i feel i have failed (blood test)

[mummy4]

as some of you may of seen from the last few previous posts i have been doing so well lately.

last night felt my anxiety creeping up as i had a blood test booked for 930 this morning. hubby was going to come with me. well i cancelled :weep: i am so petrified of having blood taken i really panic my heart pounds i cry and i have to lie down!!
i feel like such a child.

i fainted when i was 16/17 whilst having my blood taken (im now 26) and im sure this is the reason i get like i do. i felt very frightened when it happened.

when i was pregnant with my last daughter whos now 1 i refused the blood tests right up til 10 days before she was born and the only reason i had it done then was because i was told if i an anemic and i bled heavy giving birth it could be life threatening so thats the only reason i had it done.

am wondering if the health visitor is able to take blood and if so maybe she could come to me house to take it as i will still be nervous but being at home led on my own bed i will feel more at ease im sure.

its to take a full blood count, not exactly sure what they are testing for can remember doc mentioning something about hormone inbalance.

anyone else like this?

[peach]

hi mummy4,

i totally relate to you now. im pregnant and am now being forced to have a blood test on friday. im PETRIFIED.

i refused to have one for months, but now they are saying they wont accept me to hospital without it...grrr..

so mum tried to org me to go get it, as if!!! lol

she finally organised a nurse (with doc referal) to come to my house on friday. i dont know what its like in the uk, but i imagine there would be plenty of people who for whatever reasons need to have their blood taken at home. ..you should ask about it...

mind you, i still cant imagine how im going to get through it, let alone everything else coming....

good luck, and your not alone with this one!!!
also, we have these patches you can get from the chemist and put on the spot and hour before, they numb the area....

we can do this :yesyes: :scared15:

[ladybird64]

Hi mummy :)

If your GP knows how phobic you are (Im guessing he/she does?) then perhaps you can arrange for a district nurse to do your test at home?

I dont know if health visitors do bloods from home but I think it is a possibility, when my kids were young our health visitor did all their vaccines at home (special circumstances :)).

It is definitely worthwhile asking and just wanted to say that you havent failed at all..you're just having a blip.

And to Peach..watching your story unfold, big hugs for coping so well (yes you are!) and good luck for Friday.

You're right..you both CAN do this! :hugs:

[mumof4]

im the same with needles and i had to have mine taken a few months ago well i told the doc if she wanted blood she would have to come to my house and she did next day and i was fine didnt panic once.

when i was pregrant i had to have blood taken all the time and i was fine to its the anxeity that makes it worse.

[87sal87]

OMG, I was the same for AGES! I was completely fine with blood tests until I was 16, I wasn't feeling well at all, I'd had been tonsiltus & I'd got like flu & a chest infection all top of it...so when I got abit worried about the blood, my body couldn't take it & I passed out, it was a horrible experience & it took till last summer (nearly SEVEN years later) for me to get over it. I had to have one done because my periods had stopped & I really needed to have my blood tested to see why & it was only worry over why my periods had vanished that I forced myself to go for it...my sister came with me & we told the nurse about it all & she was lovely, she put me at ease, put the chair back & was very gentle & spoke to me to take me mind off it & before I knew it she was done! Then I felt bad for leaving it 7 years lol >.<

Now I'm fine! I had some done at the A&E a month ago & was fine...mind you, I was too scared/spaced out to notice anyway but I think I would have been nervous if there were still issues around it...

So it can be done...just cos you fainted then doesn't mean you'll faint everytime, it's very rare. The way I see it, I've been for loads over the years & only fainted the once (as I'm sure you have) so the odds are low. Just explain it all to the doctor or nurse & they'll do their best to calm you down I'm sure.
Good luck.

[mummy4]

thanks for your replies

i have still not re booked my appointment :( x

[peach]

hello!

i just wanted to say, ive just had my blood test two days ago, and i got this cream from the chemist called emla cream. im not sure if you have it over there, but id recommend it.... i put it on a hour before the test and kept reapplying every 10 mins...

i also made sure i got a kind gentle needle giver....

i did not feel the needle one bit!!!!!!! i promise!!!!:yesyes:

good luck!:yesyes:

[cat2]

Hey,

I had mine taken not long ago and I was so anxious I thought I was going to faint.. I told the nurse and she was very understanding and asked me if I wanted to lie down. She asked me to take a deep breath. I wasn't looking while she was doing it and it wasn't bad at all!!
If you do faint you're in the right place:) I know it's scary but it takes less than a minute and when it's done at least you'll know you won't have to worry about it.

I asked myself, what would be worse, go there and faint or not going and keep worrying about it. The I decided to go which made me sooo nervous!! But it was never as bad as I imagined it was going to be.

Cat

[honeybee3939]

Hi

I fully understand how your feeling - i hate having blood tests too:hugs:.

Have you explained about your phobia when making the appointment? I have had to have blood tests twice over the last 3 months once at my gp surgey and the other at hospital They where very understanding when i told them my fear and was suprised to hear how many people have the same phobia too :ohmy:both times i got a nurse to hold my hand and talk to me while they took the blood it was so reasuring and helped me calm down they also gave me a early appointment so i didnt have to spend the day worrying.:yesyes:

You havent failed and your certainly not alone with your phobia

:hugs::hugs:
Andrea
xxxx

[mummy4]

thanks for all your kind words.

i have not explained how i feel to the receptionist no. just wish they would come to my house to take the blood!! its not so much the needle i dont like its just the whole taking blood thing :(

xx

[peach]

hi,

i was able to get the nurse to come to my house.

each pathology clinic have them for old people who cant get to the docs.
because i have a bad fear of it all. i was able to get a referal from the docs and a nurse came 2 days later. she was lovely and it was all over quickly. she also offered to come again if i need her.

perhaps you could inquire?

[mummy4]

thanks peach,

i rang my health visitor the other day to ask if she is able to perform a blood test and if so would she come to my house to do so but she deos not do them :(

she said im best of making an appointment for first thing that way i do not have to sit around thinking about it and to also use some rescue remedy.

anyway i have an appointment booked for next wed at 9.10am and am sh***ing myself!! i just really wish someone could come to me as i would feel so much more relaxed grrr x

[LucyR]

Hi, I remember you were going to get your blood test around the same time as I got mine, but if was cancelled due to bad weather I believe? I had mine on the 7th of January for Thyroid, but Ive never been brave enough to phone for the results. I had the test in the morning too, was scared stiff, arm was bruised afterwards for just under a week too, Id to steel myself to not run out as well!!

[peach]

did she suggest anyone else who may be able to come to you?

i dont know about health system in the UK, but surely they must have pathologist nurses that house visit for people who for many reason cannot go to get it done at a surgery?

my doctor wrote a referal to the pathology clinic..they were the ones who sent a nurse to me....i know over here the doctors wont do it.

rescue remedy is very good! it works well for me. id also recommend you try to get that emla cream from a chemist. it was amazing for me too! ill be using it again for my next blood test ( 8 weeks away- urgh!!!)

also, tell them you need a gentle nurse. this is what i got and together with the emla cream i didnt feel a thing, i promise! just make sure you put the cream on an hr before and keep putting a little more cream on every ten minutes...

[mummy4]

thanks peach and no she did not suggest the nurse coming to my house :(

lucy well done for getting your test done you are very brave and should be very proud of yourself. and if there was a problem you would have heard from your gp im sure :) xx