Sand Cat

Thanks for the reply :) That's interesting that there seems to be no official rule against it - I think that's a good thing. If the patient knows what they're doing, like you said, why mess around and waste time when it could be gotten over with quickly... obviously it should be a last resort, but the alternative was sticking me over and over and wasting both the nurses time and mine. I don't see any harm in it. :) Thanks :) The first year or two was the hardest, but after that it just kept getting easier - I found other things to fulfill me and make me happy, other ways to get excitement, other ways to feel good, ect. I think about it once in a while, but I don't think I'll ever do it again - I value my life too much now for that. Sometimes I look back and think damn, I mixed up street drugs with tap water and shot it up. God knows what was in it... what was I thinking? I was young though (early 20's), and invincible of course (or so I thought ) I think it's true we can find the veins better - I got it on the first try, even though I hadn't done it in years and years. I was just glad to have gotten it done - sometimes I feel bad when nurses can't get my veins, like I'm a pain and wasting their time :/ Can I ask why? Is it the worry that the patient could hurt themself? Just wondering... mrsrainsinkain - I agree - why go through endless sticks that aren't working...and also, it seemed they'd done everything that needed to be done and were pretty sure I was ok (I had an EKG and everything), we were just waiting on the blood test and I could go - but they couldn't get my blood! I'm glad the nurse suggested it - she was really cool btw, talking and joking with me - she really helped take the stress out of the situation. At one point she almost had the vein and then lost it, and was like (to my arm) "you mother******" maybe you had to be there, but it was just funny the way she said it :)

Hi, I'm posting this just because I'm curious, I don't really know any nurses (and not a nurse myself) so I don't know how common this is, ect. I used to be an IV drug user - it is really, really hard to get a vein on me. I've been clean since March 2000, and am mostly healthy, but have a few heart issues. A couple years back, I was having chest pains, and decided to go in to the ER just to be on the safe side. I'm insured with Kaiser Permanente here in San Francisco, CA, so I went there. They did an exam and needed blood. One nurse tried two or three times to get some blood from me - no go. She asked another to try - no go. Then the first one tried again - no go. At this point I'd been there about two hours, and it was seeming that I was ok and wasn't having a heart attack, but I guess it's really important to have the blood test to make sure - we needed my blood. I had mentioned to the nurse that my veins weren't great because of my past IV drug use. Finally after like the 7th or so try, she looks at me and says "Do you want to try?" I had thought of asking if they wanted me to but figured there were rules against it. I had no problem trying though, she handled me the needle and I got it on the first try She took the blood, and before she left the room I asked if it was ok to use my cell phone to call my bf - she said yes. She left. I called him and was just letting him know what was going on, and told him "Would you believe they had me take my own blood? They tried but couldn't find a vein". As I was saying that, the doctor came in. I hung up the phone, and he said "So how are you? I heard you had to take your own blood", and I laughed and said yes. Now, my questions are: Have any of you ever heard of this happening, or asked a patient to take their own blood? Are there rules against this, and how serious are they? And lastly - after I left, I worried that the doctor "heard", not because the nurse told him, but because he overheard me talking on the phone, and that the nurse who had me take my own blood got in trouble. If she didn't tell him, and he found out by overhearing me, would she get in trouble? I hope not. I had no problem taking my own blood - they needed the blood, they couldn't get the vein (not their fault, my veins are really bad) - it needed to be done, so I did it. Any comments appreciated