PAINFUL NEEDLES

[Guest guest]

For some people, drawing blood is the most painful part of their

cancer treatment.

In my own experience, if I tell the phlebotomist in advance of my

difficult veins, they seem to take it as a personal challenge,

determined to do the most gentle draw of anyone else.

NOTE: Even people who don't generally have a problem with needles

may find that certain IV drips can be painful, so it's always

good to be prepared. Potassium is known to be a painful drip,

and some of us (but definitely not all) find calcium to be

painful, too.

[ " Calcium salts when given IV tend to irritate the vein and cause

some discomfort and even phlebitis (inflammation of the

vein). " - Arturo R. Rolla, MD Boston, MA ]

Members have written in with their own solutions.

- BUTTERFLY NEEDLES

Usually reserved for children, these smaller needles can make all

the difference for those of us with difficult veins. They may

balk at using these more expensive needles on you, a mere adult,

but I find it pays to be insistent.

- WARM THE AREA FIRST

" A good way to get those veins up where they can be gotten to

easily is to keep that arm warm. If the place is cold, those

veins are going to go into hiding. Keep rubbing the arm and keep

hand over it if you have to. A good way to make those little guys

come up is to do some bicep curls until they really pop. I would

not be embarrassed to take one of my 5 pound weights with me and

make the nurse wait while I do my arm curls in the privacy of the

blood drawing room. It only takes a couple of minutes. That

strategy coupled with a butterfly needle makes it easy. " - Lin

- ICE THE AREA

While warming the area before the blood draw makes more sense to

get the blood flowing, cold packs or ice applied to the site

immediately afterward can provide some relief.

- BE WELL HYDRATED

I've noticed that being well hydrated makes a huge difference

when having blood drawn. If I'm just a little dehydrated, my

blood crawls through the tube like cold molasses (I guess that's

more than a little dehydrated); when I remember to drink even a

glass or more of water an hour beforehand, it flows like the

Mississippi.

- NUMB THE AREA

" ... the only thing that worries [my young daughter] is needles.

She

literally does not care if she dies. Just doesn't want the

needles. When I realized

how much this upset her, I found out about Emla. It's a cream

than numbs the skin.

Comes in tube or patch form. It really does numb the skin, but

not the tissue

underneath.

" Then I found out about Ametop. This numbs MUCH better. I tried

it on myself.

It really works. I now use it for all Grace's shots. It's over

the counter, but it's a bit of a pain to use because it has to be

refrigerated.

This means that you have to special order it from the pharmacy

and keep it in the fridge. But it works. Now Grace does not care

about shots at all. She watches the needles go into her skin

saying " I can't feel that. I still can't feel that. I CAN'T FEEL

ANYTHING!!! " It's taken all the fear out of needles, and all

medical situations for her. " -

- MEDITATE

" I did a powerful meditation ..... as the nurse was putting in

the IV ... breathing deeply and saying in a quiet voice, " God

loves me, God is healing me, God supports me, God cares for me "

just over and over as a mantra. It worked for me brilliantly, I

think it's good to find a formula that speaks to you personally

and to practice it a few times before the surgery [or painful

needle jabs]. " - Hanna

The same techniques can be used for painful IV drips. Also worth

trying - hot towels and/or ice packs on the site.

If you have any other solutions that work for you, please let us

know.

thanks -

(whose veins are still, alas, the thinnest part of her body)

NYC