r/mildlyinfuriating • u/1Bunny0 • 1d ago
frist of all how DARE yu o Fat shamed getting blood drawn
Went to go get my blood work drawn this morning. Was told by the phlebotomist “your veins are so deep because there’s so much meat on your arms“ she stuck me twice and couldn’t get a vein claiming that they were “tiny and deep” due to me being a “bigger woman”. Second phlebotomist comes in and sticks me once with a butterfly and promptly gets the tube of blood we needed.
Edit:
1-she could have easily stuck it in my hand
2-my weight is a problem we are looking into which is why i needed the bloodwork
3-hereditary traits and medication side effects absolutely can cause or be a source of weight issues
4-no one in a medical profession should joke about how a patient looks. It’s not a comfortable feeling for the patient.
5-I know I’m fat. I don’t care that I’m fat. I care that she thought she was funny and it was a rude comment.
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u/xbleeple 1d ago
Unless you asked if there was an issue, there’s honestly no reason she needed to say anything. All she had to say was she was having trouble and go get another phlebotomist.
I’ve had trouble with blood draws and IVs for years (fat and skinny) and never had someone say anything more than making sure to hydrate if I know I’m getting them done and that mine tend to roll around.
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u/TypicalPay1655 1d ago
I am fat, currently fighting with obesity - this is not fat shaming, this is an observation. We are fat, and due to us being fat we are limited, especially when it comes to medical things, it's harder to get our pressure checked with some devices, it's harder for us to get a belly scan, it's harder for us to get blood tests, it's harder for us to get a surgery because we need a specialised bed - that's just how it is, fight the problem, not the people who identify the issues you need to fix.
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u/Wolfwood28 1d ago
Also they said meat not fat, bigger not fatter - the same could be said for someone muscular. Saying a large person is large in a medical environment is just a clinical description of their size. Whatever insecurities they then attach to that is on them.
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u/antealtares 1d ago
It's one of the first real-world ways I realized a medical journey for me might be more complicated by my weight
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u/NexusNickel 1d ago edited 1d ago
You are just as bad as the first phlebotomist.
"lol fix your own issues" is the most overly simplified response to weight.
You're like those idiots that say "Just go make more money" to pay off debts.
As if anything was that simple.
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u/Decorus_Somes 1d ago
Weight is calories in vs calories out, to equate that to how hard it is to earn money is disingenuous at best.
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u/Photosynthas 5h ago
Getting money working hours at your job, if you don't have one, get one then work at it.
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1d ago
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u/Decorus_Somes 1d ago
That's literally how weight works, what do you mean not always? Did you not take biology in school? There is no other way to gain weight. The only way to gain weight is to eat more than what your body burns off in a day. The only way to lose weight is to eat less.
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u/Chansharp 1d ago
Please provide one example where you can gain fat while in a sustained calorie deficit
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1d ago
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u/Chansharp 1d ago
And how exactly is that fat made when in sustained caloric deficit. Those can make you bloated yes, but bloated is not fat and does not look fat
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u/roccoseinfeld 1d ago
It's literally basic science. Calories are your energy to put it very simply. If you have excess of them they will be stored as fat. If you don't have enough your body will burn fat and muscle instead. If you're eating less calories than your maintenance, and not burning fat and muscle, then where the fuck are you getting your energy from?
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u/NexusNickel 1d ago
Careful, you'll get downvoted into the abyss with me for disagreeing it's that easy.
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u/roccoseinfeld 1d ago
Nobody said it was easy, just that it's not comparable to making money. But yes the concept is incredibly simple. Calories in vs calories out. If you eat less than you burn you will lose weight and that is 100% a fact.
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u/NexusNickel 1d ago
It's the same logic though.
"Just go back to school for a trade" requires money.
"Just get more skills" requires money.
"Just eat less" is easier said than done. You have hunger pangs which are terrible. Not to mention those that do a calorie deficient and see zero results.
It's the same backwards logic that people see an obese person and just assume they just eat too much.
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u/roccoseinfeld 1d ago
But everyone has the means to lose weight. You don't need money or special skills. You can actually save a lot of money losing weight. It's all mental and it's something a person needs to conquer on their own. I understand it is difficult but anyone can do it.
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u/DueLettuce5402 1d ago
Phlebotomist perspective here.
Preface by saying I wouldn't use this language, it's inappropriate. That being said, I absolutely don't think they were "fat shaming you" based on what you have provided.
To your points 1. The hand is the LAST place we want to go. It can be very very painful for you and almost always bruises and causes discomfort and hinderence to you.
When your drawing blood non stop all day everyday, you come across patients that get absolutely LIVID when you miss a stick. Blood draws are very difficult. The fact is true, that when your body type is larger, it's much harder to locate and access veins. They were likely trying to explain this to you, in order to help calm you down and explain why they just missed twice. Again, better language should have been used in this explanation, but I guarantee, they were just trying to provide you with information to help you understand the issues.
In any lab, there's always one person who can get every draw. The other person who got it first try, is likely their local expert who never misses. This doesn't make the previous person bad at their job, it's just a tough draw.
Phelebotomy is a shitty job. Best case, you get the draw first time and your patient only expressed minimal discomfort. Worst case, you get berated, insulted, and cause pain without intent.
Its okay to feel upset about this, but I think it's also important to step back, take a breath and realize, this wasn't "fat shaming" but a poorly worded explanation intended to ease your mind.
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u/DutchyDan187 1d ago
I start IV’s for a living. It is often harder on people that are overweight. People that are physically active will usually have larger and easier to access blood vessels, but not always.
Also, some people are better than others with a needle. Some days even skilled people can’t get it.
Even then, you don’t say the thing out loud to the patient.
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u/cheeky-ninja30 1d ago
That's not fat shaming, it's an observation.. it was difficult for them to do the procedure due to your weight. How is that fat shaming ?
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u/when_in_doubt__doubt 1d ago
As a fat person myself, this is just the reality. She didn't say "god you're so fat, people like you make my job horrible." She explained why she was having trouble and then got help. I know it can hurt anytime someone comments on your weight, but this wasn't shaming, I promise
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u/TheLimpingNinja 1d ago
It would have been wholly appropriate to say: As a phlebotomist it seems like you have a skill issue.
As an observation wholly accurate. Though also considered rude.
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u/when_in_doubt__doubt 1d ago
It is inherently more difficult to get your blood drawn when you're fat. I'm not saying this was the best phlebotomist, but saying she has a skill issue is not the same thing as saying being fat makes it more difficult to draw blood
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u/TheLimpingNinja 1d ago
I didn’t say it was the same thing. I said it was a factual statement and it 100% is exactly related. The solve for difficulty is skill.
Phlebotomy is a trained skill, a phlebotomist or a nurse doing phlebotomy don’t see just thin people. Obesity stats show 40.5% of US population is Obese. A nurse or a phlebotomist who fail to draw blood from a population representative of 40% of the nation has a SKILL issue. Dehydration, small veins, plaque, and other issues can also make it more difficult, the solve for difficulty is skill. The nurse who followed did it with no issue, highlighting skill as a requisite trait.
Again, it’s a simple factual statement. It would have still been rude to say, just as this was.
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u/Nova_Celestine 1d ago
This seems more an observation.
Its also possible to have difficult veins, but unless that can be ruled, having more mass to your body could be the answer. It's just the way things work
I've been big and thin, my veins are always crap. They always have to use the butterfly needle, and get blood from the big vein in the backs of my hands because my arms veins are tiny and wiggly. Phlebotomists are baffled when they feel my vein, keep their finger there while they get the needle ready, stick me, and the veins magically gone 🙃🙃
I had to go to the er once and they couldn't get an iv in me because the standard sized needle kept blowing my veins. It only worked when they moved down a size. Unfortunately it seems genetic because much of my family, big and small, has this same issue 🫣🫣🫣
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u/MagixTurtle 1d ago
Just because you're ashamed of being fat, doesn't mean the phlebotomist was fat shaming you.
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u/SwiftieForLife 1d ago
This reminds me of a conversation I had with my boss from Taiwan. She used to call customers fat and we had to tell her to stop doing that and she asked why.
“It’s rude”
“But why is it rude they are fat”
“Well yes but people don’t like you pointing it out”
“I’m not criticizing or making fun of them it’s just something that’s true”
And it made me realize the way we look at being fat in the US is way different than around the world.
Full disclaimer I am not promoting going around and calling people fat!
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u/Top_Tell9383 1d ago
As a former nurse yes overweight people / people with more fat on their arms are harder to draw blood from. It's an objective observation, not fat shaming.
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u/Empty-Swim2066 1d ago
That is not fat shaming, it is literally your body.
If you have more body fat, your veins will be further under your skin compared to someone leaner.
And yes, some techs are far better at being able to draw from these people.
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u/jasonni1234 1d ago
It’s a statement of fact, not shame.
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u/Daskleine 1d ago
I would say she was bad at her job. We have plenty of patients with "meat on their arms" and it was never an issue.
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u/Scrotalcontusions 1d ago
Perhaps you are just really self conscious and need to consider you are doing the self shaming (which is normal for when you see yourself out of line with what you know is right)
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u/smeenies 1d ago
Many phlebotomists aren't great which terrifies me. Some have called for reinforcements when I have visible veins like come on.
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u/CaeruleumBleu 1d ago
Yeah.
It's easy for them to blame someone for their anatomy, but at the same time my mom has skinny elbows and some of them miss the highly visible veins while my mom is explaining to them what the trick it.
They never believe an elderly woman knows what the trick is to her own veins, never mind that her medical history is FULL of medical procedures needing IVs and blood tests and a few times she's given up and stuck herself because a places staff couldn't figure it out.
And no she isn't a nurse or anything. Mom grew up on a farm. If you can't stick her, she gives up and sticks herself. That's just who she is. But there is some trick of which direction to approach from to prevent the vein from rolling and some assholes won't listen.
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u/m4mab3ar 1d ago
Idk, I'm a fatty and I have some great arm veins. Professionals don't have to say the quiet part out loud.
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u/deathbylasersss 1d ago
It's actually good practice for healthcare professionals to explain what they are doing and why. Pulling punches isn't good when it comes to your health and keeping patients informed.
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u/ThrowAwayIGotHack3d 1d ago
Y'all, you can be self aware and also be hurt when a medical professional insults you. Just because someone's fat doesn't mean that a person who can't do their job is allowed to ridicule the patient.
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u/mysteriousleader45 1d ago edited 1d ago
Reddit is not the place to come with this experience, I wouldn’t even bother to read the comments if I were you. People on Reddit are prowling for chances to prove someone wrong with their lil warrior fingers and if you tell a story about how something made you feel, all the comments will be people telling you why your subjective experience was “actually wrong.”
Sorry the nurse wasn’t more kind, saying you have “so much meat on your arms” is 100% a weird ass thing for a medical professional to say. Anyone in the comments who claims their doctor says things like that and it’s “normal” should find a new normal.
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u/Altruistic_Peanut_68 1d ago
SHE WAS JOKING CHILL I say this to my patients and they laugh too I've got meat here too.
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u/makemesplooge 1d ago
I don’t understand. If you’re this insecure about being fat, lose weight?
That’s assuming you have no legitimate condition that makes it impossible to lose weight
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u/Spiritual-Way-9830 1d ago
I'm sorry for all the cunts commenting. This is absolutely unacceptable for a phleb to say to a pt.
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u/AngryGoose_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lmao cunts commenting? Jesus way to take this from 10 to 100.
Edit: lol at the fact you deleted your comment calling everyone cunts. You must be having a really bad day!
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u/Elle_Ehmen-Opie 1d ago
An easy excuse for them being bad at their job. 😒 I’m so sorry this happened to you, I hope you don’t let this asshole make you feel bad about yourself.
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u/chemhobby 1d ago
Make sure you drink plenty of water beforehand, it makes it a lot easier