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Firstly good for you donating blood after that experience. I know the exact sensation you're talking about and it accounts for my problem with needles too.
The only thing I've found to work is to look completly away from the needle, I don't even watch them take it out the box. Then it's just a matter of forcing your mind to go to a "happy place" ond focus on that with all your mental might. By the time you've done this the experience is usually over.
Also I'm not sure what to tell you about the bone marrow thing, I'm not going to try and talk you out of it because if you do it you are a hero, but it is not on the same level as giving blood. Having bone marrow extracted is incredibly painful (I'm told, I'm no where near brave enough to do it myself), so if you're having any problems with needles at all it's probably not a good idea.
Well... AFAIK bone marrow isn't something you just go donate. It's got to be matched pretty specifically. I'm on the national bone marrow registry (and you can be, too!), but it's highly unlikely I'll ever be called on to donate.
At any rate, you're under local anesthesia when they extract it.
Aioua on
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I have really bad veins. i'll spare you the details, but I've had much worse happen. I have to have a doctor use an ultra-sound machine to find my veins when I get dye injected for a CT scan. I often have to have the most experiences nurses take my blood samples.
My lifetime of bad veins has habituated me to such things. My trick is to never look at my arm or the needle. I always take slow, deep breaths and look anywhere else. I often even look away from the nurse. I've gotten positively apologetic, especially since my one halfway decent vein got pretty much destroyed last year.
I will never be easy around needles. When I was young, they had to hold me down to get blood samples. Now that I am an adult, I just man-up and realize that it is important, and the pain will only last so long. There isn't a level of comfort- I just make myself get far enough along the process that backing out would be nearly impossible unless I went all childish-tantrumy. Then I get very detached and just get into a calm place.
I feel really bad that I don't give blood. The first three times I went to blood drives, they couldn't get a vein. Fourth time, they found one but couldn't fill a bag (I was told it was pretty much worthless.) I was told in so many words not to keep trying, as I probably never could give a complete donation.
Good luck in trying to start donating again. You can usually ask for a more experienced nurse, explaining your nervousness- they tend to be sympathetic. And drink plenty of water beforehand.
MulysaSempronius on
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Don't feel bad about not being able to donate blood. Blood Banks sell your donated blood to hospitals at an extraordinary profit.
This notwithstanding, hospitals do need blood - usually more than is actually available. Don't stop helping out just because the system that's in place sucks (easy for me to say, since that at least is handled much better over here in Belgium :^: ). Donating blood saves lives.
I used to donate plasma on a weekly basis when I was a student. More often than not, that meant apprentice doctors and nurses handling the needles to improve their skills. Usually they needed two or three attempts, and that some 50 times per year for 4 years. I am literally scarred for life (I've gotten funny looks from most doctors I've visited since because of the needlemarks in my arms ). Yes, it can be a little unsettling. That nurse wheedling the needle about in your arm, that's definitely not on. Still, it's a small price to pay IMO. MulysaSempronius' advice may be best: just look away until the needle's in (though personally I would really prefer watching). One thing to keep in mind: it's perfectly ok to say so when something makes you feel (more) uncomfortable. If you don't want them digging around in your arm with a needle, just tell them that.
Don't feel bad about not being able to donate blood. Blood Banks sell your donated blood to hospitals at an extraordinary profit.
You can always donate straight to your local hospital (if it is decent sized) rather than through a blood bank if you want to avoid that situation.
Sorry, I don't really have any real advice for the OP. I have never been comfortable with needles and have always been able to feel them move inside my arm. But they don't bother me as much now, so I guess it is possible to get used to that sensation.
Kistra on
Animal Crossing: City Folk Lissa in Filmore 3179-9580-0076
Posts
The only thing I've found to work is to look completly away from the needle, I don't even watch them take it out the box. Then it's just a matter of forcing your mind to go to a "happy place" ond focus on that with all your mental might. By the time you've done this the experience is usually over.
Also I'm not sure what to tell you about the bone marrow thing, I'm not going to try and talk you out of it because if you do it you are a hero, but it is not on the same level as giving blood. Having bone marrow extracted is incredibly painful (I'm told, I'm no where near brave enough to do it myself), so if you're having any problems with needles at all it's probably not a good idea.
At any rate, you're under local anesthesia when they extract it.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
My lifetime of bad veins has habituated me to such things. My trick is to never look at my arm or the needle. I always take slow, deep breaths and look anywhere else. I often even look away from the nurse. I've gotten positively apologetic, especially since my one halfway decent vein got pretty much destroyed last year.
I will never be easy around needles. When I was young, they had to hold me down to get blood samples. Now that I am an adult, I just man-up and realize that it is important, and the pain will only last so long. There isn't a level of comfort- I just make myself get far enough along the process that backing out would be nearly impossible unless I went all childish-tantrumy. Then I get very detached and just get into a calm place.
I feel really bad that I don't give blood. The first three times I went to blood drives, they couldn't get a vein. Fourth time, they found one but couldn't fill a bag (I was told it was pretty much worthless.) I was told in so many words not to keep trying, as I probably never could give a complete donation.
Good luck in trying to start donating again. You can usually ask for a more experienced nurse, explaining your nervousness- they tend to be sympathetic. And drink plenty of water beforehand.
I used to donate plasma on a weekly basis when I was a student. More often than not, that meant apprentice doctors and nurses handling the needles to improve their skills. Usually they needed two or three attempts, and that some 50 times per year for 4 years. I am literally scarred for life (I've gotten funny looks from most doctors I've visited since because of the needlemarks in my arms
You can always donate straight to your local hospital (if it is decent sized) rather than through a blood bank if you want to avoid that situation.
Sorry, I don't really have any real advice for the OP. I have never been comfortable with needles and have always been able to feel them move inside my arm. But they don't bother me as much now, so I guess it is possible to get used to that sensation.