We're all different and pain is subjective. Needles whether for shots or blood draws have never made me anxious--even as a kid getting smallpox and Polio Vaccines (Only ones i got as a kid) i watched while all the other kids turned away, many of them crying before it was even their turn. The person doing it makes a big difference and in my experience it doesn't matter what their official title is, some are just more conscientious and/or experienced. But our attitude can make a difference too, because if we let a bad experience make us anxious about the next blood draw we might unconsciously tense up or our anxiety could effect the tech. Have had a lot of draws in my life for various tests, and as a single Mom i sold plasma on regular basis for weeks at a time for a bit of extra $$ for kids' birthdays or Christmas. i've have bad experiences with blood draws, but good ones far out number the bad. And i could usually understand why, tho not always. i learned to give them a heads up that my veins are quite visible on inner arm but prone to 'rolling'. i also don't let the bad ones make me tense about future ones.
One time when i was around 20 a Nursing Supervisor was standing barely a foot behind the person doing the finger prick type draw. After the 6th time produced no blood i looked the Supervisor in the eyes and said 'Do you mind? You're making her nervous, but that's my fingers getting stuck.' She stepped away and sure enough the tech got it on the very next stick after mouthing 'thank you' to me. A year or two later, a male Phlebotomist was supposedly taking blood from vein in left arm, but when i unfolded it for him to put band aid on it the blood spurted across the room in a huge arc. i immediately folded my arm up and got the spot above my heart while he asked 'Are you a bleeder?' i said 'No, but shouldn't you have asked that before?'
Applying pressure we got it stopped and i went on my way to my night job as a proof- encoder at bank. By time i got there from Jersey i had a black and blue line running down my arm to wrist. Proof encoding then involved sitting at machine with stacks of checks, using a keypad with my right hand to enter pertinent info of top check, then using left hand to drop it into a slot where it got the info got stamped onto it and it went to correct end spot (the machine sorted them by bank drawn on part of the info we entered). i was efficient (fast and accurate)usually but by this night my arm was sore and a half hour in my left hand numb--i could not feel it grasping the checks costing me time to look to make sure every time. Had to go home. By next day i could feel with that hand. The next time i needed a blood draw i mentioned it, and that tech said the guy had probably hit artery instead of vein. The ugly line of bruising lasted for a few days.
The worst experience was still ahead of me in my early 40's. i was selling plasma and a tech got no blood after placing the needle, instead of taking it out and trying again, she tried adjusting the position where it was (apparently had gone all the way through the vein) and i promptly went shocky (at least a few seconds totally 'gone') but came around to a worried group of folks standing over me debating what to do. They gave me some juice and i sat awhile then went home by bus. Had an ugly bruise in crook of elbow from that one too.
i figure 3 bad experiences out of the dozens i've had in my life isn't a bad ratio.
