Fainted during a blood draw
in Health ·
Why would someone dig up this thread after all these years if they weren't staring down a blood draw date? 🙂 Mine is coming up soon...
I’m not a coward, honestly, quite the opposite.
I’m not squeamish either, really not.
My blood work is always top-tier.
Blood pressure—systolic, diastolic—everything is perfect.
I don't even look at the needle or the blood itself.
It started back toward the end of middle school, nothing before that. The peak happened once when I was walking toward a nurse who needed to draw my blood... actually, it wasn't even that bad back then... Since then, I always warn the nurses that I might feel faint. I ask to lie down during or right after the draw, stay down for at least 15 minutes, grab a drink, and I usually handle it okay without passing out, even though the ringing in my ears and cold sweats show up or get pretty close. It's unpleasant. My biggest fear is trying to stand up—that total instability, weakness, lightheadedness... I hate that ringing in my ears; that's basically the final stage right before you black out.
It's obviously psychological, though I guess I can't totally rule out physical stuff.
The needle and my own blood are my weak spot; just thinking about it makes me uneasy. All those excuses people make about the smells in the hallways or the waiting rooms... that's just an excuse for some folks. It wouldn't help them even if they pumped pure oxygen from tanks through those halls; everything would still smell off to them because the time for their blood draw is looming... gross, why does it have to be my blood specifically? I also can't stand seeing blood; I don't like being around when they slaughter hogs at a fair, you know, watching the blood spray while the pig squeals loud enough to be heard in the next town over... I wonder if the cold sweat is actually cold or if it's all in my head. Some people just freeze up and the blood won't even leave the vein—tell me that isn't a horror story...
I feel like what one user suggested might actually help—getting some physical activity right before the blood draw. That would probably boost all the physical factors, plus mental alertness and energy.
But then again, maybe with my blood pressure spiked, it would all just rush out of me, or my pressure would just drop from an even higher point, so I guess that attempt is a bust... man, fear really doesn't care about logic.
I’m not a coward, honestly, quite the opposite.
I’m not squeamish either, really not.
My blood work is always top-tier.
Blood pressure—systolic, diastolic—everything is perfect.
I don't even look at the needle or the blood itself.
It started back toward the end of middle school, nothing before that. The peak happened once when I was walking toward a nurse who needed to draw my blood... actually, it wasn't even that bad back then... Since then, I always warn the nurses that I might feel faint. I ask to lie down during or right after the draw, stay down for at least 15 minutes, grab a drink, and I usually handle it okay without passing out, even though the ringing in my ears and cold sweats show up or get pretty close. It's unpleasant. My biggest fear is trying to stand up—that total instability, weakness, lightheadedness... I hate that ringing in my ears; that's basically the final stage right before you black out.
It's obviously psychological, though I guess I can't totally rule out physical stuff.
The needle and my own blood are my weak spot; just thinking about it makes me uneasy. All those excuses people make about the smells in the hallways or the waiting rooms... that's just an excuse for some folks. It wouldn't help them even if they pumped pure oxygen from tanks through those halls; everything would still smell off to them because the time for their blood draw is looming... gross, why does it have to be my blood specifically? I also can't stand seeing blood; I don't like being around when they slaughter hogs at a fair, you know, watching the blood spray while the pig squeals loud enough to be heard in the next town over... I wonder if the cold sweat is actually cold or if it's all in my head. Some people just freeze up and the blood won't even leave the vein—tell me that isn't a horror story...
I feel like what one user suggested might actually help—getting some physical activity right before the blood draw. That would probably boost all the physical factors, plus mental alertness and energy.
But then again, maybe with my blood pressure spiked, it would all just rush out of me, or my pressure would just drop from an even higher point, so I guess that attempt is a bust... man, fear really doesn't care about logic.