Posted by chdurie2 on October 28, 2000, at 0:12:46
In reply to Re: Phobias, posted by Cindy W on October 26, 2000, at 21:30:52
> > 1. Spiders & spider webs. Caused by growing up in the Arizona desert with black widow spiders. My job around the house was to go out after dark with a flashlight & flyswatter and kill every black widow. Now just touching a spider web unexpectedly makes me **JUMP**.
> >
> > This is an odd phobia. I am not afraid of spiders or their webs unless I am surprised by them. I can hold tarantulas if I pick them up. I just can't touch anything without control.
> >
> > 2. Things that go bump in the night when I am home alone. But I have no problem with rural camping & backpacking where I hear coyotes, mountain lions, squirrels, bears, etc. all night.
> >
> > Ted
>
> Coral, Laural, Shar, and Ted...I've always been terribly afraid of hypodermic needles, so can relate to what you've written (I have though become less afraid of spiders, since studying them and realizing I'm just another "surface" to them). Behavior therapy would probably be most helpful if you want to get rid of a phobia. I HATE going to the dentist or doctor, although I've finally learned to cope with blood tests without worrying for days in advance. When I had a breast biopsy this year, I insisted they use some stuff that completely anesthetized my breast locally, before they even gave me a local anesthetic, and I took Ativan to the point I was almost asleep, which helped. Consider behavior therapy (systematic desensitization); it has a good track record with phobias.Cindy W--As a former extreme needlephobic, let me tell you that there's nothing quite like having an illness where most of the things that help come only in syringes that you have to give yourself!
When I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 1994, my doctor said his office would teach me how to give myself shots. then, when he had a hard time keeping me still for his needle, he said he guessed his office couldn't teach me after all! (I have vivid memories as a kid of my pediatrician chasing me around his office to give me a shot!)
eighteen months after my cfs diagnosis, a cfs specialist told me most of the things that helped had to be self-injected daily (impractical to go to md that often.) i stared at her and asked how in the world could i do it. easy, she said.
disbelieving, i asked my pharmacist for help, then a diabetic i ran into. then, a boyfriend's daughter who is a nurse gave me very specific directions. the first time i winced even touching the needle to my skin. the next day i tried putting it in, but as i found out, the slower you go, the worse it is. my mother laughed, saying i must really have wanted to get well to overcome my needlephobia! (I did! A CFS friend, another needlephobic, has not gotten over her fear, and also has not gotten better.)
I knew I had really "graduated" when I could handle a 3-cc, 1.5 inch IM needle myself in my rear end!
Over the years, i've had thousands of needles, both self-administered and done by medical staffs.
but i was scared of a needle in my breast at my biopsy, even one filled with lidocaine. i made the doctor let me examine the needle to make sure it was as "baby-sized" as it was. although i still jumped, i found out it wasn't bad. and at my malignancy removals, i didn't even say boo.
but i did, however, draw the line, both at my tumor removals and another time with a cat scan, at a needle they wanted to give either in my wrist or hand. both areas are very sensitive, and i one had an iv in my hand/wrist, and it hurt a lot. the medical staff argued with me, saying they didn't see how i could hold my arm straight the whole time during my surgeries. I told them, "Try me. I'm a pro." they agreed, but only under the condition that if i bent my arm while asleep. they'd have to re-insert the iv in my hand/wrist. both times, when i woke up, the iv was still on the inside of my elbow as originally placed.
i have given myself 3-4 shots a day for the last five years; it's a chore that frequently makes bruise marks, but it's not painful.
cindy, i hope you're not grossed out by my account, but i had to smile at the description of your needlephobia. not a smile of superiority, but of recognition, of the days when "I remember when..."
caroline
poster:chdurie2
thread:1623
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001011/msgs/1746.html