I got my bloodwork done this morning. I usually watch to make sure they use a new needle but I forgot to watch this morning. Now I am worried they reused a needle and I will get HIV. 😔. I hate myself for not watching.
Don't hate yourself. Celebrate the fact that you forgot. In that moment of "forgetting" your mind behaved rationally in not creating a highly improbable threat.
@BrownBunE That’s actually a very good way to look at it. Thank you for that.
Thank you so much for giving an alternate way to look at it.
@Catlove9 Your OCD may not let you believe it but act in a way that you are celebrating to reinforce the idea. Tell people who know of your struggle and will feel happy for you, get yourself a treat or throw yourself a party do something that makes you feel good and chalk it up to the fact that you didnt look.
@BrownBunE That is such a good idea! And you’re right! For once I was just in the moment with my OCD keeping me “safe.”
Personally I get blood drawn regularly for different reasons and I make a point not to watch the needle insertion . Whenever possible I request the same phlebotomist each time whom has a excellent work ethic .
@777Q The place I go only has one lady but it’s the same one every time.
@Catlove9 That is good it shows continuity. It is more relaxing to focus on a painting on the wall or a pleasant thought than watching a needle go in me . A fresh needle goes in a patient each time whether they are watched or not , too much liability if they didn’t.
@777Q That’s a good point! Thank you!
I will share this further with you. Over many years of blood tests I have had only two negative experiences neither had to do with a used needle . 1- someone inexperienced had a hard time finding appropriate place of exactly where to stick the needle. 2 - another person very experienced with their job had a very condescending personality towards the interaction.
@777Q Oh yah. I had a few bad experiences myself. One time they stuck me so hard that blood just spouted out of me. It was horrifying!
@Catlove9 It is interesting that you mentioned that , the first experience with the person being inexperienced that is what also happened to me , blood splatter everywhere, LOL !
@777Q It was so awful! And then she blamed me for it! And I was just sitting there!
Omg i had the exact same problem recently and It is too hard to not think about that but really the possibilities are almost 0% (I calculated it while ruminating) you really don’t need to worry ❤️ you are not alone I know the struggle if you ever need to talk I’m here for you my dms are open!
@blp99 Thank you so much! The thought hit me like a ton of bricks when I walked out of Labcorp.
I was trying to put a bag of screwdrivers away and one of them got caught into my finger and left a small puncture. I was bleeding a bit but I applied pressure, the bleeding stopped, and then I put a bandage on. Then I got worries about tetanus and I saw that this is a pretty fatal infection that could possibly happen and it makes me want to visit an urgent care tomorrow for a tetanus shot. It's only a small little puncture wound, but I've took about 5 minutes to wash it with soap and water and then put a bandage on it. Should I still be worried about this?
A few days ago, I posted how proud I am of myself, that I managed to go to the doctor to get a vaccination. Now, two days later, I find myself panicking and ruminating. It was a practice where they also test a lot for HIV and other blood diseases and in my mind, the needle/syringe they used for my vaccination was somehow contaminated with blood from another patient. Maybe by accident but sometimes my mind would make up a scenario where they would do it even on purpose. I was so proud of myself, that I managed to go there on Monday and now I am making up scenarios how I caught HIV by going there - I am feeling guilty because I was „careless“. Any tips for the moment? ❤️
2 days ago I decided that I will do my bloodtest, last time i was in 2017 and for some reason when i stood up I started to feel dizzy and I couldnt see anything, I didnt fainted but i was close to it,the nurses quickly layed me down, and then i was fine, but the whole day my body was shaking. I was afraid of blood test, and i always avoided it, but my health anxiety got worse cause i was afraid everytime that i have cancer but i cant check it cause im afraid of bloodtests. This year i had to do other medical tests and now they asked me to do bloodtest too, and 2 days ago i said okay this week i will face this fear. And i felt excitet, motivated and happy that finally i will face my fear. I did not cared if i faint cause it might not happen but if does I can handle it, i will feel good after i wake up. But someone after some hours, the fears came up, and i wanted to face them (cause people say you need to challenge the thoughts) so i tried to challenge them and find ways that i will handle those scenarios, but after time i got stressed cause i didnt know how to respond. If i faint and then vomit and feel sick and vomit alot of times cause im also panicking to the point they have to take me to the hospital... this jist scared me. I dont know how to handle that panic. The body will react to the blooddrown so either way i will feel bad. And im afraid of it and I cant deal with that fear.I dont know what to do if i will feel sick the whole day, if i will vomit the whole day and faint because of stress. This might be catastrophising but now these thoughts comes up, if i imagine myself being there and getting my blood drawned, i imediatelly feel the panic and these scenarios come up and then i dont know what to do so i just panic... Last night i asked help from others and it helped that some said that its pretty rare that you will vomit after blooddrawn, people who do are sick already or they are really scared. And this made me feel good but then i read about it and i found out that its pretty common that people faint, or vomit or fo both after blooddrawn... and now im just thinking about not going... i cant deal with it cause idk what to do. Breathing techniques didnt worked for me, if im panicking and i try to relax by breathing, i get more stressed cause my brain knows i do it to calm down and the panic is a danger so i get more panic... idk what to do.
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