Speaking of bad shots… The worst shot ever was a flu shot administered by an older pharmacist. So bad we reported the experience to the county! The dude picked the biggest possible needle, did not use an alcohol pad to clean the skin on my shoulder, and just jabbed the syringe into me without any warning! He was about to use the same syringe to draw vaccine from the vial to administer to my husband… we said no thanks and left. Thank goodness he opened a fresh vaccine vial for me and had a fresh needle (even though too big) or I would have had to have HIV etc. testing…
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I am not a hippy-dippy type at all and I’m not athlete-level fit, but I’ve found that yoga-based deep breathing and calming imagery during a blood pressure measurement is important for an accurate result. I had a very sensible and humane breast surgeon tell me once that all of her patients during routine office visits had spiking blood pressure because they were nervous, and it didn’t mean anything. I appreciated that. I want to avoid having to use blood pressure medication unless I absolutely have to.
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I have been in the hard to stick club too. Worst was 11 tries (3 different people) and then I fainted. After a doctor advising me, I started becoming very well hydrated (ok with plain water even for fasting blood draw), and warning the tech that sometimes a child’s needle has been used. Since this I haven’t needed more than 2 tries by one person - usually one try, and rarely have had bruising. I also think I have a better blood pressure with hydration but I don’t have any knowledge it matters. If my blood pressure is high at first, it is usually lower later in the doctor’s office visit.
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I have a visualization I do during a BP check. I close my eyes and imagine myself floating in a creek, draped over a warm rock and soaking up the sun. Think a turtle chilling on a rock 
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I imagine a purring cat on my lap. 
Speaking of calming… One local MRI facility has a lighted picture of a lake and blue skies over it on the ceiling right above the machine… even if one is all the way in inside the magnet, a piece of that lake and sky could still be visible.
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Yes, hydration is VERY important to having a getter experience in a blood draw.
Evidently they are required to do so when they need to administer anesthetics, because they should not be administered to a person who is experiencing high blood pressure (regardless of whether they suffer from a history of hypertension).
My dentist’s office said they’re now required to take BPs and refuse to work on patients who BPs are dangerously high (I think 180+). My BP there was similar to my BP most other times—between 90/60 120/80 but usually the lower ones.
@Leigh22 — gee, that doesn’t sound great either. Boo! Will have to figure it out. Maybe go to PT before I get the mammogram.
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I love this idea.
Sadly, I have you beat. For my extremely dry eyes, I use something called serum tears – made from my own blood serum. For a six-month supply of tears, they need to get 14 vials of blood from me. The second-to-last time I did this, it took four days of trying (at two different blood draw places) until I finally said, No more; let’s just do a half order. So they “only” needed seven vials. I looked like an IV drug user after that experience.
The next time I needed it done, I paid an extra $20 to have a phlebotomist come to my house. She got it all on the first try – I was ecstatic!!
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Understandable, but I do not receive any anesthetics for cleaning appointments.
Also, because I enjoy the feeling both during and after of getting my teeth cleaned, I have no expectation of my blood pressure rising due to anxiety. I enjoy the cleanings so much that I used to get it done 4 times a year. Also, my dentists have become good friends ever since I was a teen. When one dentist retired, he mentioned in an article that I was his very first patient (decades later). (Interesting man who used his off time to build boats in Vancouver, British Columbia–something that has no relevance to this or to any other thread.)
When I needed a new dentist, it became such a good relationship that I used to fly over two hours each way to get my teeth cleaned. But, neither dentist ever required blood pressure readings.
Surprisingly small surcharge; plus. you saved both time & minor travel expenses of commuting to the medical facility.
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I tell the tech immediately that I have terrible veins and it’s ok to use my hand if necessary. When I was in a study and getting regular blood draws at the outpatient lab of a large teaching hospital, sometime the tech just went straight to the hand (always first try); sometimes the arm, accepting the challenge and finding my vein right away.
The first time I gave blood when I was in college, I sat in the chair for a very long time. Finally the tech said, ok, we’ll give this blood (half a bag) to a baby.”
I tried to be a good citizen and be a blood donor. I tried several times in college and was rejected, and one time I tried and the blood stopped going into the bag and by the time they noticed (needle slipped out) I had a bruise from my wrist to my shoulder. Not again.
Some of us have to find other ways to contribute and giving blood just isn’t it for me.
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I’ve been told I can’t donate anything because I’m too medically fragile. My D can’t because she weighs too little.
Sadly, not my problem.
I’ve been overweight most of my adult life (not necessarily obese) and I am a “hard stick.” Phlebotomists hate me. I’ve donated blood but not as much as I could have because I lived in the UK in the 80s for a while and they were vetting for mad cow disease. I’ve been disqualified from donating blood in the US. But I have gotten very stoic about blood draws. They’re hard and it always is annoying and painful.
I’ve always been very easy to draw blood from. In my life, I think I’ve only had to get poked more than once maybe a time or two, maybe never. My H on the other hand has sometimes gotten multiple pokes, generally when he’s dehydrated.
Oh, yeah, I hydrate like crazy. They still can’t find my veins. 