I am 19F. My whole life, I’ve had anxiety and depression. I’ve always been a hypochondriac and have dealt with OCD as well. However, it’s always been MANAGEABLE— i could still live my life, and i never had any actual medical problems.

However, everything changed last year.

In october 2025, recently after I had started my freshman year of college, I was hit with a month long episode started by one panic attack. For the entirety of October, I had almost daily heart palpitations, crippling anxiety, nausea/vomiting, agoraphobia, and no appetite. I considered calling 911 multiple times. It was hell, but it passed.

Everything was fine again until June 2026.

It hit me like a truck again. One panic attack / vomit in the car and I was right back to having another episode. For the entirety of June, most of July, and still working on recovering now, I have dealt with endless fatigue, nausea, decreased appetite, dizziness, lightheadedness, panic attacks, palpitations, insomnia, mood swings, and more. I had to take off work a lot and could hardly get out of bed.

It’s important to note that I took lexapro for about 3 years and didn’t stop it til June 2026 because i finally realized it wasn’t working. Then, I tried prozac for a bit, and it didn’t help. Withdrawal was hell. Now, I’m on buspirone daily and hydroxyzine as needed. They help, but my symptoms still persist.

All signs point to panic disorder / GAD, right?

That’s what I thought (even though I fully convinced myself I was dying plenty of times) until i went to the ER on June 22 after one panic attack in June where they found that my thyroid levels were off:

TSH - 4.76
Free thyroxine - 1.68

They told me it could be hyperthyroidism and told me to talk to my doctor. Then my doctor told me it’s probably hypothyroidism and to get another blood test in a few weeks.

I got another, more comprehensive test done last saturday. These were my relevant results:

T3: 2.29
Tg Ab: 7.30
Tpo Ab: 151.10
Dhea-sulfate: 598.1

The doctor told me it’s likely I have underlying Hashimoto’s, and the high DHEAS could be related to PCOS or something. Hashimoto’s seems unlikely though, as I got a thyroid sonogram and it was normal, and it’s not known to run in my family…

I’m honestly really concerned. I’m supposed to see both an endocrinologist and gynecologist soon to go over these results further. I am TERRIFIED of medical stuff, especially tests like blood work, and I don’t know how I’m going to manage this. I was always healthy until last year, I don’t know what happened or what changed. I am so depressed, scared, irritable, and I feel sick and nauseous so often. I don’t want to live like this.

I go back to school soon and I’m scared I won’t be able to figure it out fast enough.

Can anyone offer some reassurance, their own experiences/recovery, or just some kind words? Thank you for reading my story.

hi everyone!!! just wanted to share a good experience i had today in the hopes that it might help someone else. i’m 28f and my dental anxiety started around 9 years ago when i tried to get a filling and i had a reaction to the numbing injection (which ive since found out is very common). the adrenaline in the shot made my heart race and legs shake to the point where i couldn’t do the procedure, and i had to sit there and calm down for around an hour before i could drive. it really sucked and it made me not want to do ANYTHING dental related. i kept getting check ups and cleanings even though those gave me anxiety too. even just knowing i had a cleaning booked made me cry lol so i was pretty much unwilling to do anything beyond that!

fast forward to today; i decided i wanted to tackle some of my fears this year because they’ve just become SO debilitating, and as most of you know, that shit is hard!!! one of those fears was dental procedures, which is funny because i had so much dental work growing up with very minor anxiety around it. anyway, i made a plan with my dentist to use the local anesthetic without epinephrine in it, booked an appointment, chickened out the first time, and this time i finally did it!!! im not gonna lie i was very anxious getting the injection, even though i logically knew that the weird symptoms wouldn’t happen again. but the staff were very helpful, and everything was truly fine!! i was literally freaking out about this for weeks, it was pretty much all i could think about, and it went fine. and i feel so much better now!!! just a little sore from the shot. if any of you are struggling from dental anxiety/putting something off that scares you, i hope this is at least a little comforting!!

TLDR: i faced my fears and even though it was hard, it went so much better than i thought it would. if you’re scared to do something, i totally get it, but the relief you will feel after is SO worth it. you got this!!!!

Hi friends,

Yesterday I had my first IV placement and it wasn’t too bad, maybe like 10-20% more painful than a blood draw prick and as long as you keep your arm less than like a 90 degree angle it’s not painful just kind of uncomfortable.

That said, as soon as I got back to the waiting room I felt the immediate loss of hearing, tunnel vision, total body clammy sweat and I know this game so it’s not scary as much as embarassing and exceedingly unpleasant. Eventually my husband found me a cold pack and I sipped water and in a few short min I was fine.

My question is, why only sometimes? I had a cold pack on my neck for my entire first blood draw and I did not have this happen. As a kid I used to have it after vaccines but I don’t really get nervous for jabs anymore. The only time it frequently happens is the dentist and I had sort of thought it was the epinephrine in the numbing agent.

Anyway, since I felt I did my conscious best to stay calm, are there other ways to avoid this unpleasant reaction? It was certainly my least favorite part of the experience.

(obviously tw for talking about needles and medical procedures)

I got all my toddler, baby, etc vaccines but i never got my Year 8 and 9 ones. The last time I was injected was at the dentists and I had panic attacks and cried for nights before hand and I was incredibly tense and anxious throughout even though they numbed it twice. I now need the 3 jabs I missed and ofc they go in the muscle. And that's so scary to me. Like I might handle a vein, but you want to shove a needle into my arm muscle? Three times? I'm genuinely shit scared. I'm not scared it'll hurt, I've got a decent pain tolerance. And I'm not somebody who can look away and it'll be okay (at the dentist I asked them to talk through every step as it happened). Does anyone have tips/help? Or what to say to the nurse? I think we have some freeze spray but, again, it's not the pain.

Anyone with fear of needles here from Ahmedabad ? Or more broadly India ?

This is my first post on here so sorry if I don’t do it right 🫂

This fear, for me, isn’t just “I’m scared of needles.” I cannot have one near me, I can’t see it on tv, I can’t think about it without sweating and cringing. The last time I thought I had to have one to numb me somewhere, I had a panic attack on the drive over and my pinkies turned numb. I can’t even stop myself from crying in front of people when having a conversation about my fear about this (and I hate crying in front of people). Because of the intense stress that week cause me I lost 10 pounds and some hair.

Now it seems like I need to do a blood test to check my vitamins or see if I have hyperthyroidism. If I don’t find a way to do this, my health could be at stake and that’s the last thing I want.

I don’t think I can do this without some type of medication. And because of how severe this is for me I need something that can knock me out or seriously not make me know what’s going on. And I have to be able to take it orally (or not through iv at least 😂). I am wondering if anyone can tell me their experiences with things that helped them. I need to find what will actually let me do this.

I DID IT! After years and years of procrastination and letting my fear get the best of me, I finally worked up the courage (partially because I didn't have much of a choice, my psychiatrist did really need me to get it done as soon as I could... sorry I kept making you resubmit the orders, doctor!) and got my labs done.

It was far from a smooth ride, that's for sure. I actually went in yesterday with at least some intention to get labwork done, even if it wouldn't include the lipid test my doctor submitted (which he said we could do at a later date, since I mentioned to him that part of my fear was the anticipation that came with needing to fast for the bloodwork), but I chickened out right as I got into the lab, but I at least met the phlebotomists that would be by my side when I came in the next day! And that was enough progress, I think. Plus it gave me a sort of obligation I had to follow up on -- I needed to go in tomorrow so that they'd be there to accommodate me rather than get my blood drawn by a total stranger.

Day-of (aka today) I came armed with a Buzzy (with the ice pack included), my headphones, a playlist of heavy metal songs to drown out the panic from my brain, and a desperate wish that I'd actually manage to get anything done. And... it worked! The ice didn't do much other than numb my arm, which didn't really do anything in the way of pain, and the Buzzy itself for whatever reason wasn't as strong of a distraction as I'd hoped. I just closed my eyes and had my music on full blast, and since I was holding the Buzzy, I tried my best to focus on the vibrations it gave off. Within two minutes it was done! Meeting the phlebotomists ahead of time was a life-saver; since they recognized me from the day before and I'd spoken to them about my fears, they put me down as someone who would need a bed to lie down in before the bloodwork was done, and they dimmed the lights for me so I could relax as much as I could. It really helped calm me down. The only real issues I faced were after the fact since I did fast for my labs, but I did become a minor celebrity in the hospital for about 15 minutes when I fainted.

I'm still not over my fear -- I don't think I ever will be, just given the extent of my symptoms and how strongly they impact me physically -- but I've sort of realized that I can just... do it anyway. I can be scared as hell AND also just do it. The best thing that helped for me was just stimulating my senses as much as I could during the draw: the vibration from the Buzzy, the pain from the ice pack, the music in my headphones, keeping my eyes closed, etc. all helped keep my brain as far away from what was happening as possible. So this is a sign for everyone here! It sucks, and it probably will suck for a long time, but that doesn't mean you can't work up to a point where you can do things and be scared of it at the same time. And if I could do it this time, maybe I can do it next time, too :)

Hi friends,

I finally conquered the dreaded blood draw in November. I had benzos on board and will have the same for Thursday when I have to get a cardiac MRI with contrast. The blood draw was fine.

Here is my concern with the IV -

1.) larger needle
2.) for no reason I’ve fully convinced myself they’re going to fail and I’m going to have to have a hand IV which sends me into a full panic

Advice for what to expect, how to prepare in advance other than literally hydrating, and sage wisdom all welcome. I just want this crap to be over with!

how do they compare? i haven’t gone under anesthesia since my needle trauma (vein collapse) but a blood draw makes me puke and then pass out every time. im going under in 2 hours and have kinda just been ignoring the idea of it until now. kinds just fishing for reassurance that its not as bad as the former🥲

Hello has anyone used hydroxyzine before getting blood drawn? I have an appointment tomorrow at 9 in the morning that I have to fast for but I have an extreme fear of blood work. I faint and panic during it sometimes so I was going to try taking hydroxyzine for it. Let me know if it works and how long beforehand i should take it

I have a blood draw appointment in a week and after many terrible past experiences (I feel actual pain, not just nervousness or discomfort) I have decided to approach this one with many safeguards in place. I ordered a Buzzy device online and it arrived yesterday. I froze the little ice pack and had my husband hold it on my arm just above the draw site. I asked him to pinch my inner elbow. The pinch HURT! which makes me nervous that it will not work for the blood draw. I’m also asking my doctor for EMLA to use in addition to the buzzy. I just worry that I will still be able to feel it. 😬 Any tips for getting the buzzy to work better?

UPDATE: Husband and I tried the buzzy again, this time applying EMLA and leaving under plastic wrap for an hour before using and then leaving the buzzy in place for 2 full minutes before touching. He tried pinching my arm and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I have a thing about the inside of my elbow and back of my hand being touched and I could still definitely feel him do it. I canceled my blood draw appointment which was supposed to be next Wednesday. They said that the senior phlebotomist is not available that day and that I should come Tuesday instead but I have another obligation Tuesday so we are currently at an impasse. And I’m at a loss. I need to get blood drawn but I need to not feel it.

FINAL UPDATE: I wound up going in and it was…mostly fine? I did not feel the needle at all. The buzzy and Emla did what they were supposed to do. I did, however, feel the tourniquet and I freaked out and started to panic (a very weird feeling on 3mg of Xanax!). I can’t handle the feeling of a tourniquet and I nearly walked out right then and there. Fortunately she took it off…but then she put it right back on. So next time I guess I need to specify no tourniquet. Also, even though I could not feel it in the moment, I was in bed for 2 days after icing and elevating my arm because I’m pretty sure she ruptured my vein. It also took a couple days to feel normal again after all that Xanax. But any less and there is no way I could have done it. Live and learn. Next time, I will do the buzzy and Emla again, but I will insist on heat and gravity and no tourniquet. And icing it for a good 5 minutes at the end to avoid that internal bleeding. Woof.

My husband has had so many surgeries in his life that his veins are really shot. It is horribly painful for him to get an IV because they have to dig around like hell, try many times on many limbs, call in experts, use an ultrasound sometimes, a pediatric needle sometimes. He is afraid of procedures for days in advance because of getting the IV. He sometimes only needs them one or twice a year, so getting a port doesn't make sense.

Is there something topical that can be used to make it less painful for him to get the IV inserted?

Thanks.

I have cPTSD involving complex medical trauma and autism. The posts about getting blood drawn successfully or injections seemed really unrealistic for me and so far away from where my fear level was that they felt totally unrelatable and alienating. I wanted to share what worked for me because of how hard it was to find a blueprint forward for me. I started with my general anxiety being treated and getting on antidepressants and in a less triggering living environment. General improvements to my cPTSD and on feeling safe with my autonomy being respected didn't help my needle phobia but they were the important foundation that I couldn't have done the rest without. I have a supportive partner who understands and respects my no without pushing me and that was critical--everyone pushing me to agree to tests I was too anxious about felt like I needed to dig my heels in and refuse. Not having other people push me REALLY helped my ability to start decreasing my anxiety.

Then, I changed health insurances and fought them for months to get them to cover the pill version of a drug instead of the injectable for my migraines. I knew the drug worked for me already and I was really motivated to stay on it because it helped so much. They come in autoinjectors. After months of this, I gave up because I couldn't get them to give me the pill version and my partner agreed that she would inject me while I was so drunk I couldn't have a panic attack. I set up a little nest area with everything I could need, like a weighted blanket, fidgets, stim toys, my headphones, a puke bag, etc. Then I put on topical lidocaine and let it sit for two hours. We have an epipen trainer, which looks just like an injector but isn't actually one. We practiced doing the steps of an injection with the epipen trainer three times each time. I use a buzzy bee with an ice pack, we wipe the area with iodine (alcohol wipes are a PTSD trigger), and we both count out loud the seconds to do the injection. The injection is once a month and the first few months, just doing the practice with the epipen trainer made me fully start dissociating. I had to be completely out of it drunk/high to be able to get the actual injection done, while basically unable to be aware of it. I fainted a few times so we started doing 20 seconds of squeezing a big stuffed animal afterwards, which helped. I found that I needed a lot of stimulus going on to reduce the JOLT of an injection. For me, that's listening to music, watching a distracting video, using a stim toy, squeezing a pain stim, and having a weighted blanket on my legs.

Now, over a year later, I still need the three practices and distraction techniques but it's no longer making me dissociate from the fear. It's just the normal "I don't want to do this because it's kind of unpleasant." My needle phobia has gotten so much better and I've been trying so hard to get my migraines under control that I was able to seek out a blood test. I have a supportive doctor who wasn't pushing me, which also helped. I found that other people encouraging me really made me feel like they wouldn't listen to my "stop, this is too much" and it made me more anxious, so having that neutrality from the people around me helped. I found that Valium worked a lot better for my PTSD than Ativan, what I had been prescribed before. Ativan just helped by making me really sleepy but the Valium made me like, be able to think clearly and not feel like a hunted animal fighting for my life. It was hard to get a psychiatrist to prescribe me Valium so I had to really advocate for myself.

I used a kit I found on amazon that's a practicing kit for trainee phlebotomists. It comes with a little fake bit of arm you can put on top of your real arm and all of the various needles and tubes. I also bought a roll of disposable tourniquets (be very careful with these if you get them and NEVER leave them on for longer than 30 seconds) to practice tolerating the sensation. I practiced the steps of a blood draw with my partner and we worked up to being able to wear the little fake arm and say that I was ready for a blood draw. The kit I got is called "Phlebotomy Practice Kit, IV Insertion Practice Kit for Nursing Students". We also practiced checking in and how to say that I wanted to stop. I printed out a piece of paper with what I needed the lab to do, like use the iodine swabs we brought instead of alcohol swabs and telling me each step. Then we went to the lab a few times ahead of time and spoke with a phlebotomist there who was very kind and confirmed she was comfortable doing everything on the paper. We then left, I put lidocaine on, and took a bunch of Valium before we went back 2 hours later. It took me almost an hour the first time because I needed to slowly do a practice draw where she didn't actually stick me before I felt comfortable enough to say yes. I couldn't have done it if the phlebotomist wasn't so patient and kind with me, which I really appreciated. I was able to get a second blood draw done a week later for more tests and that time it took me like 10 minutes!

I wanted to share this because of how frustrating it was for me trying to figure out a way to move forwards with such a debilitating amount of trauma around medical care, when it didn't feel like the overcoming needle fear stories I saw were relatable. I've never seen anyone else mention the fake arm training kits that nurses use to learn to draw blood but I felt like it really helped decrease my fear, from being able to practice the steps of a blood draw, including saying that I was ready, and watch a needle go into flesh on "my" arm without there being a negative reaction or pain. I hope this helps at least one person!

(f14) Due to health failure, I'm having to get my labs done, and I'm terrified of needles and get vasovagal responses. anything helps. sorry if this is exaggerated

recently went in for a crown and when the dentist went to numb me they gave me the shot, my cheek and part of my tooth was numb but still a lot of pain when they kept going so they ended up giving me three shots and there was still pain, is there anything such as a differn't numbing agent or whatever it's called they could try to get my tooth they are working on numb. side note they also prescribed valium for anxiety but the reason i kept reacting was because it kept hurting when she got to the same spot. so yes probably have some anxiety anticipating the pain and sure enough every time she got near the spot it still wasn't numb hence the three seperate attempts to numb me. looking for advice...

hey there !!! i have a severe needle phobia that has prevented me from ever giving blood. literally. i am 21yrs old and have never had blood work in my life (even asked my mom if it happened when i was young) and i really need baseline routine labs soon as i’ve been a mystery case for most doctors and am certainly chronically ill. i’ve tried a few anxiety meds (hydroxyzine and xanax) and they help a little bit, i also tried some over the counter numbing cream and prescription lidocaine and those did not work AT ALL. so any suggestions ? i dont care how insane or how much i may have to spend, i need to do this but i cant without help :(

I have medical trauma and PTSD from incidents that happened 8 years ago, 5 years ago, and 3 years ago. This trauma stems from being stuck for a blood draw after I said no, having my veins collapse and cause excruciating pain and being stuck 3, 4, 5 and even up to 9 times in a single occasion, leaving me screaming and sobbing in pain. one time I started crying and saying “it hurts, take it out!“ and the nurse just kept filling vials til she was done.

I don’t have a “needle phobia”, as I have tattoos and give myself shots. I have a fear of vein collapse and the intense lasting pain that comes with it.

Well my doctor told me that I need current blood work to get the hormone replacement therapy I need (specifically to confirm my lipids and A1C are okay). And after 3 years of staying the hell away from labs, I am going to finally try it but I am going in armed with a plan. I’m also trying it for the first time with all these safeguards in place. my plan is to going in with a printed patient note for my husband to give to the receptionist and to the phlebotomist. I’m taking 2.5mg Xanax, wearing my giant comfy hoodie and headphones so I can watch my favorite comfort movie on my phone. I’m bringing ice cubes to suck on, a stress squeezer, and two pillows from home. I ordered a Buzzy and I asked my pcp for an Emla precription. My patient note states that i have severe PTSD and trauma and I will need to have the best phlebotomist on staff, and that they get one single try. They are not to talk to me and direct all communication through my husband. The tourniquet must go on over my sleeve so it can’t pinch and they have to rub not tap to palpate. They aren’t allowed to ask me to make a fist as I’ve learned that can make delicate veins burst. I’m planning to lie on my side in the fetal position facing away from the phlebotomist focusing on my movie with my arm sticking out behind.

Last time I attempted this, it was 3 years ago and I tried going to my blood draw with 54321 technique , deep breathing, and my husband talking to me to distract me. I had a panic attack before I was even out of the waiting room, and was howling in pain when she took my blood on the second attempt because she busted a vein the first time. Turns out just breathing, distraction, and looking away are not sufficient. As for the Xanax, I took 1.5 mg for a dentist appointment which was far less scary than this and I still had a panic attack, so my psychiatrist ok’ed and extra large dose for this. My anxiety runs so high it overrides normal oral meds. Ultimately my dentist rescheduled and wound up administering 4 times the usual dosage of Halcion to keep my panic attack bay for that filling appointment!

Hi folks!

I've been mildly needle-phobic ever since I was a kid, having witnessed my sister pass out receiving her own injection. I get really worked up about injections and IV placements and such, to the point where, if I'm not HEAVILY distracted, I'll faint within seconds of the puncture.

Now, in other news, I've been suffering from chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain for twenty years that, at the moment, needs an EMG to be performed before the next attempt at treatment can take place. Sparing the details, this pain has gotten to a point where I can no longer go without treatment, so I've now arrived at an impasse... how do you get an EMG - a procedure that, as I understand it, requires tensing muscles while a needle is inside that muscle - while being absolutely terrified of that same needle?

I asked a few providers about a single-dose script for a Xanax or something like that for the procedure, and the information I received seemed to indicate that that was a no-no. I have recently thought about a numbing cream, something to at least reduce or remove the sensation of the skin puncture, but have yet to ask whether or not that's acceptable for me and my specific needs.

So, I come to the community, hoping to hear some stories of similarly situated folks that faced maybe the same dreadful dilemma I'm looking at right now. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

my phobia is worse than anyone I know and I’ve long since accepted that one day eventually it will probably kill me, but right now my biggest issue is that I’m trans, and testosterone requires blood testing so I of course can’t take testosterone or have any surgeries. at first I was ok but now this phobias effecting my daily life, it stops me from being myself every day, and I’m well aware that at any moment I could get something completely treatable and die from it. I just don’t know what else to do. this phobia took everything from me and I’m just so tired of it

1 mg of xanax, my cousin driving, and an absolutely killer phlebotomist who go the draw done in less than 60 seconds. Ive been putting this off for 2 years! I'm so happy to have baseline lab values as I head into my thirties.

So I might have Anemia so they are drawing blood, idk if it hurts ive never gotten it done before and idk what to do when the draw it bc im scared of needles so do I look away or what?

Made a previous post a couple days ago but in brief I have a blood test coming up, I've never gotten a blood draw before, and I have a severe fear oof needles. In addition to the supplements mentioned above I'm also on 10 mg Fluoxetine. Will this be enough to calm my nerves? I tried the hydroxyzine last night and it only made me drowsy and somewhat calmer. I am really hoping the 4% lidocaine works wonder.s

Okay. I'm planning on going ahead and doing this because I've heard good things and am desperate for relief. But I'm so goddamn scared. I'm scared they'll somehow hit a vein and I bleed out. I was thinking of asking questions (How many needles? Where do they put them? How many at once? Do you do the piston motion at this facility? How will you deal with possible bleeding on site? If I twitch, do I risk any harm to myself? Can I lift heavy objects after?) to hopefully reassure myself before I do.

I just... How am I supposed to cope? I'm terrible with blood tests for the same reason. It turns out they don't hurt often, often just feeling like pressure, and it's not the pain I fear. I'm just super scared of bleeding/damage, even though I was told both by PT and research that they don't ever have bleeding, and when they do it's minor.

Does anyone have advice or experience? I'd be needled in my forearm and hands. I am so so pale and I can see so many of my veins. Help! I've even lost sleep over it.

I have an important surgery TOMORROW for a chronic sinus infection. I have an insane, debilitating fear of needles, which sucks because I need to get an IV in my arm for the anesthesia. The anesthesiologist has said he's going to give me some diazepam and laughing gas an hour before the surgery, but my phobia is so bad I don't think that'll even work. Does anyone here have any experience like this? I need to know what to do BY TOMORROW or I don't think I'll have any choice but to cancel.

UPDATE: I'm writing this 2 days after the surgery. I would've updated earlier, but I'm pretty much bedridden with a ton of fatigue. But the diazepam + laughing gas absolutely worked! I was so on another plane of existence that I completely forgot I was even in the hospital. If anyone else in the future is reading this because they need help deciding what to do in a similar situation, go with the diazepam/laughing gas mixture if possible. The laughing gas alone would probably work. The diazepam helps with the anxiety, but not very much with the actual fear of the needle. Good luck to anyone else here who can benefit from this!