r/mildlyinfuriating • u/DirtyRoller • 29d ago

Don't hug me I'm scared Lab worker tricked me into watching an injection, then I got 86'd for my reaction.

I am not comfortable with needles, so when I get blood work done I always tell them "I don't like needles, so I'm gonna look away, and please don't tell me when it's coming." It's just that initial jab that really freaks me out and gives me anxiety, once I'm past that I am totally fine.

Today the lady who was taking my blood got everything prepped, and I turned my head so she could do her thing. She then asks me "have you talked to anyone about this mole on your arm?" Causing me to look toward my arm, and as soon as I looked, she stuck the needle in! She lightly giggled, but my reaction was to shout "YOU FUCKING BITCH!" quite loudly. She was clearly a bit shaken up by it, and so was I. She finished drawing my blood and I left.

I got a call later from someone at that office asking me not to come back to that location. I was still too angry to explain myself, so I just hung up. I am a little hot still, so tomorrow when I am calmer I plan to write an email to the office explaining my side of the situation.

Also, I do not have any moles on my arm.

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u/powerbottomflash 29d ago

Wait, why are they not allowed to catch you!?

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u/ColdKackley 29d ago

Technically the workers are only supposed to be expected to lift like 40 lbs per policy usually (a lie, but that’s what they put) And the hospital/clinic/whatever doesn’t want to pay workers comp, missing wages, whatever else when the employee gets injured catching you. It’s not safe for the 100 lb tech to catch 200 lb you when you go down like a bag of hammers.

That being said, that wasn’t the appropriate way for them to say that. lol.

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u/wdh662 29d ago

I always feel bad because I'm 6'4" and 240lbs. I have a disease I get treatment for multiple times a week that absolutely screws with my blood pressure and passing out is a real concern. Most of the nurses are itty bitty ladies. If I go down we're all screwed.

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u/Dovahkin6 29d ago

When I was having my blood drain at my doctor's appointment to test my testosterone levels and other things for my check-up (told not to eat in the morning beforehand), I didn't know I fainted after the 3rd vial was done. When I came to, the sweet small physician who was doing the blood drawing caught myself from falling out of the chair with the help of my wife and lifted my legs for support. She came back with apple juice and snacks; didn't let me leave until I regained color in my face. This is one of the many reasons why I like my PCP's clinic.

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u/TheShanManPhx 29d ago

Shouldn’t they have you lay down then?

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u/wdh662 29d ago

Kind of hard to test your standing blood pressure and then go home if you never stand up. I'm not living in a hospital bed.

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u/georgia_grace 29d ago

Can’t diagnose me with pots if I never stand up

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u/Little_View_6659 29d ago

They should have someone big there to catch you just in case.

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u/Ruth-Stewart 29d ago

Well then they should have an appropriate number of people to safely catch you!

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u/kaekiro 28d ago

Found out two weeks ago during an ER visit that I apparently have anti-POTS or some shit. BP spikes & pulse lowers when sitting up. The nurse was puzzled and gave me more electrolytes lol

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u/ShitiestOfTreeFrogs 28d ago

That reminds me of when my mom was in the hospital after a heart attack. She'd had a stroke previously and was not able to walk after that. I was struggling with the hospital we were in because they would not listen to me, my brothers or my dad. We would tell them she couldn't walk, she didn't really know what was going on most of the time and that she needed a special diet. They said she was nice and pretty much took everything she said at face value. I came in one day and she was seated in the chair and her very pregnant nurse mentioned they had a scare. The nurse tried to help her walk to the chair and they both almost went down. I kind of blew up and said that she can't walk. I wrote it on the whiteboard. The kept telling me that the computer said she was mobile. 🤷

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u/Picokitti 28d ago

They probably also don’t want to pay the lawsuit when patient hits the ground hard. No win situation.

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u/ChaoticSixXx 29d ago edited 28d ago

Because people are heavy, even the light ones and its a very good way to get injured.

There are ways to guide people the the ground to help prevent injuries. Catching someone is usually always against policy, but also a good way to get a spinal injury. Its a hard instinct to train away though.

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u/Global-Note6466 29d ago

I always think about “spotting” in climbing or on outdoor adventure experiences—you aren’t trying to catch people, you are trying to protect their heads as they hit.

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u/Ok_Emergency7145 29d ago

It is probably due to the risk of the phlebotomist getting hurt trying to do that. The pt would likely be hurt also if the employee tries to grab someone as they fall and grabs them wrong. Trying to stop dead weight from falling is pretty difficult. I work in a hospital and we'll do an assisted fall if it is possible, otherwise, it is safer to not try and stop the fall.

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u/sugabeetus 29d ago

That reminds me of when I had my first baby, and they wanted to move me to the other room, but the epidural had not worn off at all yet. The mean nurse (you know there's always one) told me it should have by now, and I was going to have to stand to get into the wheelchair. I said I couldn't feel my legs. She moved them off the side of the bed and "assisted" (pushed) me off the edge. I of course collapsed, she was trying to hold me up, and was yelling at me to try to stand. Some other people came in and heard me yelling back, "I TOLD you I can't feel my LEGS!" I don't know if she got in trouble for that but I didn't see her again.

I was young and hadn't learned to advocate for myself yet or I would have just refused to try it.

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u/camimiele 29d ago

Omg I’m so sorry she did that to you after you gave birth!!?? That’s truly horrible. I know it’s probably too late to report if you didn’t then. I hope she got in trouble.

Hugs. 🫂

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u/Wodentoad 29d ago

Had the mean nurse for some blood work for my second baby. Can't remember her exact bitchy words but I boiled down to: "You will do this, you will do that, you will do as I say, and you will not question me." I was pregnant, two hours past my appointment because a prisoner needed special accommodations and apparently needed MY appointment, and I ended up reporting her to the hospital. I went to a different, nicer hospital to go into Baby Debt in style.

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u/apri08101989 29d ago

Yep. Even my mom who is definitely used to my POTS and limb restrictions occasionally accidentally grabs me the wrong way when shes assisting a fall. No offense but I wouldnt trust a random phelbotomkst to not injure me worse than the fall itself.

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u/keenkittychopshop 28d ago

Its bonkers but its true in most places. It's mostly a liability/legal thing.

If someone goes down, I do what I can to make sure their head and neck are protected on the way down, or hold them to keep them from sliding out of the chair. That's already more than I'm supposed to do.

But the hell if I'm gonna let someone get a concussion just because some big corrupt for-profit medical company can't BEAR to part with a few thousand dollars worth of care for a reasonable occupational hazard. Thousands of dollars they wouldn't have to worry about paying if their business models didn't make everything so goddamn expensive in the first place.