Needle Phobia - Advice please

[Night-owl]

Hi

Can anyone give me any advice

I have a serious phobia of needles and need a full blood count taken and blood tests.
I am talking major phobia as whenever I think about it I become faint and fainted the last time, landed up being taken to hospital by ambulance.
I start feeling funny, faint, all light headed and hot then cold then I faint.
I have asked the doctor and they have recommend gas and air, am I likely to still feel it? Honest answers please - doctor didnt say!
:o :o :o

[BlondeHeadOn]

I have this too, and it is now written on my doctors notes that any injections have to be given when I am lying down. This is because I always faint, and it it safer to have me lying down already then to have to try and catch me or pick me up from the floor!

If you are given gas and air then I guess you will be lying down anyway, so should be okay. And I don't think you should feel it - not that this would help me much, as I faint whether I can feel it or not, even watching my husband having an injection once was enough to have me sliding floorwards...

Make sure they know to give you 'recovery time' afterwards as well, as if you are like me you will feel woozy for some time afterwards.

Oh, and take someone with you if you can - it can help, and you will have someone to drive you home again!

Good luck, and take heart - you are not alone....

:o

[econmistsdoitwithmodels]

Last time I checked, air wasn't the most effective of pain killers. I too have had needle trauma and if a jab is completely unavoidable the next best option is to get an anaesthetic like LMX4 or emla cream. You rub it onto the skin before hand and the area becomes completely numb. And like Blondie said - nothing beats a designated hand-holder at the docs.
E

[Alikay]

Is it possible to have the blood test at your hospital rather than Dr's surgery? I'm pretty terrible with blood tests (although strangely, not injections!) and always faint. I also have very low BP, so it can take a couple of hours to stabilise me after a faint.

I find that the phlebotomists at the hospital outpatients dept are more skilled than the local practice nurse, so it's likely to only take one attempt (so I may not faint til after the event!), also they have a bit more space with several cubicles so it's better than me monopolising the Dr's treatment room for an entire morning!

[absolutebounder]

Hypnotherapy

[craftyfox]

and i thought i was all alone in this the same thing happens to me ( dr thought it a bit strange having my first child at 32!!) but i hate needles and yes i get the funny feelings and the sickness and the fainting and all the rest - OH thought it was a joke untill he saw it first hand and nearly freaked when i hit the floor but after a lot of effort i now always have blood taken out of the back of my hand with a butterfly needle (very small and thin) while seated and a pillow under my hand and a lot of effort in the part of my gp's nurse to keep in upright - god i'm starting to break into a sweat just typing this - but on the up side i'm also a first aider at work and a very good one at that, so i've been told many times. i have no problem with blood as long as its not mine :eek: