Do Something Amazing- Give Blood

Stargazer_Lily

You've just all reminded me that I hadn't been in 6 months.

Booked in on the 18th of December :j:

Lil

katiekittykat

That's great hun

xx

juno

katiekittykat wrote: »

Aww Juno how come you don't think you can donate anymore?

I've got an underactive thyroid, so I'll have to take medication for the rest of my life

LuciferTDark

You know what I hate? I really hate people who give blood who try to make me feel guilty because I can't do it. I have a pathological fear of needles & have passed out at the sight of them before, the dentist tried to inject me once I didn't go back for 2 yrs afterwards & only after he promised never to try again.

Stargazer_Lily

LuciferTDark wrote: »

You know what I hate? I really hate people who give blood who try to make me feel guilty because I can't do it. I have a pathological fear of needles & have passed out at the sight of them before, the dentist tried to inject me once I didn't go back for 2 yrs afterwards & only after he promised never to try again.

I'm not going to make you feel guilty because you can't do it, but I am going to suggest that you get some help for your phobia. Not just because it is stopping you donating, but because it is stopping you getting necessary treatment.

I used to be the same way as you (and still get a bit woozy sometimes) which was fantastic as part of my job involves being in the same room whilst IV access was gained in patients. I either had to leave the room (even the sound of the patient going "fssst" was enough to make my knees go funny) or sit down with my head turned away (and even that wasn't particularly successful!). I realised that this was silly when I kicked the anaesthetist when I was in labour because I was more frightened of the needle he was about to use to administer the pethedine than of the agony of labour itself. Previous to that I refused to go to the dentist until I had an abscess that almost lost me one of my eye teeth, and had to be held down by a nurse whilst someone gave me a local so that they could sew my hand back together.

Over the last three years I have forced myself to watch dozens of injections and can now handle watching whilst a technician puts a needle into someone else, and am trying to persuade someone to teach me venepuncture. This isn't because I feel it is absolutely necessary for my job but because I *want* to get over this irrational fear of needles and to me, learning to do it myself seems to be the ultimate challenge.

I still get wobbly when it is me on the receiving end, but I've learned that the easiest way to cope with it is just to force myself to do it. I originally gave blood as a result of peer pressure when I was 18. Now I do it partly because it is a good thing to do and partly because I want to prove to myself that I *can* do it and survive. And partly because having a lie down and a cup of tea that someone else has made in the middle of the afternoon is such a luxury...:D

Seriously - find a way to get around the fear. Life is too short to be scared of 3 grams of metal.

Lil

noonesperfect

LuciferTDark wrote: »

You know what I hate? I really hate people who give blood who try to make me feel guilty because I can't do it. I have a pathological fear of needles & have passed out at the sight of them before, the dentist tried to inject me once I didn't go back for 2 yrs afterwards & only after he promised never to try again.

I'm sorry you feel like that, phobias aren't fun. But I have to say that I've never seen a needle when giving blood yet.

noonesperfect

Poppycat - those colds that've been going round are awful hangers-on! I usually throw them off pretty quickly but it took weeks to get get rid of this last one (nearly all of November!)

TBH I wouldn't go this time, wait till you're properly better then go.:cool:

katiekittykat

juno wrote: »

I've got an underactive thyroid, so I'll have to take medication for the rest of my life

Sorry to hear that hun

xxx

Stargazer_Lily

juno wrote: »

I've got an underactive thyroid, so I'll have to take medication for the rest of my life

Have you contacted the blood donation call centre to see if you can give blood whilst on thyroxine?

Lil

bina72

Hi all,
I work for the service & it's really lovely to see this thread on here! I admire all of you for the time & effort you clearly give.

This is for your information, so you can each make up your own minds.

Currently we are undergoing a major restructure. The main plan is to cut the number of blood centres from 14 to 3. The 3 sites will be Colindale (London), Bristol & Manchester. The others will close apart from having a fridge to hold stock for local hospitals. Now as you can imagine the logistics of this are very far-reaching!
If you would like to read more about it please visit; www.nbs-sos.blogspot.com

I apologise if I am not allowed to post this type of info on the MSE forum. Please remove it if I have broken the rules.
Many thanks...