Just had a blood test. It was an awful experience! I had trouble diverting my attention because people were getting shots everywhere I looked. The technician took a while to perform the procedure, as she said my blood was very thick. Should I be concerned about this?

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Sometimes one experience like this can trigger a fear of needles or an anxiety about blood-drawing procedures. Often, when a phlebotomist states that someone's blood is thick (or that the blood is taking a long time to fill the tube), it is because the blood is starting to clot in the needle. Most of the time this is from the technique used or employing too small of a needle for the number of tubes that need drawn. Our blood is meant to clot to prevent us from bleeding, so your blood was likely just doing it's job! However, please talk to your doctor with any concerns you may have. Be sure to let your doctor know what happened!