Doctor phobia....

[Wildsky]

You can work though the terror of a needle.... you really can - it is hard, I've been there!!!

Starting to donate blood was traumatic for me, but I had lost a brother to a car accident - and it meant alot for me to donate blood so I just DID it - it got easier and I figured out my boundries - I never look once the needle touches the skin - but after that I'm fine!

 

[PurpleChicken]

OK Quad. Here is the reality. You have an anxiety disorder. It's probably mild
but the symptoms you described a very clear cut. Everyone has anxiety to one
degree or another. Some get it so bad they can't function. Others just have
certain triggers that get them, like needles.

Everyone can say it's no big deal, "don't worry", but that won't help. You truly
are fearing the needles and the unknown underlying condition (probably nothing).
Your fear may be illogical but it is still fear and you are feeling it.

There are several methods to fight this but I suggest you simply tell your doctor
you are "extremely anxious to the point of a dreadul fear" and ask for a dose
of Xanax. The Xanax will alleviate the anxiety and get you through the first needle
or two. After that you should be OK.

Been there, done that. My wife is an RN student, Med Tech, and has taken Phlebotomy
courses too. She asked if she could practice on me. Yeah Right!!!

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
YES do tell your doctor - most I've seen have been super nice about it for ME.
Perhaps I'm not super or wasn't SUPER anxious about needles - they USED to scare me more than they do now...
And doctors have always been really nice about it.

I actually find when you tell them something like that they are more likely to talk to you tell you what they're doing and why - and that helps ALOT!

 

[quadcam79]

I might just let my GF do a blood draw, she was a phlebot for 15 yrs and just became a nurse about 6 months ago...she always tried to get me to let her draw my blood...I bet you can tell that went over real well with me

I either do one of two things...vomit or pass out..depends on which hits first

it's gotta be the sight of blood that does it...i can get shots all day long and that doesnt bother me. but when i was little I would get really bad nosebleeds just out of nowhere and I would just freak out...just outside runnin around and my nose would start gushing blood.

 

[Wildsky]

Quad let me give you a

you will be fine, just MAKE the phone call, make the appointment for as SOON as you can so you dont have to wait and stress about it!!!

another

 

[quadcam79]

thanks for the support...it's really embarrassing to be so freaked out over nothing

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
GOOD, now you know the cause of it, just the sight of the blood, which does a lot of folk in!!

do what I do, watch till the needle touches your skin and then look away - so you know when to expect it - but you don't SEE anything else.... it works for me! ALthough I can look back and see whats in the needle or syringe and it doens't bother me.

You will be fine, the more you are aware of what triggers your anxiety the more you can do to control it! or avoid it!

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
I tell you - there are MILLIONS of folks that don't like the sight of blood, and heck I don't like freakin spiders!

We each have our own little triggers.... and that is just fine, cause we're human!

You wanna hear me scream - show me a very spider! NASTY things those!! ewewwwww giving me the creeps just thinkin about em!

 

[quadcam79]

Quote:
...and yet I love Horror movies....isnt that ironic?
other blood doesnt bother me...just human blood. How I managed to make it through seeing the birth of my daughter is beyond me.

 

[gritsar]

Please find a way to deal with the anxiety and go to the doctor. My SO is like you, have to drag him...kicking and clawing.
Last April, he came home from work with what he thought was just a bad case of the flu. The next day when I called from work to check on him and he couldn't speak coherently I left work and dragged him to the ER. It took them 3 days to figure out that he had systemic e.coli. By then it had began to shut down his kidneys, his liver, it was attacking his muscles, and the meninges (around the brain). The doctor didn't tell us at the time, but he only had a 50/50 chance of surviving at that point. It's been almost a year and he's still recovering. They traced the source of the problem to his gallbladder. We all have a small amount of e.coli in our digestive systems and when his gallbladder blocked up with stones the e.coli flourished there; only to be released into his system when one of the stones moved. So his fear of needles, drs., and all things medical has really caused him to face many more needles and drs. than if he had gone to the doctor before it got that bad, instead of after.
Good luck!