Severe pain after aterial blooddraw

[Thinktank]

I had an exercise stress test done with measurement of pulmonary function, ecg, blood gasses etc., the whole package. The result shows i have a very low VO2 max score, this kinda proofs that i become really tired easily and my muscles acidify quickly with exertion.

All went well except for the insertion of the needle into the artery. They tried to insert it in my wrist first but that failed, it was so painful. Then they tried it near the inner side of the elbow (what's the name in English for that?), that was even more painful but finally after some wrigling and repositioning the artery was found. For the past 6 days i've been unable to move my arm, it's extremely painful. I feel the pain through my whole arm from hand to shoulder, could it be phlebitis? I've had blood drawn from my veins many times but never from an artery. Paracetamol, ibuprofen and naproxen don't really lessen the pain.

I'll have to see the GP if this doesn't improve in 1 or 2 days.
Anyone ever experienced pain after arterial blooddraw for many days?

 

[Judee]

I haven't had arterial blood drawn so can't help you with that. I do wonder if increasing your collagen intake for a while wouldn't help rebuild the artery walls faster. Maybe that would help heal it sooner at least. ???

It's sounds like a miserable situation if those medications aren't helping.

Only one other thing would be external pain treatments. Have you tried heat or ice or lidocaine creams?

 

[Rebeccare]

I'm so sorry you're in pain. I had an arterial blood draw in the wrist, and it did hurt afterward for longer than I expected it to, at least a week or two. It took a while for the bruising to go down. There was also a bit of numbness in my hand. The pain wasn't quite as bad as yours, though.

 

[Sushi]

Anyone ever experienced pain after arterial blooddraw for many days?

I have had arterial catheters placed during procedures and yes, it really hurt for many days with lots of bruising. They had to place them using ultrasound in my case. My understanding was that the pain and bruising were expected. I was told not to lift anything over 10 lbs with that arm for a week or so. I hope yours heals soon.

 

[Thinktank]

@Judee , cold pack helps a bit.

@Rebeccare, i have a feeling this will take at least two weeks to heal, if there's no infection.

@Sushi, pain and bruising was told to me as well, but only for a few days and not this extreme....


I called the GP's office and they made an appointment with a PA this afternoon. I'm really hesitant to go because the PA's I've met so far were all bloody incompetent, unable to answer my questions or really not understanding what i was talking about. Sorry, i can't take a PA serious.

 

[Thinktank]

The PA told me the injury should not have happened, just a very bad job done and it can take 6 weeks or more for the tendons to heal.
I'm thinking about suing the hospital for income loss....