As a patient, is it okay to suggest a vein for IV?

[Lahryn04]

Hey guys this is my first post so bear with me! So my question is this... Is it offensive to ask the nurse starting my IV as a patient in the hospital to stick a certain vein? Long story short, I was recently admitted to a hospital I used to work at 3 days post lap chole with a fever of 103 (another story altogether). I was there a total of 4 days and had 5 IVs with about 14 sticks altogether. The 5th time they had to restart my IV I asked my nurse for a warm blanket and a tourniquet so that I could find the good veins I knew I had. She was very cool about it and let me do it and said she was going to get another nurse to start it because she wasn't that good. I am an RN and most of the nurses there knew me. I am also the nurse on my unit that the others come to for tough IV sticks, so I know a bit about this topic. Anyway the nurse came in to start the line and I, very politely of course, asked if she wouldn't mind considering the vein I had found. She said "no no let mgr look at both your arms" and telling me how long she's been doing this and how she was extremely good at hard sticks. Then she proceeded to stick this teensy little vein in my hand and couldn't even get a flash. I understand there are days you just can't get an IV, I've been there and it frustrates the hell out of me, but I feel like she should have at least considered my opinion considering all the previous sticks. The next nurse came in, took my advice and got it. It was the the last IV they had to start on me during that admission. I'm just wondering if my feelings are valid and would you do the same thing? How would/did you feel if/when this happened to you? Thanks in advance for the input and I'm sorry if this is really a silly question!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

It's perfectly ok to suggest a site, but I find 10 out of 12 times that pt's feel they are "hard sticks" is because nobody ever looked beyond their hand as a possible site. I find glowing veins in the radial and posterior aspects of most of these pt.s arms

I prefer the forearm but most nurses seem to be uncomfortable going there. They try the AC or Top of the hand which is always a sure miss for me. It's also a terrible place for an IV for a hospital stay. I swore when I was nursing I would would always try somewhere on the arm first. It's less painful and easier for the patient to move about.

I once had someone finally try my leg, they also dug around. It was terrible.