OzRoo 1,492 Posted September 5, 2016 My veins are not great, I need to drink lot of Water prior my blood tests and a child size needle has to be used, as well as a butterfly needle at times. I have to have regular thyroid blood tests, and the full panel every few months for my sleeve. After one full panel, I ended up with phlebitis that took nearly 2 weeks to heal and get better. I really have only 1 good vein in my right arm, and I worry that it will be permanently damaged soon, as it is used every time. Below are few photos of my yesterday's test. I freaked when I took the cotton swab off .... This one below was taken a week after my gastroscopy pre-op. My hand was black and blue, a week later the bruising was still bad I am not afraid of the pain/sting but worry if the blood will come out. Now, the top pics huge bruise is not too painful, but I have few lumps there. I wish I had good veins ....... sigh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristenLe 5,979 Posted September 6, 2016 Was the phlebotomist's name Dracula? OMG - that's brutal. Bad veins or not - they shouldn't look that bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OzRoo 1,492 Posted September 6, 2016 @@KristenLe Agree! My arm looks like there were 2 fang marks in it. Damn Dracula! Funny thing is that it did not hurt at all when I had my blood drawn. It was hours later when I took the dressing off, I nearly died of shock. This is by far the Worst result ever! I am putting cortisone cream on my arm now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BJ2CUTE 16 Posted September 6, 2016 Some people bruise very easy. Your veins will heal. No worries .. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OzRoo 1,492 Posted September 6, 2016 I don't bruise that badly though. I've had a massive amount of blood tests done since May 2015, and often there is no mark, or at times a tiny bruise. This current one is enormous, and I never had anything like this before. And I hope I'll never have something like this again! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
angela9298 15 Posted September 6, 2016 Ugh that looks bad! Mine look pretty close to that too. Strangely enough rarely bruise normally. I noticed it was even worse when they took a lot of blood for the pre op testing Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OzRoo 1,492 Posted September 6, 2016 @@angela9298 Yes, it is bad. My pre-op gastroscopy badly bruised my hand, but I had to fast for 6-8 hrs prior, and couldn't even have Water, so I was dehydrated. Hence the bruised hand. This latest test, I drank lots of Water, and still ended up with this massive bruise. Cortisone cream is helping, my lumps seem to get bit smaller, and I am bit tender. Yes, the 5-6 full vials of blood for pre-op testing, and then later post op can be challenging. However I never bruised like that! Yesterday's test was for my thyroid, and it is just 2 half full vials ...... weird Anyway, good luck with your op/recovery Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
