Do you Have A Fear Of Needles?

Do you have a fear of needles? For me, that used to be a simple question. I would have told you that I have a very strong fear of needles. I was so panicked any time a doctor would tell me that we needed to draw blood. It was so bad that as soon as I looked at a needle, I would get flushed and want to pass out. It got to a point I would have to warn whoever was drawing blood that I had a tendency to want to pass out.

My fear of needles is not quite so bad now. It does make me anxious to get the blood drawn and get it over with, but living with psoriasis and having to take biologics helped curve the fear I once had.

"You'll get used to it"

There was one particular time I thought I would do the right thing and donate blood. Everyone I talked to about it said it was easy and that I would feel so much better having done so. Boy were they wrong - it had absolutely the opposite reaction for me. I remember hearing people talking but it sounded like their voices were growing more distant by the minute. Then a nurse approached me stating how flushed I looked. She got a cold compress and put it on the back of my neck. I nearly passed out on that one. That was long before psoriasis came alone. I never did try to give a blood donation again.

Most of us probably remember the first biologic we were ever put on. Imagine my fear when I was told I would have to be giving shots to myself. The nurse kind of laughed at me when I told her of my fear of needles. Her words I don’t think I will ever forget. “Oh, honey you will get used to it and that fear will no longer be a problem.” She said. All I can say is I am so thankful for the person who invented the auto-injector.

Psoriasis helped my fear of needles

My fear is not there anymore. Psoriasis took that fear away. When my psoriasis had me 80% covered in plaques, that fear left the building. I wanted the psoriasis gone so badly that if I had been told to inject the needle five times a day, I would have done it at that point. I do still get nervous when I pull that auto-injector out of the box. However, I want it to be over with, so I don’t stop to dwell on it to long. I find it better that way. As I said I also keep in mind that I never want my psoriasis to get that bad again, so I must do the injections so that it doesn’t happen.

Do or did you have a fear of needles? Have you found like myself that the fear is no longer there? Or is it like myself you get nervous as well? I find that if I don’t look at the needle by looking at a wall or something of that sort that it helps me not feel so nervous. Do you have tips that make it easier for you to deal with needles? If so, please share what works for you so that others might be helped as well. The one thing I can always say is that I will deal with a needle any day of the week over being so widely covered.