Needle Phobia

[Bluewater15]

Today I found out I have to get a blood test this week and I'm really really scared for it. I HATE needles so much. I'm terrified of them, even if they don't take long. I even cried when I first found out I had to get a blood test. Ever since I went with my friend to have her blood drawn and passed out from the sight of it, I vowed to never get that done. But..now it's not a choice. I'm really scared to go, and don't know what to do. :/ :weep:

[Stormsky]

I had mine taken recently, I just looked away when they did it, took seconds to do, so you be fine.

[MrCupOfT]

Make the person doing the blood test aware of your phobia. I share the same phobia.
I tell them don't let me see the needle, and don't tell me when you putting it, only afterwards. Then I distract myself by focusing and reading the various posters / paperwork that it often pinned to the walls or laying on the desk.

[saralouq1980]

i'm terrified of having blood tests & injections, it took a week-long stay in hospital for them to finally get blood from me while i was in there with a medical condition. i found that by having 2 nurses there, one was in charge of taking the blood while the other was sat beside me, holding my hand and talking to me to take my mind off it, it was over and done with in no time! i couldnt believe it and of course i was beaming with pride afterwards because i'd taken on the needle and survived! lol plus dont forget to request the numbing cream, they put it on half an hour before they take blood and it numbs your skin, its wonderful stuff and not just for kids! lol i hope it all goes well for you, Good Luck xx

[Rls1994]

Bluewater, I feel your pain!

Before February this year, I had a HUGE phobia of needles. I avoided every single one of them in my teen age years (bad, I know). But, I had a traumatic experience with them when I was younger. I was sick when I had it done, (I have emetophobia, fear of vomiting) so yeah, you can imagine how I felt. :(

I had to have a blood test in February because my doctor thought I may have H.Pylori infection. It took me 2 weeks to get the courage to have it done. When I got at the doctors, I was panicking like MAD. I had to wait about 25 minutes to have it done as well since there was a lot of people waiting to have it done too. That didn't help at all. My Mum was there trying to calm me down but it was no use.

Finally, when the nurse called me in, I started to panic even more, but said to myself 'you're a strong girl, you can do this', so I went in trying my hardest to stay fine and sat on the chair. My Mum told them that I have a huge trouble with needles and the nurse was very understanding and nice about it. She offered some freezing spray to put on my arm which I happily accepted, and that's when she put the band on my arm and asked me to clench my fist. I looked away, breathing heavily and closed my eyes.

I'm being totally honest here, I only felt a verrrrrrrrrrrry little sting which was barely noticeable when the needle was going in and coming back out again. That was all! I have extremely low pain tolerance and it didn't bother me one bit! Of course, I felt a little sick afterwards and my Mum even stated that I looked SOO pale lol, so the nurse gave me some cold water and I was fine after.

After that experience, I was no longer afraid of needles. Of course, I still hate them (who doesn't?), but I no longer fear them. Trust me when I say that it is NO where near as bad as you think it is. I hope you have it done as you will feel so good afterwards. I know I did haha. :hugs:

[Speranza]

I have this too. I'm much better than I was back when I fainted during skin allergy tests! I shall name the elephant, I get scared of the needle breaking. EVERY time I have blood tests I make sure I tell the phlebotomist, they are great.

You simply don't need to see any blood. Just look the other way. The pricking is really nothing awful, see how long you can count for until she finishes. Ask how many seconds she thinks it will take, and count them slowly. Don't look.

Occasionally I go light-headed but usually I am fine. And for the record, NOBODY has ever broken a needle doing a blood test! I have asked MANY MANY people!!! :)

[Rosie2]

I used to be really scared of getting blood tests done, but I'm okay with them now - well, I still don't particularly enjoy them but I can endure them :shrug:

You can request for them to put a numbing patch on first so you won't feel anything, the cream/gel stuff is a bit cold but it really does work. I also always put one of my headphones in so I can listen to music and be distracted when they actually do it (probably seems really rude but I told the nurse I don't like blood tests and she was really understanding:))

Hope it went well!

[Yossino]

I'm the opposite. I actually watch and am fascinated with the blood entering the tube. What sucks though, is they have a really hard time finding a vein. Drinking a bunch of water before helps. I wouldn't want to get blood tests daily though.