I meant "Am I the only one having this problem"?

NO !!! a lot of us have veins that have become scared over time, ask nurse to use smaller needle and take out blood with a 10 cc syringe, it takes awhile to do 35 syringes but you will be amazed how much easier it is on you and your veins. Good Luck

The nurse uses either a 20 or 22 gauge needle and a vacuum bottle. Rather do it that way. It will pour out just fine.
Just need an experienced nurse who knows that veins don't always go the way she/he was taught and that vacuum bottles don't always hold the vacuum as they should. Had to use three bottles because one bottle had lost its vacuum.
When I had a port, the nurses used syringes and that was no fun. But that's another story.

My brother in Boston used the "bottle " method and it worked great for him, unfortunately I couldn't talk my doctor into doing it that way because " it was Not their Protocol and they were not going to write a whole new protocol for just one patient. I am sooooo happy now with the syringe method but it took me 3 years to accomplish this and only when I told my doctor that I was Never coming back because the "cure" was worse than the disease. I had to have 2 lines and they put one of the IV's on the inside of my upper arm and dug around to get the #15 needle through all the old scars, if you want to talk pain, it made natural child birth look like a day at the beach.

r.Houlihan, do you go to a gastroenerologist or a hematologist? I have tried both and while I like the gastro Dr she did not have the setup for the vaccum bottle and also her nurse used the 16 gauge needle. I went back to a hematologist (this is back in NJ. I now live in NC) who has chemo patients. He had the smaller needles and the vacuum bottles.

While in the hospital in June my Dr put in a dual mediport & boy is it easy to access. It needs to be flushed once a month. But since I get a phlebotomy once a month it's no biggie. They also do the blood draws for there as well. My hematologist is located at the cancer center so I do blood draws & phlebotomies in their infusion center. It is so easy..
Hope this helps.

Phlebotomists need to be creative problem solversbecause we don't all have "ideal" veins. Red Cross sent me home---wouldn't take my blood because my veins are small and deep---too small to accomodate a standard (humongous) phleb needle.
Can't phleb techs who are doing therapeutic blood draws be creative and use whatever works? Even if it is butterfly needles inserted a wrist or ankle vein??!? I'm just wondering.

The problem with going to the Red Cross is its purpose is to collect blood that can be used for other people. It's not there for theraputic phlebs.
Using smaller needles damges the blood cells so the blood cannot be used for other people.
When I go for labs I tell the technician to use my hands for draw and they do.
Using smaller veins in the hands or wrists are usually not an option because the veins would collapse very quickly. Also HH blood is thicker than non HH blood especially in the early stages of phlebbing.
Miss Sophie, can you post the brand of the port? Back when I had ports (1998-2000), I contacted the manufacturer about using a port for phlebbing and I was told using a port for phlebbing was not an indication of use. That means if any problem occurs, the manifacturer can not be held libel. Perhaps the ports have been improved since then. But then I was told by a cardiologist he was glad that I had the port removed because of a risk of infection to the heart.

As far as odd shaped veins; I don't know why this is causing a problem for an experienced nurse or technician as they are only accessing the vein to draw blood (even in large quantities) and not threading a catheter.
I've been putting in IV's for many years and know that there are lots of excuses that can be given for just not being able to get the vein. Sometimes it comes down to technique, other times luck.
I have learned lots of tricks that I use to anchor veins and also make them easier targets.
I know we as nurses are trained not to use lower extremity veins like feet, ankles, etc. as it is high risk for blood clots. (especially if putting in an IV). I have accessed feet and ankles but only with a doctors assessment and order.
As a patient and fellow sufferer of HH, I love the idea of asking the technician to use the hands and wrists for routine blood draws as it saves the antecubital vein for the phlebs.
Also, the port idea that many have used sounds good if the manufacturers approve it for HH patients to have phlebotomy done as Bronxpreston has said. I think too, it should still not be taken too lightly as it does have risks.
I know I have used patients ports as a convenient way to draw blood even back in the 90's and as long as they are flushed correctly and strict aseptic technique used it has been fine.

Bronxy - Ferritin levels are far too often ignored by individuals, including physicians. It's good that you are concerned about (and closely) monitoring yours. We, at the Hemochromatosis Foundation of Central New York, spend a great deal of time encouraging everyone (including medical professionals) to keep an eye on ferritin levels. That being said, I feel a bit awkward in suggesting the following: With a ferritin level of (only) 25...I would consider cutting down on the phlebs. Save those veins! Remember, the phlebs are forever. - Best Wishes

Hi hhferritin,
I get tested every three months. I get phlebbed based on the SF and TS%. My hgb and my hct are always above 14 (14.9 this time) and 44 (44.5 this time) respectfully. I get phlebbed maybe two or three times a year.
I have had my SF as low as 6 (wouldn't recommend that) with TS% 11 (hb was 12.0 and hct was 35.6). I was not a happy camper when I saw that. This was post PICC in 2003. I think the hematologist was not very knowledgeable with HH treatment. After that I became more aggressively active with my treatment and when SF is 20 or less I do say "no". My problem is when the TS% gets above 40%, I get brain fog.

Bronx,
It is a BardPort Implantable Port with open-ended Catheter. It is a dual port actually can be used for blood draws.. They gave me a card that states the Name of the port & flushing volumes on the back of the card, and it actually list it can be used for blood draws..So yeah...

MissSophie,
Blood draws can mean for labs which earlier ports could do.

JMHO

Yes I know, but my hematologist and GI dr both agreed to this in June. I also had a medi port and several Groshong Catheters ten years ago and had problems with both of them within several weeks. But I have had this now since June with no problems. Longest I have had a port. My doctors at Kaiser put in an AV fistula 10 years ago and I used that for phlebs until my new hematologist & GI dr had this port put in while I was in the hospital this summer. I go for monthly phlebs, and have blood work done almost weekly for other problems. So it gets lots of use for phlebs and reg blood draws...