Phobia of Needles – How many people here have one ?

Went in this morning for my annual physical exam. I ended up getting a Tetanus shot update, Got talked into the Flu shot, and had Blood draw. That’s a little overload for someone with a phobia of needles. I’m glad they checked my BP prior to all the talk about shots. I’m sure it was off the charts by the time they came in to give me the shots. So they stuck a harpoon in each arm and them the Vampire sucked a ton of blood out of my arm. Ya I know I’m a bit of a drama King and Baby. I do have to say the 3 needle pricks today were by far the least painful I’ve ever received. How many others here have a Phobia of getting shots or blood drawn?

x2

not me. i have a blood draw every 6 months for my physical too. and i donate blood to the red cross. but then when you’ve had a 4 by heart by pass a needle is small potatoes.

i do have a needle phobia however when it comes to the dentist office!!

No phobia but it’s not the one thing I look forward to these days. Apparently, as it’s been explained to me, my veins close up once a needle has been introduced. Monday I had an angiogram. Step one was blood work and she got it on the first try! That wasn’t bad as usually it takes 3 tries. The next step is to put in an IV port. 2 tries in the left arm then one on the right before they called in the A Team, a nurse with an ultra sound machine to look for a deep vein that is usually larger and easier to get into. Did I say deep vein, the local anesthesia gave me hope which was soon diminished as I thought this young lady was going to hit the bone in my forearm. I swear I was going to crack my teeth. I kept reminding myself that it would feel better when it stopped hurting. Tetanus and flu shot’s are a piece of cake, imagine being Type 1 diabetic, my buddy gives himself 4 shots each day. We were discussing when they administered the polio vaccine via a needle when I was like 5 years old. We had to get one each year and it was given on the first day of school, I dreaded it, heck all my buddies ahead of me were crying, you knew what was coming. My last polio vaccine was given orally on a sugar cube, much more comfortable.

I have a phobia of getting a covid test. When they scrap your brain with the “swab”. Kinda funny how easy it spreads but how difficult it is to find out if you have it.

I had blood drawn a few weeks ago to check for infection. Normally they have no issue i can see the damn veins in my elbow but the guy did it on top of my wrist. i wish i had a stick to bite down on. S.O.B that hurt like hell.

only in a emergency

A few years back I had an issue with my kidneys shutting down while I was in the hospital for what was supposed to be an outpatient procedure. I swelled up like a tick with water. The nurse could never get it right and find a vein because I was so puffy. I was a human pin cushion.

bigpike wrote:

I have a phobia of getting a covid test. When they scrap your brain with the “swab”. Kinda funny how easy it spreads but how difficult it is to find out if you have it.

My wife had to be tested and said she didn’t know what everyone was crying about. It was just a small irritation that lasted a couple of seconds.

My mom was in school for becoming an RN when I was 10-12. She paid me $2 per shot to practice. Baseball cards were so worth it.

bigpike wrote:

I have a phobia of getting a covid test. When they scrap your brain with the “swab”. Kinda funny how easy it spreads but how difficult it is to find out if you have it.

There are tests where you spit into a tube instead.

Pass out everytime can’t tell you how many times I have woken up in the arms of a nurse . I’ll be nervous for a week before I have to go in and pass out.

When I was a kid calling it a needle phobia would have been a very large understatement. Now as an adult I’m better able to reason through just the normal tetanus or flu shot. Now a blood draw…well that is a different deal all together. I’ve just about puked when they’ve dug around searching for a vein. I’d almost rather have a tattoo, which I will never get btw.

Deuces wrote:

My mom was in school for becoming an RN when I was 10-12. She paid me $2 per shot to practice. Baseball cards were so worth it.

My mom has pictures of her in nursing school at Marquette in 1959 practicing giving shots to an orange. Apparently, the feel and resistance to the needle is similar. She said she was thinking this isn’t difficult and then the instructor said, OK now give a shot to your lab partner and she about passed out, but did manage to get it done. Good thing too, she spent the next 35 years basically doing it every day.

I don’t really fear needles but like everyone I have my limits. I had to have an IV put in once and the tech could not find a vein. After about 15 minutes of digging around and becoming visible frustrated, I said look I hate to complain but this is starting hurt a little. So the tech said I’m going to have to call the A team. In comes a nun who was between 80 and 312 years old and I’m thinking, oh lord this is really going to hurt now. She got it in one shot.

Grouse

Grouse

It has gotten better with age but yes, I cannot let myself see the needle, just do it and get it over with.

When I was a kid I kicked and screamed at the sight of them. Had Scarlett Fever at around 8ish and they pulled out a legit 5 inch needle that had to go into my leg. After 30 minutes of screaming and kicking they tied me down to the table.

58 years old and still can’t stand it! Watch news shows or whatever and inevitably they do a story on flu/covid whatever, they always show a needle going into someone’s arm. I have to turn my head, for some reason can’t stand it and wife just laughs at me. Again, don’t know why, I can watch videos of surgeries, blood and guts, but just something about that needle going through the skin that drives me nuts.

How about a diabetic with a needle phobia?

bigpike wrote:

I have a phobia of getting a covid test. When they scrap your brain with the “swab”. Kinda funny how easy it spreads but how difficult it is to find out if you have it.

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to get that same Covid test as the spit test wasn’t recommended. Anyway after she was done with the swab I asked her if she could do a PSA test at the same time seeing she was already in my prostrate.

Curt wrote:

58 years old and still can’t stand it! Watch news shows or whatever and inevitably they do a story on flu/covid whatever, they always show a needle going into someone’s arm. I have to turn my head, for some reason can’t stand it and wife just laughs at me. Again, don’t know why, I can watch videos of surgeries, blood and guts, but just something about that needle going through the skin that drives me nuts.

Me too! Also the new one – spitting in a tube. Have to look away…

-J.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mr.Beads wrote:</div>
My mom was in school for becoming an RN when I was 10-12. She paid me $2 per shot to practice. Baseball cards were so worth it.

My mom has pictures of her in nursing school at Marquette in 1959 practicing giving shots to an orange. Apparently, the feel and resistance to the needle is similar. She said she was thinking this isn’t difficult and then the instructor said, OK now give a shot to your lab partner and she about passed out, but did manage to get it done. Good thing too, she spent the next 35 years basically doing it every day.

I don’t really fear needles but like everyone I have my limits. I had to have an IV put in once and the tech could not find a vein. After about 15 minutes of digging around and becoming visible frustrated, I said look I hate to complain but this is starting hurt a little. So the tech said I’m going to have to call the A team. In comes a nun who was between 80 and 312 years old and I’m thinking, oh lord this is really going to hurt now. She got it in one shot.

Grouse

Grouse

Do you think Beads’ Mom knew about the orange trick or not?

Shots are fine with me but vein work is making me more and more queasy as I age. I think it’s from combat lifesaver training in the army, where one of the days you spend a few hours in the morning going over the classroom portion of giving IV’s, then in the afternoon you actually give an IV to your buddy and he does the same. Nurses, God bless them, make it seem pretty easy, but now that I know all that goes into that and what’s happening I don’t like it as much.

no problem..

I have donated over 10 gallon of blood.

Steve Hix wrote:

no problem..

I have donated over 10 gallon of blood.

That’s Great. I once donated blood to impress a girl working the blood drive. Needless to say bending over and breathing with you head in a plastic bag was not Impressive.

Jeez you old timers are soft! They just don’t make em like they did in the 80’s (my generation) (this is me, mocking the kids these days rants…) I’ve had every type of needle poked and prodded and don’t have any issue with them. The 2 worst were pulling out a drip from shoulder surgery, like 4 inches of bloody plastic tube pulled out of my shoulder joint. And the other is getting a PIC line put in, you big needle to get the tube started and then you can watch them snake it up your artery thru your shoulder and just outside your heart, all live on Ultrasound!! Fun stuff! Anybodies skin crawling?

Its nice to see that I’m not the only one. Showed this to my wife and she says ” So your not the only Baby ” The funny thing is I think I have a fairly high pain threshold. Its just something about needles. I’m even worse with novocaine at dentist. I normally have my fillings done without it. I’ve even had a tooth pulled without it. Got 1/2 way into a root canal before I tapped out and got it.

I only fear them because they hurt-a hook past the barb is no go either

Nope, After doing hundreds of IVs on people it doesn’t bother you. It didn’t before either honestly. I do get more anxiety with them now because I know how it’s done right, so when I see someone doing a crappy job or can tell they are going to miss I have to stop them. I HAVE to watch. I feel bad about it but I’m not going to let you poke me twice because you don’t know how to do your job.

I have half sleeve tattoos on both arms and both legs from the knee down. I can get tattooed all the live long day. As soon as I have to get any type of medical needle, I turn into the biggest chicken. I know it is an irrational fear especially given the amount of hours spent in a tattoo chair. But I just can’t seem to shake it. I can’t even watch them do it.

Needles not so much , waking up while pulling out a catheter during surgery ! Thought they were trying to pull start a chainsaw !

No problems with needles unless I’m watching the needle go into my shoulder on a live xray. Had that done yesterday, steroid injection in my shoulder. 4 shots to administer local anesthesia, the last one hurt all the way to my wrist. I could handle that, but when I looked up at the monitor to watch the procedure and saw that needle in my shoulder things went haywire. Doc said I was speaking a language he wasn’t familiar with.