I use to have "great veins", the blood donation clinic use to love seeing me come through the doors. The couple of months ago, I needed to have blood work done at my doctor's office. The nurse in the lab had a very difficult time sticking my veins, they kept rolling on her. Since, she was new to the office, I just decided it could have been lack of experience. Fortunately, I am not a squeamish person, and am not afraid of needles. Then, I had to go to the ER cause of a terrible migraine. First, they found my blood pressure very low, 95 over 60, and I had been vomiting all morning. So, they decided I needed fluids, in addition to pain meds intravenously. Yet, it took two nurses, one on each are to try and get into my veins. Everytime they entered my skin, the veins would disappear. What could be causing this? Is there something that I can do to help prevent this in the future? Jen

pumibel

I am not a medical expert, but I have heard that dehydration can make your veins hard to stick- I don't know if they "roll" or collapse. I had that problem when the nurse was trying to give me IV fluids for dehydration, and he said it was common to have problems getting a vein in that state. I had the low blood pressure, too. That was how the DR determined I needed fluids.

J_9

Yes, the answer you have is pretty accurate. Dehydration and low blood pressure can cause rolling veins.

jgj6331

"Rolling veins" is a common excuse used by inexperienced technicians when they have trouble sticking a vein, but if you have little subcutaneous fat and connective tissue, the veins will tend to move and may be harder to stick unless anchored externally by the phlebotomist. This is often found in the elderly and those with chronic illnesses. Likewise, too much subcutaneous fat and connective tissue can make the veins hard to find and difficult to stick. People who have had numerous IV's and venipunctures may have scarred or thrombosed veins that are problematic too. And, as stated above, dehydration and low BP can make veins hard to stick since they aren't as distended as normal. Generally, you will find that those who only occasionally stick patients (ie. in most doctors offices) will have more trouble than those who do it multiple times a day (ER's and dedicated labs). Practice doesn't make perfect, but it does help the odds of success. If possible, always tell them that you can be difficult to stick and ask for their most experienced person.