Have you ever bruised after a blood test? I recently had a blood test through a company my employer hired to do the annual test for nicotine, drugs, cholesterol, and glucose. Our employees get a discount on the health insurance for not smoking and being healthy so the test is mandatory for those who wish to save some money.
I arrived at the facility at 7:30 am and was called in within a few minutes of waiting. The lady had me step on the scale (for BMI measurements) and took my height. I sat in the chair where she took my blood to be tested for all of the above things. I noticed the needle REALLY STUNG when it was put in and hurt even MORE when it was pulled out. It hurt alot more than it ever has in the past. The technician promptly put the little cotton ball over the injection site and taped it up with 2 pieces of tape nice and tight. I walked out, got into my car and thought, “WOW, did that hurt or what”. In fact I couldn’t even bend my arm because the pain was so bad. I waited about an hour and then took the bandage off. There was a lump at the injection site that was about as large as a nickel. The pain got worse as I was driving away.
I took the icepack out of my lunch bag and put it on my arm. It made it feel a little better. As the day went on, my arm hurt more and more. I kept putting the ice pack on it until the ice pack was no longer cold. I continued to work and made it though the day. I was glad it was a Friday so I had time to recover over the weekend.
I suffered the whole weekend, not being able to bend my arm and it hurt alot. I called my doctor and the nurse on call told me there’s not much I can do but to wait it out. She said it was a bad stick and the phlebotomist missed big time. If my arm was to get hot, swollen or ooze I was to call back asap.
On Monday I called the place I had the blood test to express my concern. The supervisor said she was very sorry this happened to me and she was going to better educate her staff on pulling the needle out, finding another vein or at least trying the other arm. She again apologized.
Needless to say I will not be going back to that same facility next year. Sometimes saying sorry just doesn’t cut it.
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