me on the table - One stick to a customer, All Sales Final.

My elbows don't open all the way flat for some odd reason known only to {$Deity}, and those veins are big and meaty, nice tempting targets

- but the angle means they're NOT for Amateurs. You have to come in right on the deck.

They put a Trainee on me one time early on and she blew out the backside of the vein, and that was NOT fun. Hurt like a sonova**** when it happened and it was sore for days...

Fool me once, shame on you - Fool me twice ain't gonna happen.

I got a bit over three gallons and I slowed way down.

-->--

Uh, no. You lost me....you just stick without looking?

"Bruce L. Bergman" "Wickeddoll"

I say don't let one person stick you more than twice, because by then they're frustrated. But I don't get my back up if a patient tells me I only get one shot. Hell with them, if they don't allow one human error. The fact is, nobody can be 100% all the time, because there are so many factors that make veins/arteries change in performance. For one thing, if you're very ill, your circulation is poor, thus shrinking your blood vessels. Men are the biggest wimps with needle (a fact, not a sexist slam), so I guess it's a good thing they tend to have bigger veins. :)

I have yet to have a woman pass out on me, but I've heard others say they have - rarely. Big, macho guys go down like a ton of bricks.

You must have some sort of contractures - basically a muscle (or group of muscles) that has/have limited or absent mobility.

That can happen with a pro, too. The best thing to do is request either a nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist for IVs, since they do them all day (and night)

See above, wuss.

Gotta give you credit for having the chutzpah to do that!

Natalie

No, just mark a backup area.

:-)

Natalie

I watch when blood is drawn - doesn't bother me. Well, faintly did once, long ago, when I had 5 vials' worth drawn in one session. Other than that... not a problem. I have a great vein on my right arm, so I ask to have it drawn there each time; have never needed more than one stick with that one. ;-)

Cathy

"Jeff Strickland" ...

Well, now you know.

:-)

Natalie

"Cathy F." ...

That's not as much as you think for blood volume. I used to keep a 2 tablespoon dose cup in my blood draw tray, to show people that even the largest tube in use only holds that amount. So you only lost about 10 tbs of blood at max. Not a big deal.

:-)

Natalie

No, I knew - intellectually/technically - that it wasn't a lot volume-wise, but psychologically... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 vials - seemed rather a lot.

Cathy