Fear of Needles

I have a fear of needles and pass out if I have my blood taken with a butterfly needle (the smallest needle they have). I was told that you don't feel the needle when they give you an epidural but some people say you do. What is a way to calm myself down (if needed) when it becomes time to have it administered?

I have been posting a lot of posts tonight to calm myself and hear what others have to say and hear personal experiences bc this is my first child and i feel like I could go into labor at any time now.

i didnt feel my epidural. my contractions got so bad for so long i was desperate to make the pain go away. i have always hated needles...i have many bad experiences with them. But honestly, i didnt hurt to me. i could feel them under my skin when putting it in...it felt weird...but didnt hurt. made me giggle a little lol

Quoting Katy Mundell:" I have a fear of needles and pass out if I have my blood taken with a butterfly needle (the smallest ... [snip!] ... have to say and hear personal experiences bc this is my first child and i feel like I could go into labor at any time now."

There's other methods than the epi if you're that scared of them. I didn't like the idea of a needle going into my spine, so I went natural. Have you decided you are for sure getting the epi?

I just kept reminding myself to relax my body as much as possible and i had my nurse talk to me about random things.

Needle in the spine scared me more than birthing pain.

I had him natural and hope to do it again every time now!

I took laughing gas while getting the epi put in. I'm terrified of needles but I begged for the epi, it didn't hurt at all.

The epi was not what i expected at all. It didnt feel like a needle poke, it just felt strange. Also if your really afraid of needles that much they have meds that they can administer through your IV. I got a half dose of fentolal (sp) with lo #3, it wasnt as effective as the epi but it did help

I am not really scared of needles. I have several tattoos to prove it, lol. Getting the epi wasn't bad, most you feel is pressure from my experience.

i have a fear of needles so bad nurses have to pin me down to take blood/do jabs.
i had an epidural after 3 days of 4min apart contractions and one day of being induced and awful back labour.... it was a hard decision to make as it was the one thing i always said i never wanted but my body gave up   i didn't feel a thing as all i wanted was sleep and they promised me sleep once i'd had the epidural! lol.

I'm not afraid of needles, but my nurse was there to help keep me calm because it took longer than normal for the guy to find the spot he needed   once you get to the point where you need it, the contractions will probably be so bad that you wont even care.

good luck!

I HATEEEEEEEEEEE needles! And, I had an Epidural. It doesn't feel the same at all, it doesn't even hurt. Or atleast, it didn't to me!
My IV I got was WAY worse than the Epidural.

Quoting Evelynns Mama!:" I HATEEEEEEEEEEE needles! And, I had an Epidural. It doesn't feel the same at all, it doesn't even hurt. Or atleast, it didn't to me! My IV I got was WAY worse than the Epidural."

same! i puked at getting my IV in. the Epidural was easy compared to that. lol.

Quoting Evelynns Mama!:" I HATEEEEEEEEEEE needles! And, I had an Epidural. It doesn't feel the same at all, it doesn't even hurt. Or atleast, it didn't to me! My IV I got was WAY worse than the Epidural."

This is the one exception for me...
I can't stand getting IV'S, took them over an hour with my last section to get an IV in me. My veins collapse easily and I've had a few nurses torture me endlessly trying to get an IV in. Most tries in a row to date was 35, and they ended up having to call my OBGYN in on a night when he wasn't on call because he has luck with my veins, and he got it on his first try. I can't look when they are doing it, my legs start to shake and I get an anxiety attack.