Medical New Here Real Bad Medical/needle Phobia Caused By A Truama.

[Hank1972]

Hey I found your web site, while surfing for any new treatments I have not yet tried to "fix" my PTSD cause Needle/Medical Phobia. When I was about 4 or 5 I had a large cyst under my arm (arm pit) . I also had a hi fever. My family Doctor suggested that they lance and drain the cyst. They used a strong topical my told me. Even right now typing and think about this makes me feel uneasy. The topical did not work and I can now remember I felt like I was being butchered alive. Remember I was about 4 or 5. I would repress that memory for years. BUT for my whole life (I am 44 now), I have had issues lifting my arm over my head exposing my arm pit. I could not let any one touch my arm pit. I once hit my GF (reflexively) when I was sleeping and she touched me there. I suffered flash back pain til my late 20's. Growing up I could not get a shot or give blood with out being physically held down. I have fought my way out of ERs as a teenager. I have very strong panic attacks when every I am told or are about to receive a needle. Once in my late teens a Doctor gave me Valium to relax, and it didn't happen she kept giving me another pill every hour since my adrenaline would not let me relax, after about the 4 pill I was out yet she said that I did see the needle and I lunged to get the needle away from me and her. When she saw that she stopped trying to get me to take a needle. She also told me that it was rather scary to see some one on that many Valium have a panic attack. thru out my 20s and early 30's were a time that nothing every went wrong with any ones body. But I knew that my fear was still there. While living overseas I caught Leptosirosis and Ambeostasis, both in theory could have killed me, Lepto especially, I knew that yet I refused any treatment. That was when I knew that the fear of Needles and medical procedures was strong than me fear of death. Now my fear seems to be getting worse. I started therapy CBT to be exact, and I feel it made it worse. They had me watch videos and I was getting frustrated then one I actually got scared watching the videos. I even had phantom pains when watching the needle break the skin. Movies in which they give an injection or draw blood now scare the hell out of me. To make matters worse the pain I feel over needles always felt worse than they actually are. Meaning I was not processing the pain correctly. The next therapist I saw took me to hospitals and blood mobiles. Yes it did help my fear of those places but it in no way helped my fear of the needle or getting any other medical procedure. I have tattoos and piercing mind you, it is just that those where not done in a medical environment. The last thing they have tried was Hypnosis, and the therapist admitted that he could not hypnotize me. So I now longer now what else to do.

 

[Fadeaway]

I had/have bad needle phobia as a result of a bad e.r. experience. Unfortunately, I also have a medical condition that requires me to receive blood transfusions and vitamin infusions.

I ended up have a hospital therapist working me through guided meditations and DBT while they were inserting the needles. I still hate it and will postpone it until the last minutes but I can do it talk myself through it now.

If you know you need an injection, ask for the hospital social worker. They are trained in knowing how to help get you past your fears.

 

[Hank1972]

In all my experiences I never known a hospital do offer any sort of consoling, to be honest they are rather rude, and when you try to explain your situation they basically get all hi and mighty. I did have a therapist ask me if I meditate and I told them the truth, which I never could get or understand mediation, if I was going to be relaxed like that I would rather sleep. Mind you I do suffer ADHD. My current therapist did say that what I feel over needles and med proc. is perfectly normal considering what I went thru and she would be more worried if I did not have some sort of trauma over it.
In all honesty I am just about to stop seeing any one since nothing seems to help but just make it worse.

 

[Fadeaway]

AsI was advised by someone here on this forum, you need to ask specifically for the hospital social worker. Otherwise, I would agree with you. I have had pretty shitty luck with finding people who were unsympathetic.

 

[Sideways]

Simple phobias (ie nothing 'simple' about them, just means a phobia of one gery specific thing, like spiders, height, etc) often respond to exposure therapy. You can often find therapists that specialise in this type of treatment specifically for simple phobias, because a lot of people are phobic to specific things which can oftentimes be treated by a course of exposure therapy.

Not saying you'll ever like needles, but it could substantially reduce the amount of distress you experience when you need one. Unlike things like ptsd or depression, the treatment is done as a course of, aay, 6-12 sessions. It's going to vary from person to person, but it's not an open-ended, therapy for eternity situation, because either you'll find your phobia improving and finish the course, or you won't.

I'm phobic of Huntsman spiders specifically, and but for the cost of the treatment, I would have had it treated by now because they are apparently getting quite good at this form of treatment (without scaring the bejeebus out of you).

 

[Hank1972]

Simple phobias (ie nothing 'simple' about them, just means a phobia of one gery specific thing,...

Exposure was tried. I would watch needles and even go to blood bank and hospitals. I try to relax, and my fears would be simmering just under the surface. I was there to practice what I had learned in relaxing and try to get over any fear. It did help a bit....BUT I KNEW THAT I WOULD NOT BE PIERCED BY ANY NEEDLE. Had that been different nothing I have learned would have stopped the panic attack that I would have had. And my therapist knew that before I even told him. He noticed that I turned pale. I would re actively hold my breathe. and that my body got stiff. Just recently I took my mom to the hospital for a simple procedure. I left after 20 mins when I broke out in a rash , and felt I could not breath. Another Therapist I had once told me to imagine being able to be injected, and just thinking about that gave me a panic attack. For the life of me I can not even imagine what it is like to voluntarily give blood or get an injection.

 

[The Albatross]

I had really bad needle phobia - botched tonsillectomy when I was 6 and bled out needing two transfusions. Blood, needles, medical settings all were triggers.

One of the things I did to desensitize myself from needles was being a blood/platelet donor. But I had to break that down into steps and use management tools for it. Like coping by stress reduction, and doing my routine blood work on time - to cope I would straight up tell them I was afraid of needles and then focus on telling the phlebotomist a joke or two. I had to concentrate on the joke rather than the stick.

My father was actually my inspiration for the blood donor thing... he had his own traumatic mishaps yet he was a regular blood donor even though he'd pass out every single time.

 

[The Albatross]

Listen Hank, the reality is that eventually you're gonna have to have a stick, maybe even an IV or a PIC Line... so glad you're here and hope with support you'll be able to work it through.

 

[Hank1972]

Listen Hank, the reality is that eventually you're gonna have to have a stick, maybe even an IV or...

Sorry for the late response, to yours post. Yes you are right as I get older I know that one day I am going to need an IV in me, and that scared the hell out of me. Wrestling with your post and how I seriously say that in many ways my fear of needles is greater than my fear of death. My bout of Leptospirosis and Ambeostasis pretty much at the same time, prove that when I possibly faced death, still refused to get an IV or at least an Injection. But there is blame to go around besides my own fears. Doctors, many of them are unwilling to feel any empathy for my condition which I think could make matters worse. I have had Doctors walk away from while I begged them to give me Chloral Hydrated so I could be knocked out to get an IV when I had a Staph infection, because I could not take an injection. And the ONLY reason I got better from that was that there happened to be a Doctor there that was afraid of birds, who felt some sort of empathy enough to help. May be I am searching for a Panacea; a fix all to my condition thinking that one type of therapy or some medicine can magically take my fear away. Not really being realistic that may be every injection or IV will be a challenge for me. But may be a Panacea is what I need since I have never been able to step up to that challenge

 

[Muted]

Hey I found your web site, while surfing for any new treatments I have not yet tried to "fix" my PTSD...

Have you considered EMDR?

 

[Hank1972]

Have you considered EMDR?

I have heard about that but I am still not sure how that works, which bothers me. seeing a light flash in your eyes getting over a crippling fear... I do not see a correlation.

 

[Fadeaway]

seeing a light flash in your eyes getting over a crippling fear... I do not see a correlation.

I am very confused by this statement and what it has to do with EMDR. Did someone lead you do believe that EMDR was someone flashing a light in your eyes? Some therapists us a light bar for your eyes to track the movement imitating the rapid eye movement you do while dreaming, but most don't.