Do you hate needles?

[SoVerySorry]

I'm always nervous knowing that I've a needle coming, but I don't actually fear needles. Actually, as long as the needle isn't in the pit of my elbow, I'm fine with them. Everybody says that needles in the cubital fossa hurt more than say the hand, but the hand or wrist needles are more literal pain and not an electric shock pain.

I will NOT take IM needles or skin surface needles... haven't taken certain shots that I was supposed to take coming here a while ago IM needles have a more distressing pain for me/

[AoD]

What kind of situation are you talking about, blood tests or IV fluids? I have absolutely no fear/dislike of needles. I even used them on lab animals for blood tests during one of my jobs. I get all my vaccines (and some that aren't necessary but just a precaution), I get blood tests done often (thyroid issues) and I never really feel it as more than a mosquito bite. I always watch the blood pump into the little vacuum tubes when I get blood tests. Doesn't make me nervous at all.

But really, you should take your shots. That's a public health issue that can put you and others at risk of catching dangerous diseases. It isn't a personal decision, it affects others who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

[Hannah A.]

I do hate needles. Its connected to emetophobia. When I get shots or a blood test I get this vasovagal thing afterwards and it makes me feel incredibly sick. So I now kind of fear them. I hate getting shots but I know that I have to sometimes. Blood tests I hate the most.

[Dairyfreelife]

No. I mean I do not like the momentary pain that comes with it, but am really just oh well. I had to have b12 shots and those were probably the worst lately due to being injected into the muscle. Personally, numbing needles suck most. I had one to remove a wart on my foot years ago and those were long and they stab you for like five minutes. It sucked. That pain was strong. But beyond that, I find needles easy and quick and usually just a little prick and all done. I have had blood taken so many times and get allergy shots once a week that shots are like second nature to me anymore. I know someone very scared of needles though so I can relate. Having a phobia helps me relate to others phobias too.

[KimberlyP]

I'm not afraid of needled at all. I mean, I hate how they feel (pain always sucks) but when I was in the hospital really sick with preeclampsia, they blew every one of my usable veins in my arms and hands, they had to put my IV in my foot Then an hour later they moved it to an artieral vein, which made me mad. It wasn't fun but I wasn't scared of any of it.

[kellybeth]

I dont like needles but I'm not really scared of them . I get blood taken all the time and I can't watch. If I watch then I feel a little faint. However I am freaked out by shots in my mouth. I HATE that!!

[mdgirl1977]

I used to dislike needles but after having a pulmonary embolism in 2006 I had to give myself shots twice a day in my own stomach for 2 years! You get over that fear fast when you are holding the damn injectible. That being said, my son isn't a huge fan and I have learned that if I pinch his other leg or make chicken sounds to distract him, he doesn't hear it. I had to get blood drawn this past monday - 6 HUGE vials and was definitely a bit dizzy after, but it is what it is.

Are you facing getting shots of giving blood? I think it feels different...

[XDark_MinxX]

I think it's normal to fear needles. I chickened out of a booster jab before, I've never had any IVs, just booster jabs. Then again, I'd rather be in pain from a needle than... You know, V***

[Mamafear]

they blew every one of my usable veins in my arms and hands, they had to put my IV in my foot Then an hour later they moved it to an artieral vein, which made me mad. It wasn't fun but I wasn't scared of any of it

I had the same thing with my last preg. I had four blood transfusions and the needle thing doesn't bother me. Watching someone elses blood go into my arm made me gag though. :/

[KimberlyP]

I had the same thing with my last preg. I had four blood transfusions and the needle thing doesn't bother me. Watching someone elses blood go into my arm made me gag though. :/

Eek! That would freak me out too! I can't watch my own blood be drawn, I'll pass out. When they first drew my blood when I got to the hospital, it was right in the crease of my arm. When she took the needle out, a little droplet of blood came out and it looked black against my pale skin and I passed out cold. I remember saying " I don't feel ver...." And I woke up with the nurse holding something to my nose. As long as I don't look, I can get 100 shots, haha!

[NaiveAndTrue]

I actually kinda like them. . .

[Valen*]

Im not afraid of the needles. But Im afraid if the dizzy feeling that comes with the blood tests.

[MaybeBaby]

Not afraid at all. Don't really enjoy watching my own blood being drawn, so I turn away. But veins are fascinating. I don't think I'd mind being a phlebotomist. My veins are prone to blowing which is incredibly painful, and IVs tend to infiltrate and cause super swelling and pain. My daughter however is super afraid of needles. When she was 2 she fainted after getting immunizations. The nurses panicked cause they had never seen someone so young faint from needles. So now if she needs shots or blood work they have her already laying down. She gets pale and sometimes throws up. Poor kid.

[andee]

Hi MaybeBaby, I trained to be a phlebotomist and LOVE drawing blood...but sadly, due to this fear and like you said sometimes your daughter gets sick, I am not in that field...sigh. I hate this phobia, which robbed me of doing something I love...

[shazzabongo]

Hated getting those mandatory shots in school. I can't look at the needle while the nurse is injecting it into my skin, I feel really really nauseous :S

[MrsEmetophob]

No. Needles dont bother me at all. In fact i like the feeling, weird, i know.
& no im not a drug addict, i am however covered in tattoos!! Haha

[Babydoll]

I get vasovagal as well, and it sucks....best tip of life--- ask them to lay you FLAT down....and stay laying flat after they've taken your blood for 5 minutes or so. Then take your time getting up.

When you lay flat it helps keeps the blood level balanced in the body so it helps to prevent vasovagal attacks. Trust me.....from experience.

[Sebastior]

Not really, i find them quite arousing, especially if they're filled with something yummy. Although trying IV on myself, i don't think so unless a proper professional explains it properly and stuff. When i say professional, i mean a nurse, not a pro IV drug user (IV doesn't necessarily mean you're an addict). Don't wanna miss the vein, even if you check for answer, then when you plunge and the needle isn't in all the way, you can still miss quite easily.
IM i could probably do on myself depending on the circumstances. Like if i needed a neuroleptic to act quick when i have my anger outbursts, i'd give it a shot. Although i'd take any other alternatives over it since it can be risky business if done incorrectly.

Blood tests i don't really like if they need more than one tube and leave the needle hanging though. Only happened once or twice though.

[4077girl]

Is it weird how many us like them? I like them too.

[happywithoutyou]

I used to be SEVERELY and obsessively needle phobic to the extent that my therapist called it a variant of OCD (I was constantly having intrusive thoughts even with no needles around) - it was actually more disruptive to my life at one point than the emetophobia was (though I think the two were connected, since it started with a traumatic blood test when I was about nine which they did because I felt sick all the time, which I now think was probably the beginnings of emetophobia). I did around a year of exposure therapy for it and it was *insanely* hard but it worked amazingly well, eventually, and five years out I have pretty much zero anxiety around needles.

(At the time I never told my therapist about the emet because I couldn't imagine doing exposure for it. I started a second round of therapy with him when it flared badly a few years later, but got scared and stopped showing up. It's incredibly hard even when you've got living proof exposure therapy works.)