IV's

I am in a Combat Life Saver course right now. One of the two more troublesome tasks we have to do to get certified is insert an IV in one of our fellow soldiers. My experience was an interesting one. I got stuck 3 time, he missed to of the three, and the third time he went right though to the other side of the vein. The amount of blood that can come from a small puncture wound like that is amazing to say the least. We actually had to get a mop.

I just thought I would share.

The other fun thing we got to do was insert a Nasal Falangeeal<spelled horribly wrong there> Basically a hollow rubber tube about the with of a finger and approximately 6inches long up each others noses and down into the throat. Quite a painful experience.

[Edited on 6-15-2005 by Dave]

[Miss X]

Awww, I love NG tubes! Love it when you have a big tough guy and they take one look at the tube and turn pale.

IV's are harder I think, we have to do Venflon training and its awful when you mess it up with a patient when trying to look like you know what you're doing!

However, both of those pale in comparison to venepuncture! I hate trying to take blood! ;)

[Delirium]

I wasnt awake when they removed the nose tube thankfuklly. But if its anything like the tubes that enter thru the mouth and penis when removed i have some sympathy for ya.

[Asha]

Couldn't you have not made this into a thread.
I want to die. :barf:

[Skirmisher]

What?

No foleys?

[Trinitis]

Hey Chicas, your a nurse, maybe you can answer this for me.


Why does the nurse ask "tell me if this hurts" before putting in an IV? Cause, even if it does, and you tell them, they don't stop :(

[KymberlynX]

I've never had a nurse tell me that.

The nurse at my doctors office always apologizes before giving my daughter her shots...I think it's rather sweet and makes me not want to smack her for hurting my kid.

[Miss X]

Originally posted by Adredrin
Hey Chicas, your a nurse, maybe you can answer this for me.


Why does the nurse ask "tell me if this hurts" before putting in an IV? Cause, even if it does, and you tell them, they don't stop :(

Haha, I never say that! My line is "Ok, sharp scratch" Its like my catch all when doing anything with needles! ;)

[Trinitis]

When I had to get my stomach pumped (long story) the Nurse had to IV me. SHe said "Tell me if this hurts" then started trying to put it in. She missed the vein twice, and on the second time, she started twisting the needle in my arm trying to "catch" the vein. Thats when I spoke up and said "Ow..That really hurts." She smiled at me and said "I'm sorry, just having a little trouble here, I'll be done in just a sec" and kept going.

She's lucky I was basicly drugged at the time, or I woulda been screaming!

[KymberlynX]

Originally posted by Adredrin
When I had to get my stomach pumped (long story) the Nurse had to IV me. SHe said "Tell me if this hurts" then started trying to put it in. She missed the vein twice, and on the second time, she started twisting the needle in my arm trying to "catch" the vein. Thats when I spoke up and said "Ow..That really hurts." She smiled at me and said "I'm sorry, just having a little trouble here, I'll be done in just a sec" and kept going.

She's lucky I was basicly drugged at the time, or I woulda been screaming!

That happened to me one time. I was in the hospital and the stupid nurse decided to change my IV at 3:00 in the morning. She tried twice, then on the third try she dug around for my vein. I screamed bloody murder until the head nurse came in and was able to find my vein on the first try. I've never wanted to kick someone in the face as much as I did that night except maybe the girl that was trying to take blood from my daughter and pretty much did the same thing until another guy came in and got it on the first try.

Correct me if I'm wrong Chica, but aren't you supposed to ask for help if you can't get it after 3 tries?

[Delirium]

Heh i had a nurse once ask me as he was cleaning out a wound "You arnt gonna hit me are ya?". I wasnt even in that much pain or looking pissed, wonder how many times that guy got hit while doing that.

[Miss X]

Over here it depends on Trust policy, Ive never seen a good nurse try more than three times though, if its really too tough there are usually doctors on call who have a duty to come down and do it, or some phlebotomists that are great with that kind of stuff.

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by Miss X
My line is "Ok, sharp scratch"Sharp scratch is alright. My doctor said "little pinch" which made me want to kick him in the nuts, but "tell me if this hurts" has got to be the worst of which I've ever heard. It's a NEEDLE, of COURSE it hurts!!

[HarmNone]

The term I've heard used most around here is "big stick". That seems to get the point across. Also, if a nurse can't get an IV in in two tries, you should ask for another nurse. Don't hesitate to make it clear that you want someone more experienced. It's your right as a patient. :)

[Kyra]

I love drawing blood!! The policy @ my hospital is 2 tries then you get the charge nurse &/or lab up there.

Personally if you have crap for veins &/or have already been poked 2 times I'm sending for the lab to come up.

I refuse to fish for veins...it's not supposed to be done & it hurts like hell, lab can come do what they have to do to save my patient grief.

K.

[AnticorRifling]

Another good reason to lift weights. All your veins in your arm are so easy to hit. I've never had anyone, trainees included, need a second chance to hit a vein on me.

[4a6c1]

Originally posted by Adredrin
When I had to get my stomach pumped (long story) the Nurse had to IV me. SHe said "Tell me if this hurts" then started trying to put it in. She missed the vein twice, and on the second time, she started twisting the needle in my arm trying to "catch" the vein. Thats when I spoke up and said "Ow..That really hurts." She smiled at me and said "I'm sorry, just having a little trouble here, I'll be done in just a sec" and kept going.

She's lucky I was basicly drugged at the time, or I woulda been screaming!

Thats happened to me a couple of times. And why is it people always start to get freaky when your drugged to your eyeballs??

I have a little theory about a small percentage of emergencey room nurses and sadomasochism.

Anyhoo.....

Dating Advice, What not to do, # 27

"When the pain is making you twitch, the doctor is asking your name, and your trying your hardest to stay conscious..... that is NOT the time to ask the nurse for her number."

[Jenisi]

gross

[theotherjohn]

best part of an IV is wearing an open one all the time so you can carry the IV bag under your shirt to get the good stuff to stay hydrated and awake to continue the mission

[Trinitis]

Well, I was not exactly drugged persay, I was only 15 or so..and after 3+ hours of throwing up and dry heaves..I was pretty much dead to the world.

Besides that, remembering back the nurse was kinda cute. Too old for me, but cute :P

[AnticorRifling]

Originally posted by theotherjohn
best part of an IV is wearing an open one all the time so you can carry the IV bag under your shirt to get the good stuff to stay hydrated and awake to continue the mission

Hell yes. But even better than that is changing someone's live bag with saline so they get all sleepy and don't know why :cool:

[DeV]

Originally posted by Adredrin
Well, I was not exactly drugged persay, I was only 15 or so..and after 3+ hours of throwing up and dry heaves..I was pretty much dead to the world.
God. I know what you were going through then. I was fasting(not purposely) and over-medicated on multi-vitamins(lots) which we'll blame on me being young, dumb, and full of yum at the time.

I'd had practically nothing in my stomach but some soup and crackers from the night before. I switched from vomiting (foamy vitaminy acid) and dry heaving over the course of 4 hours and dreaded the thought of maybe needing to get my stomach pumped.
Worse than a hang over. My abs were sore the next day from all the involuntary reflexing.

I think my girlfriend at the time poisoned me or something. :( So glad I didn't have to go through the IV thing. :knock on wood:

[Rangerpuff]

Originally posted by Miss X
Awww, I love NG tubes! Love it when you have a big tough guy and they take one look at the tube and turn pale.

IV's are harder I think, we have to do Venflon training and its awful when you mess it up with a patient when trying to look like you know what you're doing!

However, both of those pale in comparison to venepuncture! I hate trying to take blood! ;)

Iv's for me are not so terrible, especially on adults, however we do a lot of growth hormone stim tests in our clinic. I hate putting an IV in a kid, it just makes me feel horrid. We have a nice little device for the really little ones to hold in their fists, makes it easier to find the veins.

NG tubes are gross, but Chica is right, soo funny to see a big guy just about fall out when he sees it, after you've explained what you are going to do with it.

Drawing blood is fairly simple for me, though as stated I dislike drawing PEDS.

I always say when someone says "Is this going to hurt"?, "Well it's a needle, and it's going into your arm, it will hurt, but it's like a big pinch". I don't like to lie to pt's, it's going to hurt. I'm the worst pt myself, I hate having my blood drawn.

Merji's Muse

[crazymage]

lol what a fuckin bunch of light weights!!!

[DeV]

Originally posted by crazymage
lol what a fuckin bunch of light weights!!! Ha! Get your navel pierced and then get back to me about being a lightweight. That was PAINful. Matter of fact, it's worse than having a very thick needle pushed through your tongue.

[4a6c1]

Originally posted by crazymage
lol what a fuckin bunch of light weights!!!

.......

freak

[KymberlynX]

Getting IV's and having blood drawn don't bother me...it's the digging around looking for a vein part that does.

It was not a matter of finding the vein, I got some big ones. The needle just couldn't puncture it. Then on the third try he pushed to hard...

I wish i could find a picture of the nose thing that we had to put in... The nice thing is we lubed it up with KY first.

[KymberlynX]

My veins suck. I always tell whoever is going to be messing with em that they are hard to find so I can give them an opportunity to bow out if they think they won't be able to find it.

Watching my daughter get blood drawn had to be the worst thing ever. I wanted to strangle the girl who kept digging around in her arm so bad.

I mean really, how hard is it to step aside if you know you can't do something, especially when a little baby is involved.

[Doughboy]

Heh, CLS class was kinda interesting. The guy that stuck me managed to get it in the first shot like I did to him. Now the two people right next to us were not so lucky. We sat there and watched this poor guy get stuck like 5 times before they got the IV to actually work in him. Guess he should have mentioned that he had rolling veins.

Wait till you try to get your EFMB though Dave. Thats a hard damn course.

[Shari]

I will be the first to admit I am the biggest sissy when it comes to needles. I dont' even know WHY either. I can have huge road rashes from falling from bikes, rollerblades, climbing, running, etc...but when it comes to needles, total hysterics.

My dentist puts a topical agent on my gums before administering, my oral surgeon for my wisdom tooth removal allowed me to take valum and gassed me before doing IV, and I bawled when I had blood taken.

When I had my navel pierced, I screamed like a banshee. Luckily its never been infected and I'm not taking the fucker out til I'm pregnant, not after all THAT pain.

On the same lines, I don't know how I'm going to deal with pregnancy...epadurals (how the hell do you spell that?) I hear are HUGE needles...:crie:

[Czeska]

Was in the ER about 2 months ago. The fourth person that tried finally got the IV in. I was getting a CAT scan, and they had to power inject me with the contrast, therefore bigger needle.

They all just need to listen to me when I say "Really, just put it in my hand, you're not going to have luck in my arms"

[Leetahkin]

This immediately reminded me about the time I was in a prior doc's office trying to have blood drawn for tests. The vamp stuck the needle in me and it felt really weird - a LOT of pain and burning. So of course I'm saying owwwww.
She gets huffy and said, "You moved". wft?? I was so pissed that she blamed her fuck up on me.
I thankfully haven't had any problems like that since.
And I have a new doc's office.

[DeV]

Originally posted by Jesae
When I had my navel pierced, I screamed like a banshee. Luckily its never been infected and I'm not taking the fucker out til I'm pregnant, not after all THAT pain.
After getting that done you should never be afraid of a needle again, woman! I'm glad as hell I didn't have to pee before I got that done, and I was sitting there not making one sound but the pain was exquisite, as in intense. That shit hurt like a MOTHERFUCKER.

[Skirmisher]

Needles never have bothered me but I must admit to never having had anything more exotic than my earlobe pierced.

I always thought the navel piercings looked sexy, but never got the courage together to get one.

After reading these tales, those chances have decreased even more. :weird:

[Divinity]

Originally posted by DeV

Originally posted by crazymage
lol what a fuckin bunch of light weights!!! Ha! Get your navel pierced and then get back to me about being a lightweight. That was PAINful. Matter of fact, it's worse than having a very thick needle pushed through your tongue.

Hmm, neither of them hurt for me. It was quick and I felt a pinch, that's it.

[Czeska]

:grows pale and begins to shake:

I just had to talk someone through getting their earlobe pierced. I swear, the last IV I got was worse than the epidural I got when I had my daughter.

[Divinity]

Oof.

Last IV I got, I was already in a ton of pain. I told the nurse several times, do NOT bother with my arm, just use my hand. She literally rolled her damn eyes and said it would only hurt more in my hand. I knew that, but I don't want some person digging in my arms for a vein they will never find.

So, two nurses later, and both my arms bruised.. my hand finally got the IV because one of them had the brilliant idea that it would be the best place.

[Czeska]

Tell her to use your navel or tongue next time, then.

[Divinity]

Yeah, if it was viable, I probably would have. :moon2:

[Leetahkin]

ow ow ow, epidural.
I get weak thinking about any needle being stuck in my back, yet I've never felt it before.
And hopefully never ever will.
Le cry.

I had a cardiac catheterization done about a year ago, that fucking sucks. Not only was I called the 'baby' by the nurses (cause older people normally have this done), but I still get phantom groin pains because of it when I really think about it.

Excuse me while I curl into the fetal position here at work.

[Czeska]

Epidurals are uncomfortable. Lots and lots of pressure. But yeah, when it's that or pitosin induced contractions..

needle in the spine, baby!

[DeV]

Originally posted by Divinity

Hmm, neither of them hurt for me. It was quick and I felt a pinch, that's it. Impressive, but please tell me you have a high tolerance for pain or something like that...

Damn girl.

[Vixen]

I actually almost killed a nurse once. She was putting an IV in my grandmothers hand. And her skin is really fragile and junk. She couldn't find her vein, tried like three times sticking her, which by this point my grandmother is starting to cry, which is really pissing me off.
So I requested a new nurse, and the nurse was like no I finally got it, which she had. Then she proceeded to walk around to the other side of the bed, TRIPPED over the IV line, and ripped it out of my grandmothers hand, which made her scream.
Had my mother not walked in at that precise moment, I'd have been going downtown for beating the hell out of a nurse

[Vixen]

Originally posted by Czeska
Epidurals are uncomfortable. Lots and lots of pressure. But yeah, when it's that or pitosin induced contractions..

needle in the spine, baby!

Okay I am scared of this!!! I am getting induced on monday, and the thought of an epidural freaks me out. Are they really bad??

[Czeska]

Not as bad as the pitosin. I won't lie to you, it's not fun. Mostly the initial pinch and then a lot of pressure.
But my biggest fear was that a contraction would hit right then and make me jerk. That's not how contractions happen, though.

I told my anesthesiologist I loved her after she put the epidural in.

Edited to add: I have VERY low tolerance for pain, too.

[Edited on 6-17-2005 by Czeska]

[KymberlynX]

Originally posted by Vixen

Originally posted by Czeska
Epidurals are uncomfortable. Lots and lots of pressure. But yeah, when it's that or pitosin induced contractions..

needle in the spine, baby!

Okay I am scared of this!!! I am getting induced on monday, and the thought of an epidural freaks me out. Are they really bad??

Hey Vixen, I was just thinking about you yesterday wondering if your little one made his appearance yet. :smilegrin:

I was scared too when I got induced last year, but once your there and the contractions start coming, you'll know what to do and what you'll be able to handle pain wise...just go with the flow. ;)

Epidurals are like novacain for your whole lower body. I won't lie to you, the needle hurts, but the after effects are SO worth it. :yes:

[Hulkein]

Originally posted by AnticorRifling
Another good reason to lift weights. All your veins in your arm are so easy to hit. I've never had anyone, trainees included, need a second chance to hit a vein on me.

Heh, same.

Not that I lift nearly as much as you, but I just have veins that are so easy to hit they don't even need to put a tie on my arm.

[Czeska]

The epidural made my entire lower body feel like it was full of Jello. It was easier than the IV they gave me that day, which stabbed my wrist and gave me nerve damage.

[KymberlynX]

Originally posted by Czeska
The epidural made my entire lower body feel like it was full of Jello. It was easier than the IV they gave me that day, which stabbed my wrist and gave me nerve damage.

The needle was awful, but once the juices started flowing it was AWESOME. The cathedar (sp?) really didn't even bother me at all and that was the main reason I was against getting one in the first place because the thought of having one just grossed me out, plus I've heard horror stories.

IF I ever have another baby...epidural all the way. In fact, I will ask them to give it to me before the contractions even start. :smilegrin:

[Vixen]

Yah I am a week overdue today, with absolutely no changes at all.. no dilation no nothing. Stubborn son I have apparantly.
Since this is my first, I have been pondering the pain issue every second. Everyone says pitocin makes it SO much more worse, so the epidural is the best thing... So then I worry about the pitocin, AND having a needle in my back. I'm usually not such a wuss, and have always had an insanely high threshold for pain.. I'm just afraid if I do IV meds instead that I will be too out of it to appreciate the experience.
I find out today for sure what they actual schedule for doing this is gonna be, and hopefully I can resolve the pain med issue in my own head

[Czeska]

Trust me, the pain will make you much more out of it than the epidural does. They ended up turning mine off (she told me it'd take about 2 hours to wear off) and I was able to push just fine, and feel her moving out of my body. I only pushed for 25 minutes. Don't worry about the epidural, and best of luck!

[KymberlynX]

Also, remember you were made to do this so your body will know what to do.

Word of advice: Epidural first, THEN pitocin (I doubt they will do it that way anyway, but it's worth a try ;) )

[Jolena]

Having had three kiddos, 2 of them c'sections, two epidurals AND a spinal block, I can tell you that it's gonna hurt Jani but it's worth it in the end. One of my kiddos was induced and I ended up getting an epidural and having her natural. My body doesn't take well to pain meds for some ungodly reason so it didn't do a whole lot to help me out but honestly, the actual insertion of the needle and catheter is not so bad in comparison to contractions. Contractions. Fucking. Hurt.

It's amusing though because the actual pushing out of the baby didn't hurt even an eighth as much as the contractions. I was lucky and went from 3 cm to fully efaced in like an hour and a half and only had to push 3 times to get the baby out (and she was not a baby she was a toddler, she was fucking huge :lol: )

Either way, after it's over you'll look back on it and think how amazing that baby is and the experience was worth it.

[Jolena]

Oh also, make James stay in there with you so you can rip his damned hand off and scream at him for doing this to you. :lol: :spaz:

well I finaly found out what the tube thing is called

A Nasopharyngeal Airway.
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/Internet/Anesthesiology-Elective/images/anesth0002.jpg

[Edited on 6-17-2005 by Dave]

[Killer Kitten]

In veterinary medicine we try twice for a blood draw or to put in a catheter. If you can't hit it in two tries, hand off is the rule.

I was lucky enough to be trained at NSAL, when you learn catheters on two week old kittens you become pretty decent at finding veins that don't exist.

When my mother was in the hospital they changed her IV once while I was there, and it took three nurses and umpteen tries till they finally got one in. I wanted to scream, 'Lady it's as big as a fucking fire hose how can you not hit it?' Wasn't my place and wouldn't have helped, so I just STFU and let 'em do their thing.

We also use jugular catheters a lot, which last way longer and are a lot less likely to be eaten by our patients. Tho I got to admit the mental image of my mother chewing out her catheter kind of gives me the giggles.

[KymberlynX]

Originally posted by Jolena
Oh also, make James stay in there with you so you can rip his damned hand off and scream at him for doing this to you. :lol: :spaz:

Why settle for the hand? Go for the nutsack! :rolleyes:

(kidding of course :P )