Lab Blood work Safety Concern this AM-Please talk me down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to get some help for your health anxiety. I'm not being snarky, I'm being honest.

+1, also no snark, only empathy. As we get older, we tend to need more screening and health intervention, so this is a problem that will only become more burdensome with time if you don't get a handle on it now. It is completely normal to experience some amount of anxiety around something like getting lab work done, but catastrophizing about imagined used needles is outside the realm of normal and will not lead you anywhere good.

Talking to a mental health professional could offer you some tools to help you in the future, too. If something like this were to happen in the future, knowing how to calm your anxiety so that you are in charge instead of the anxious thoughts would help you to stop and ask a question in the moment, rather than allowing the fear to build and making yourself a passenger for the anxiety as it takes off.

It's just no way to live. And I've been there.

Stop being dismissive. This is why many of us struggle to get real diagnosis as doctors and others dismiss serious issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to get some help for your health anxiety. I'm not being snarky, I'm being honest.

So much this. You do not have to live this way, OP.

[Anonymous]

For Op: I used to have bad health anxiety- I worked very hard to overcome it and a lot of it had to do with getting a PCP who actually listened to me and talked to me like a human. Many years ago- maybe 10 or 11- I was at the ER with very bad norovirus. The nurse came to take my blood and on her way over to me she dropped the needle on the floor of the er and proceeded to pick it up and use it to draw my blood. I have no idea if it was capped or not. It all happened so fast and I was so weak from being sick I did not speak up. This hospital has since had major lawsuits and medical malpractice issues. However - my point is, thankfully I am totally fine. But, I was where you are right now and realized it was a legitimate concern but I could not let it eat me up. I invested in some self help books and online support forums. It might be helpful f this is a recurring issue for you. If this was a one time thing I would call and ask.

[Anonymous]

It was not a used needle. You're fine.

[Anonymous]

I’m a hematology patient and some of the phlebotomist are so fast I can barely see their movements. I I am in and out and under a minute most times.

[Anonymous]

Get mental help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For Op: I used to have bad health anxiety- I worked very hard to overcome it and a lot of it had to do with getting a PCP who actually listened to me and talked to me like a human. Many years ago- maybe 10 or 11- I was at the ER with very bad norovirus. The nurse came to take my blood and on her way over to me she dropped the needle on the floor of the er and proceeded to pick it up and use it to draw my blood. I have no idea if it was capped or not. It all happened so fast and I was so weak from being sick I did not speak up. This hospital has since had major lawsuits and medical malpractice issues. However - my point is, thankfully I am totally fine. But, I was where you are right now and realized it was a legitimate concern but I could not let it eat me up. I invested in some self help books and online support forums. It might be helpful f this is a recurring issue for you. If this was a one time thing I would call and ask.

If it wasn't capped the needle would have bent and been unusable. Second, nurses aren't wandering around the room with uncapped needles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Op: I used to have bad health anxiety- I worked very hard to overcome it and a lot of it had to do with getting a PCP who actually listened to me and talked to me like a human. Many years ago- maybe 10 or 11- I was at the ER with very bad norovirus. The nurse came to take my blood and on her way over to me she dropped the needle on the floor of the er and proceeded to pick it up and use it to draw my blood. I have no idea if it was capped or not. It all happened so fast and I was so weak from being sick I did not speak up. This hospital has since had major lawsuits and medical malpractice issues. However - my point is, thankfully I am totally fine. But, I was where you are right now and realized it was a legitimate concern but I could not let it eat me up. I invested in some self help books and online support forums. It might be helpful f this is a recurring issue for you. If this was a one time thing I would call and ask.

If it wasn't capped the needle would have bent and been unusable. Second, nurses aren't wandering around the room with uncapped needles.

Yes- this is the kind of reasoning that helps overcome health anxiety. Whether it is through therapy or self help, there are options to overcome health anxiety and the intrusive thoughts that come with it.