#23 Butterfly Needles

If you are going through chemo or cancer treatment, it is likely that you have become well acquainted with blood draws and IV needles. Just for the record, it IS possible to draw viable blood samples from adult veins using the tiny #23 butterfly needles. I only found this out recently when I confessed to my nurse that I have begun bursting into spontaneous tears every time a needle enters my skin. This reaction has increased over the past few weeks as my scarring veins put up more and more resistance to the needles. "Oh!" She said. "We can do something about that!" Silly me, I had assumed that all medical personnel were doing the least damage physically possible to my body under the circumstances. I am learning that it is almost always best to (politely) complain, because sometimes there is actually something more that can be done to alleviate your pain. Even great nurses and doctors just don't think of everything.

Another thing that I have found helpful is the Emblen (sp?) anesthetic cream. My oncologist didn't think to prescribe it, but I got a tip from one of the phlebotomists/ AKA: blood sucking needle wielders. I have been using it before I have to have my port accessed, and now have also started applying it to a likely spot on my veins about an hour before scheduled blood draws. Now I can look the other way and don't even feel the needle sliding in - sigh of relief!

If anyone gives you any guff about blood cells lysing because of the small needle, ask them to use a slow, controlled hand syringe instead of the high-pressure vaccuum tube normally used with large IV needles. According to a friend who has lab experience, it is only a rushed job that will ruin a blood sample taken with butterflies. If anyone resists my request at this point, I intend to firmly demand justification from a supervisor! ;)