u/handrnade

hey everyone!! 28f, been slowly trying to get over my fear of needles this year and it’s a process. the main thing i’ve been putting off for so long is a blood draw—last time i had one was 2017. ive always had a fear of needles but i went through a period when i was in high school/college where i wasn’t really super afraid of them anymore. in 2017 i had some stomach issues happening and the dr. ordered a blood test which coincidentally i had never had before. i wasn’t super excited, but i went through with it. during the actual procedure i was a little nervous but nothing too crazy. as soon as the nurse went over to her computer to start typing i started getting tunnel vision, my ears were ringing, nauseous etc. she fanned me until i was feeling better and i was like “does this happen often?” and she said “no not really”. i didn’t think too much of it, i just kind of assumed it was because i was sick or something.

later that same year, i needed to get another blood draw done before a medical procedure i was having. i was a bit nervous to do it because i had almost fainted last time. i told the nurse my concerns and he was kind of condescending, saying what the last nurse said, that “that doesn’t really happen”. i tried to explain to him that yes i was afraid of needles, and have had some pretty gnarly anxiety episodes over them, but ive never fainted before during an injection, or any other time in my life, just the blood draw. he kept telling me i just needed to stay calm and it would be fine, he was using a needle that babies used. he does it, takes the needle out and boom, i start feeling nauseous, tunnel vision, ears ringing, etc. i had a full blown anxiety attack this time, they had to lay me down and i was crying and it was just not a fun time.

anyway, fast forward to today!!! my doctor really wants me to get labs done, and i know i need to do it, but i’ve been way too scared. i mostly get annoyed that providers don’t seem to listen when i tell them that the reaction is something i cannot control and it really doesn’t have anything to do with me being anxious or not. i wish it did!!! both times i got my bloodwork i was sitting up and ive heard it helps to lay down, but im wondering if anyone has done this and still had presyncope??? both times i didn’t actually fully faint, i just started to, but the feeling of fainting was just so scary to me and im afraid to feel that way again, even if it isn’t dangerous.

tldr: history of presyncope during blood draws while sitting up—if i lay down during a blood draw, will i likely still get presyncope???

thanks for your insight!!

hi everyone!!! just wanted to share a good experience i had today in the hopes that it might help someone else. i’m 28f and my dental anxiety started around 9 years ago when i tried to get a filling and i had a reaction to the numbing injection (which ive since found out is very common). the adrenaline in the shot made my heart race and legs shake to the point where i couldn’t do the procedure, and i had to sit there and calm down for around an hour before i could drive. it really sucked and it made me not want to do ANYTHING dental related. i kept getting check ups and cleanings even though those gave me anxiety too. even just knowing i had a cleaning booked made me cry lol so i was pretty much unwilling to do anything beyond that!

fast forward to today; i decided i wanted to tackle some of my fears this year because they’ve just become SO debilitating, and as most of you know, that shit is hard!!! one of those fears was dental procedures, which is funny because i had so much dental work growing up with very minor anxiety around it. anyway, i made a plan with my dentist to use the local anesthetic without epinephrine in it, booked an appointment, chickened out the first time, and this time i finally did it!!! im not gonna lie i was very anxious getting the injection, even though i logically knew that the weird symptoms wouldn’t happen again. but the staff were very helpful, and everything was truly fine!! i was literally freaking out about this for weeks, it was pretty much all i could think about, and it went fine. and i feel so much better now!!! just a little sore from the shot. if any of you are struggling from dental anxiety/putting something off that scares you, i hope this is at least a little comforting!!

TLDR: i faced my fears and even though it was hard, it went so much better than i thought it would. if you’re scared to do something, i totally get it, but the relief you will feel after is SO worth it. you got this!!!!

hi everyone!!! just wanted to share a good experience i had today in the hopes that it might help someone else. i’m 28f and my dental anxiety started around 9 years ago when i tried to get a filling and i had a reaction to the numbing injection (which ive since found out is very common). the adrenaline in the shot made my heart race and legs shake to the point where i couldn’t do the procedure, and i had to sit there and calm down for around an hour before i could drive. it really sucked and it made me not want to do ANYTHING dental related. i kept getting check ups and cleanings even though those gave me anxiety too. even just knowing i had a cleaning booked made me cry lol so i was pretty much unwilling to do anything beyond that!

fast forward to today; i decided i wanted to tackle some of my fears this year because they’ve just become SO debilitating, and as most of you know, that shit is hard!!! one of those fears was dental procedures, which is funny because i had so much dental work growing up with very minor anxiety around it. anyway, i made a plan with my dentist to use the local anesthetic without epinephrine in it, booked an appointment, chickened out the first time, and this time i finally did it!!! im not gonna lie i was very anxious getting the injection, even though i logically knew that the weird symptoms wouldn’t happen again. but the staff were very helpful, and everything was truly fine!! i was literally freaking out about this for weeks, it was pretty much all i could think about, and it went fine. and i feel so much better now!!! just a little sore from the shot. if any of you are struggling from dental anxiety/putting something off that scares you, i hope this is at least a little comforting!!

TLDR: i faced my fears and even though it was hard, it went so much better than i thought it would. if you’re scared to do something, i totally get it, but the relief you will feel after is SO worth it. you got this!!!!