Support and good vibes, please
 

Today I'm giving platelets for the first time.

I feel good about this. I also have been scared of needles (awareness/facing another fear) and would like to get through this easily today. I'm hydrating. Before my appointment I'm going to an Al-Anon meeting and have pad Thai for lunch at a favorite restaurant that has amazing staff. I plan to be well nourished and give these platelets with love, if that makes any sense! :)

Support and good vibes needed!! I'm going to act "as if" I am brave and can do this. Other people do. I can, too. I hope.

:You_Rock_

Best of luck! All is well 😉

Thank you. Things didn't go as planned. I called the toll free number to set up a platelet donation appointment and the center I was scheduled at only does whole blood donations.

I faced some of my fears, paperwork is now done, I did the finger stick test and have an idea of what to expect.

I have the blood donor app and am making plans for a platelet donation soon. Big changes for me in changing how I see and respond to having my blood taken. :D

:grouphug:

Wishing you the best! (However it turns out.)

Thank you. I really appreciate the support and good wishes. :)

My reactions to what little I did today are abnormal. It's good to be aware of this and have this goal of donating platelets!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_needles

From this Wikipedia info, I relate strongly to the first three of the four types of fears of needles listed.

A thread that's helping, from a Google search :) :
this fear I need to get over-needle

Mango....LOL...over the years, I have helped lots of people...and, lots of lttle kids, too....who have fears of needles....to get through this experience....

One good method is this....when the technician starts to begin...do this...
1. turn your head away, and close your eyes....
2 then...hold your breath....
3. then.....begin to count (out loud or to yourself)...from one to one hundred. See how far you can count....

The reasons that this works so well is this....It is hard to keep more than one thought in your mind simultaneously.....
Thus, the strong focus that it takes, for you to hold your breath and count. at the same time....make it impossible for you to react to the fear, also..!

Here are two silver linings....The technicians who work in these centers are very expert at getting the needle into the vein...they are quick and sure....
And, the actual "stick" takes only seconds!
I think that you will do this with flying colors! ...especially if you did the finger stick so easily! (the needle stick is actually less painful than the finger stick---who knew?)…..

Thanks, dandy!

I did those things for the finger stick. The pain I can deal with, there's something about the whole thing that basically freaks me out. I calmed myself down through it and then proceeded to have a reaction for a long time after leaving the center. I'm on the tail end of it now. Totally irrational. Absolutely real. Good to be working through. :) :)

Here is another little trick I was taught by a chiropractor... because I had abject fear about having my neck adjusted and would get too tense to be worked on.. he would have me wiggle my toes.. I couldn't concentrate on my neck while I was wiggling my toes.. he'd adjust my neck, I then could again move my head and shoulder, and my headaches would be gone...

Wiggle those toes!

Mango...sorry! I thought you were afraid of needles...I didn't know you were talking about your after-reaction...
Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone through that excessively long instruction...!...lol...

It's the needles. The situation. Mostly the needles. Thank you for the step by step info, dandylion. I welcome it! It's great to see I'm taking good actions that are helping. "The whole thing" is being stuck by a needle. I keep it together on the outside, yet my insides were telling me loud and clear that it was not okay. Honoring feelings, allowing awareness, moving forward.

SmallButMighty, thanks!! Wiggling toes. Check!

Good for you!

Mango.....Do you think, that, perhaps, being"stuck by a needle"....might represent having your body (self) invaded...and, feeling unable to have control over that.....?? perhaps triggering some sort of mild disassociation reaction...?
I'm spitballing, here......

If you're a person who has been pregnant before, you might not be able to do a platelet donation. People who have been pregnant can have HLA antibodies that can cause complications to the receiver of a donation. I know when I wanted to donate platelets, they wouldn't take mine because of my pregnancies - the testing for HLA at the time was cost-prohibitive, so in my area they only take platelet donors who are female with no pregnancy history or male. I just donate whole blood.

I have 2 of those Mango, if you have the vasovega SP? clenching your toes (like making a fist but with your toes) really helps, and a little trick I learned was to put a little vapor-rub under my nose right before its very soothing and helps calm me. I passed out once in the waiting room before getting a shot while sitting in a chair, just the thought of it. As I have gotten older I have been able to control it much better with little tricks just to help refocus my brain (anxiety) - but I don't know if it works on the other ones.

:deeWhat dawnrising mentions...the vasovagal reflex....my brother-in-law, and one of my daughter's boyfriends, had it.....my brother-in-law and daughter's boyfriend would have it whenever they caught a glimpse of their own blood....
Interestingly, they were both in professions that involved seeing other persons blood...a lot....
My brother-in-law is a dentist...and, my daughter's old boyfriend is a police detective, in a large city (lots of shootings)….
LOL....

Thank you for the support!!

Multiple pregnancies are no longer excluded. Blood testing for HLA and also many dna factors are routine. :)

It's more than 3 hours driving to my nearest platelet donation center. I had another appointment set for today. Due to a problem with one of the machines, it was cancelled. One day at a time. I trust in good timing and things working out.

https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate...-donation.html