ABG question

[disfan07]

Has anyone here had an ABG done before?

I am usually really good with needles...i get blood drawn and IVs done on a regular basis adn i usually dont feel it....they've even started IVs while im sleeping and i havent noticed until i wake up and actually see it...lol

My question is....i know that the ABG is done by drawing blood from an artery and not a vein....dows it hurt any more than a regular blood draw or IV?
Ive had central lines done adn IVs put in virtually every where possible but for some reason im freaking out about this...how bad is it really?

[LauraVV]

I had ABGs a couple of weeks ago. I'm a nurse and I'd always heard that they hurt like the dickens. The blood draw was not bad. The actual blood draw wasn't any big deal. I talked with a (doc) friend of mine after the blood draw and she said they usually use a topical anesthetic. I didn't get that but it wasn't necessary.

I did have pain starting about two hours after the draw. I'm a bleeder and I bled into the space in my wrist around the blood draw. Even if you're not normally a bleeder, remember to have the person who draws the blood to hold pressure and/or to use a pressure dressing.

If you've had central lines, you've experienced MUCH worse than ABGs.

[disfan07]

Thanks.
I figured that central l ines were worse than ABGs but ive always been pretty drugged up on pain meds when ive had the central lines put in so ive never really ever felt one being put in since im usually pretty out of it.

I kind of hope that they numb my wrist when i have it done just for a peace of mind....haha....i wont freak out as badly

[toocherie]

I've had ABG's done before--I'm a hard "stick" anyway, so it didn't seem that bad. It does depend on the skill of the technician drawing the blood--if I recall it's actually a respiratory therapist who does it rather than a normal phlebotomist type?