My Experience

I had been tired and my doctor had run some blood tests a few weeks earlier. Because it turned out I was borderline anemic, she decided to retest me. The first blood test had been an unhappy experience for me. I very nearly fainted and was nauseous and dry heaving right after the nurse had finished. The reason is that I am prone to vasovagal reactions (fainting), which I have had all my life. If I watch the needle go in or focus too much on what is happening, my body tumbles into this reaction. It is like a switch: once it flips, I can’t stop it. My skin gets clammy, I feel faint and nauseous. It is an extremely unpleasant experience. It takes about five minutes or so for it to pass. I hadn’t had a blood test in a while, and so forgot my method of dealing with it. Also, the nurse kept on talking about the large amount of blood she was taking and I could hear the blood squirting into the tubes – about five total! This time, however, both the nurse and I were prepared. She had me lie down and, having spoken to the doctor, she was going to say nothing about blood as she stuck in the needle and took the blood. And I was very careful about relaxing my body, never looking at the needle, which didn’t hurt at all when it went in. And I kept up a steady stream of chatter about my kids. We were talking to distract me from what was going on. This time, I felt fine, sat up after she was finished and walked out, no issues. The key for me is to never look at the needle, before, during or after, lie down, relax my muscles rather than clinching, tell the person taking the blood that I am prone to this reaction and think/talk about anything except what is going on.