I sturggle with needles of any kind and blood draws in particular. No one can even touch the front side of my elbow where they draw blood or I start cringing. Which is weird because I started ivs all the time at my old job. Although it took 2 years to learn it because it freaked me out so bad (I had to practice first with feeling the tourniquette, then looking at the needle and poking an orange, and I finally progressed to sticking a co-worker. Another co-worker had to force my hand to do it because I couldn't physically make it happen. I cried. He didn't. LOL!I had to keep sticking him every few days until I didn't cry anymore. He is my hero. Then I could move on to patients.). Acting like it is no big deal and that I'm relaxed with patients helped me. I think my respect of what it's like to have that fear also helped me to be a better "sticker." I respect what they are going through, and we'll get through it together. I'll do my best because I know it matters. Every time.

What has helped me some is vaccines with my kids. I have to act like it's no big deal even though my heart is racing and I start feeling a little dizzy. And I'm proud because my daughter doesn't seem to care about needles - when she was 3 she even had some blood drawn and she just watched them like it was the coolest thing ever. Didn't even flinch. I don't want to instill in her the fear I have. Ya know?

And when I have blood drawn now, I warn the tech about my fear. I don't look. I ask her to warn me when it's coming. And I practice forced relaxation breathing. And I know when the needle goes in, to blow out and concentrate on breathing in through my nose and blowing out through my mouth. It's the only way I get through it.

i had problems with it when i was prego too. that first big blood test they do where they take like 6 or 7 tubes, it killed me. i didn't throw up but my face went ghost white and i felt like i was going to throw up. you just can't take that much blood from a pregnant woman! when i was in the hospital getting ready to be induced the nurse came in to put the iv in my hand and i started panicking. she looked at me and said "you're about to give birth and you're more worried about this needle going in your hand?" i looked up at her and said "yes!" lol. 

I have never really bruised before with blood draws but this pregnancy I seem to bruise every time I get my blood drawn.  I don't know what the deal is.  When I get pregnant I usually have multiple draws because I've had hormone issues in the past that caused me to lose a pregnancy.  So far there is only one lab tech in my doctor's office that doesn't bruise me and it also doesn't hurt when she does it either.  I don't have a fear of needles but I'm not a fan of being stuck either.

I hate needles...  That was the worst part of having to go to the doctor while pregnant   By my third child, it was a little more bearable though I still close my eyes and flinch.

I hate getting my blood drawn, but by pregnancy #3, I was pretty good at just letting them do their thing, with no fuss from me! Actually, the IV during labor & delivery, to me, is worse than anything! I completely freak out about it every time. 

I'm the same way! Getting blood drawn sucks. I have really hard to find veins and I've always hated needles. When I got my blood draw when pregnant I almost fainted. I was sitting straight up in a chair and suddenly started breathing really fast and sweating a lot and said I had to lie down NOW. The nurse was a sub at that hospital or something so she was just learning her way around so she had no idea where to put me. She called for help and another nurse came in and flipped down this chair that conveniently reclined and gave her a look like she was an idiot-she'd sat me in the wrong chair-the one that's for family and friends of the patient, not the patient. They told me next time I have blood taken I'm supposed to ask for a smaller needle and to lie down right away. 

I don't mind getting my blood drawn.  I think if you don't look and don't move your arm, it's not so bad.

I LOVE getting my blood drawn - I think it's so cool! :)

I've never been pregnant and I don't want to find out which one I'd dislike less. I already hate getting blood drawn. I stop breathing involuntarily until they're done. When I attempted suicide, I had an IV in my HAND, which is full of BONES, and a tube in my elbow, just in case I needed "sedation." By the end of the day, that tube was filled with blood from my trying to take it out myself, and it was dislodged but still in my arm. It felt disgusting. It still makes me queasy and gives me the chills just thinking about it. A tattoo is NOTHING like getting blood drawn. I could easily get dozens more of those.

Nope, but I'm actually thinking about donating blood.

@Dreamware@xanga - Oh, I've definitely tried that. I don't look, I ask the person doing it to tell me before s/he starts and clearly announce when s/he's finished, because I do not want to see the needle or the blood. During this very episode that I wrote about, I didn't see anything, but it doesn't matter. Just being pricked, even when I see nothing, is enough to send me diving for the garbage can. I've ALWAYS been that way. I've never NOT thrown up when getting blood drawn, except for when I was in the hospital after I gave birth. They had to stick me a million times because I was dehydrated from labor. I started sobbing uncontrollably (between the hormones and not sleeping for 36+ hours, you would too), and they had to get a different nurse to do it. She was so fast that I didn't even realize she was done. I need someone like that every time.