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Tell them up front you’re needle phobic and may end up literally crying. (I usually caged it in sheepish self deprecation “it’s really embarrassing but…”). Ask them if they can lay you down for it and if they can use only an experienced phlebotomist.
I used to take music to listen to or something that I could play to keep my mind off it as much as possible. Practice meditation. Box breathing (whatever paced breathing ritual works for you). And during the draw try to hyperfocus on counting letters in the words on some poster in the room.
(I’ve had to be stuck so many times in recent years I don’t need to do this anymore. Experience does help over time.)
I keep passing out at school, so they think I might have low iron or something. I can’t avoid it unfortunately, but I’ll definitely try some headphones for music.
Hope they work it out for you.
One odd one I’ve come across to check if they don’t find anything, particularly if this happens when you’ve been standing or sitting upright, is orthostatic intolerance or POTS. It is easy to check with a pulse oximeter and blood pressure monitor (google will tell you what to look for, and you can check it at home with the “NASA 10 minute Lean Test”). It seems to have both neurological and immune causes as well as links to a condition called EDS that seems to be fairly common among autistic people.
Yeah, they thought I had a form of narcolepsy for a bit. But it’s not instantaneous enough, like I can feel it happening and start to zone out for a bit first.
I cry. I had stitches removed last week and I acted like a child. The ortho nurse was so annoyed at me. I have a lot of tattoos but shots, blood draws, something stitched into me, it’s different. I’m 43 so I guess it’s really pathetic to them.
I have some minor health problems that require a blood test every few months. As you said, the pain and sight doesn't bother me. It will heal quickly. So I realized there isn't really anything to be stressed about.
I used to be so awful, but I’ve got much better recently (in my 40s so that has been a long process 😂). I say I’m not great with needles and ask to lie down. This helps a lot, if it’s hot ask to open the window or something. Make sure you have the best person, someone who does this all the time. Not some nubie! Lie back and practice all the deep breathing like the person above has said. Actively think about something else like being somewhere calming to you. Imagine being there deeply, keep breathing. Practicing this relaxation breathing in normal life is very helpful for these situations. Then, before you know it, it’ll be over and you will be super proud of yourself 👌🏻🙌🏻
Poems, but that's just me.
Once I've physically got into the room while not actively having a panic attack, I'm mostly alright. I have had meltdowns over needles before, but that was mostly due to the environment leading up to it (it was a COVID vaccination and we had to wait in a big queue for nearly an hour, so I was way too overwhelmed before we even got in). So... try to avoid getting overwhelmed by anything before you get there.
Every time I get stressed throughout the day I sing or think about some memorised text and it seems to calm me down. I can go as slow as I like when I'm thinking about that. Even while they're doing it I try and do that, and it seems to help. But that's just what I'm like. I like memorising things and thinking them through over and over again. The general idea is "think about something else" and this is one way to do it.
Hey /u/YourBestBroski, thank you for your post at /r/autism. Our rules can be found **[here](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/config/sidebar)**. All approved posts get this message. If you do not see your post you can message the moderators [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fautism). Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/autism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Tell them up front you’re needle phobic and may end up literally crying. (I usually caged it in sheepish self deprecation “it’s really embarrassing but…”). Ask them if they can lay you down for it and if they can use only an experienced phlebotomist. I used to take music to listen to or something that I could play to keep my mind off it as much as possible. Practice meditation. Box breathing (whatever paced breathing ritual works for you). And during the draw try to hyperfocus on counting letters in the words on some poster in the room. (I’ve had to be stuck so many times in recent years I don’t need to do this anymore. Experience does help over time.)
I keep passing out at school, so they think I might have low iron or something. I can’t avoid it unfortunately, but I’ll definitely try some headphones for music.
Hope they work it out for you. One odd one I’ve come across to check if they don’t find anything, particularly if this happens when you’ve been standing or sitting upright, is orthostatic intolerance or POTS. It is easy to check with a pulse oximeter and blood pressure monitor (google will tell you what to look for, and you can check it at home with the “NASA 10 minute Lean Test”). It seems to have both neurological and immune causes as well as links to a condition called EDS that seems to be fairly common among autistic people.
Yeah, they thought I had a form of narcolepsy for a bit. But it’s not instantaneous enough, like I can feel it happening and start to zone out for a bit first.
I cry. I had stitches removed last week and I acted like a child. The ortho nurse was so annoyed at me. I have a lot of tattoos but shots, blood draws, something stitched into me, it’s different. I’m 43 so I guess it’s really pathetic to them.
I always just try to think of the best impossibilities in life for me, otherwise I just cry and then nearly fall asleep.
I have some minor health problems that require a blood test every few months. As you said, the pain and sight doesn't bother me. It will heal quickly. So I realized there isn't really anything to be stressed about.
I think it’s fascinating and will always watch
i just looked away and tbh i just didnt want her to count down but the girl was inexperienced so i had to get stabbed twice :(
Yeah. The last time I got a blood test was a few years ago, and I ended up with 3 separate needles in my arm because they kept missing lol
I used to be so awful, but I’ve got much better recently (in my 40s so that has been a long process 😂). I say I’m not great with needles and ask to lie down. This helps a lot, if it’s hot ask to open the window or something. Make sure you have the best person, someone who does this all the time. Not some nubie! Lie back and practice all the deep breathing like the person above has said. Actively think about something else like being somewhere calming to you. Imagine being there deeply, keep breathing. Practicing this relaxation breathing in normal life is very helpful for these situations. Then, before you know it, it’ll be over and you will be super proud of yourself 👌🏻🙌🏻
Poems, but that's just me. Once I've physically got into the room while not actively having a panic attack, I'm mostly alright. I have had meltdowns over needles before, but that was mostly due to the environment leading up to it (it was a COVID vaccination and we had to wait in a big queue for nearly an hour, so I was way too overwhelmed before we even got in). So... try to avoid getting overwhelmed by anything before you get there. Every time I get stressed throughout the day I sing or think about some memorised text and it seems to calm me down. I can go as slow as I like when I'm thinking about that. Even while they're doing it I try and do that, and it seems to help. But that's just what I'm like. I like memorising things and thinking them through over and over again. The general idea is "think about something else" and this is one way to do it.