Needle phobic

[Mum of 3]

Hi, the paediatritian has asked that G has a blood test to test for Fragile X syndrome. The problem is, he is really scared of any sort of medical procedure. In fact, he won't let any one do anything to him without a huge battle- brushing his hair, cleaning his teeth, etc are daily difficulties. Anything like the dentist or injections involve me having to physically hold him down . He's getting bigger and stronger, and I'm feeling more and more reluctant to 'overpower' him in this way, as it isn't helping to make the next time any easier-he just adds being held down to the bad feelings and memories!

Also, even though it's for his own good, it feels bad to do this. In addition, he doesn't listen to 'reason', so Social Stories, etc, are not 'taken in'.

I'm sure that many of you will have found similar with your own children, or feel the same way yourselves, so I have 2 questions, really.

Firstly, to anyone who feels like this, What exactly is the fear, and what could I say/do to help lessen that fear?

Secondly, to other parents, how have you handled this sort of situation, and what tips do you have?

Thanks, all.

Edited to add: G is 5 and a half.

Edited May 1, 2009 by Mum of 3

[sonj186]

We were told that because cam was terrified of needles just to wait untill we had to get blood for any other reason, we had to go to the hosp last mon as the doc thought cam could possibly have meningitis soohe wanted bloods done, when we got there i told them that we had to have a fragile x test as well as the meningitis, they said this was fine when they examined him it was decided that he had a virus so there was no need for blood tests! the doc explained that if cam had fragile x he would have a large head and much larger facial features particularly very big ears! cam is 6 the doc said they could tell by looking at him that he was fine another option that was disscussed when we were told to get the fragile x test was that most hospitals have a play specialist nurse who would spend lots of time with cam explaining how everything worked therefore making blood tests easier, however we chose not to go down this route. My worst nightmare would be having to pin him down for them to get bloods

[Kazzen161]

I was worried when my son had to have blood taken. I rang the hospital and spoke to out-patients. They suggested that he should have it done on the children's ward. He had "magic cream" that anaesthetises the area, and he played on the PS there while it worked (took an hour, but I think you can get it to put on at home, before you leave). The room we went in was full of bubble tubes, lava lamps, fibre optic lights, etc - my son's idea of heaven!

 

Unfortunately, the hospital put the cream on the back of his hand and tried to get blood with a butterfly clip. She had several goes, but it didn't work (that is only really for little children - he was 9). He was fine. She then said he could have cream on the inside of his arm and wait for another hour, or she could just get on with it. T said just do it, and he never even flinched. He had several blood tests after that at the doctors' with no problems. Sometimes a high pain threshold comes in handy!

[baddad]

My son has to have blood tests every six months or so. While he is cooperative, he hates/fears them, and up until last year i always had to go to the hosp to get them done as after one bad experience with the practice nurse at the GP's he wouldn't go back.

At the hosp they apply 'Emla' cream to the proposed injection sites and then you have to wait about 45 mins for that to numb the area. i would then sit between him and the 'needle nurse' so he couldn't see what was going to happen and another nurse would do a 'where's wally' book with him to distract him until the needle nurse was done.

There isn't any pain this way, but if you've got a kid who's not gonna submit to the procedure because he thinks there might be then that's really a moot point .

 

FWIW, after a couple of years like this my son now will have them done at the GP's and will even watch after the needles in as they take the blood (I think this kind of involvement really helps, as did him watching me have bloods done when i needed them), but he's still not plucked up the courage (yet) to go Emla free! We'll get there soon, though, and he does want at some point to 'give blood' after watching campaigns for donors on TV, so i'm hoping that'll give him the impetus to overcome his fear.

 

As I say, not much help unless you can convince him it's a good idea, and i do know that even the emla cream could be a prob for some kids.

 

L&P

 

BD

 

PS: That's Emla Cream - not Elm Lea Cream, which won't work but would taste nicer

 

 

[pearl]

We had this test sprung on us when JP was undergoing the dx assessment, he was only 4 He still remembers it, he was so scared & fought so much the doctor only got a tiny amount of blood. However, this tiny amount was enough for them to test, & rule out Fragile X. So they don't actually need very much.

 

If I'd been more experienced I'd have never let it happen that way. I don't think any kind of mental preparation would have helped, but I'd have made sure that he was either sedated or had the anaesthetic cream first.

Edited May 1, 2009 by pearl

[Mumble]

Firstly, to anyone who feels like this, What exactly is the fear, and what could I say/do to help lessen that fear?

I can try an answer as an adult, but it might be different for a child. I was always terrified of needles, any hospital procedure, dentists etc. I have now just about got over it. I know my solution won't help you for this, but it might help you to know that things can get better. It didn't help to have people telling me to grow-up, that it's just a small scratch etc etc - I got over it through experience (I've had multiple hospital procedures recently) and excellent nurses/doctors who really understood my concerns and were willing to take time to explain clearly what they were doing. They also make it easier for my by using paediatric needles, but I'm guessing they would use these anyway for your son.

 

It's very difficult to explain what the fear was - it was definitely a fear of pain and not knowing how something will feel (my touch sensitivities are all wrong and so some things hurt that shouldn't and vice versa) and also a fear of how others would react if I reacted and so I might feel I was wrong. It was only through experience that I learnt about what really hurt. There was also a fear for me of not knowing exactly what would happen and the consequences (sounds silly, but it's like thinking about awful things - for instance last time I had bloods taken, I was relatively calm until I realised that it was taking longer than normal, looked over and saw how many little tubes the nurse had filled (she was on her 6th! ) and I started worrying about the effects of having all that blood - which I reasoned was at least 4 arm-fulls - taken out of me - I was OK when the nurse realised what was bothering me and explained how much was actually in each).

 

I think not making a big thing of it, as if it's totally routine (which, actually, it is) is probably the best way forward, rather than saying anything like "if you're a really brave boy, Mummy will get you a ..." because that sets up a "oh dear, something awful is going to happen that I have to be brave about".

 

Alternatively you could take my GP's approach and make me think I'm just going for a routine appointment and then corner me when I'm talking to the receptionist and say "I think we'll just pop you through to the nurse for some bloods" and not give you any space to think about it :shame:

 

[Mum of 3]

Thankyou all for your replies. We're definately going ahead with the test, so we have to do it somehow.

 

There isn't any pain this way, but if you've got a kid who's not gonna submit to the procedure because he thinks there might be then that's really a moot point .

 

Yup, this is the kid I've got! He's already had the cream for a minor operation he had when he got a bead stuck in his ear (don't ask!), but, as you said, just putting the cream on was a major trauma! When they had to insert the needle and the anaesthetic, the play workers were brilliant, and the anaesthetist stood behind him with the gas mask just in case! He faught like a cat, but we managed reasonably calmly. I think I'd better ring the hospital and ask for the 'full monty' with play workers, etc.

 

Mumble, thanks for all your advice (sorry, not clever enough to quote your's and Baddad's!) I think playing it down is definately the way to go, and just hope for the best. Although, I'm not sure that I can tell him 'we need some blood' without him freaking out! i just can't think of a nice way to put it! Knowing that he might be afraid of other's reactions to his reaction is useful, and it might help to have some sort of social story about getting nervous about hospitals, etc...

 

Thanks, all. <'>

[Kazzen161]

Is it possible that you could get some of the cream from the doctors and let him put it on himself, and then let him prod/poke the area, so he knows it stops the pain? If he did this a few times, he could at least put the cream on himself when needed.

 

 

[Mum of 3]

Is it possible that you could get some of the cream from the doctors and let him put it on himself, and then let him prod/poke the area, so he knows it stops the pain? If he did this a few times, he could at least put the cream on himself when needed.

 

That's a really good idea, Kazzen. I'll ask the dr. Thanks.

[Mum of 3]

Well, the hospital phoned this morning when I'd taken him to school and asked if I could bring him in today, as they had a very experienced member of staff to take the blood, and the playworker on duty has worked with him before, so it would be familiar.

I picked him up from school, and said (breezily!) 'Oh, the hospital just want you to pop in and let them have a look at you', but he wasn't buying that and started to ask all sorts of questions, ending with 'will they want to do anything to me?', so I said they wanted to look at his blood, and he freaked, but I explained all about the different things blood does, and why doctors want to look at it, and how simple the procedure is, and he calmed down a bit.

Unfortunately, by the time the playworker arrived to where we were waiting in the corridor, he was in a right panic, lying on the floor with my coat over him, refusing to get up. She asked if I thought he should have the cream, and wait half an hour, or use a freezing spray and get it done right away. I had no idea! I asked her to decide, as I reasoned they were the ones with the experience, and they were the ones doing it!

Well, she took us into a teatment room, and G started to whine (he makes this noise like a hurt dog when he's anxious). I sat him on my knee and the nurse put the strap on his arm, while the playworker tried to get him interested in Where's Wally, but he was way beyond that and started to struggle and shouting that it hurt. Another nurse came in and held his arm, then the playworker started to hold his arm as well. All the time, he was kicking and writhing, and I was holding him really tight and just whispering in his ear, 'shhh, soon be over...shh'. WHen they'd done it, he just carried on screaming 'You hurt me! You hurt me! It HURTS!!!'.

The playworker looked a bit concerned at him still shouting when it was all over, and went to get him a drink, then sat with us while he calmed down (only about 5 minutes).

He wouldn't speak to me on the way home, and picked a fight where nothing I could do was right... He eventually, begrudgingly, 'made friends' with me, but has run out of the house twice, in his bare feet in the rain, tonight, and said 'no' to absolutely everything I've tried to get him to do.

I'm exhausted, and really wish it had all been very different. I understand that they've achieved their objective in getting the blood, but at what cost? What'll he be like next time, and what am I going to have to do to repare the damage done to his trust in me and get him to do as he's told again without a battle every time?

[pearl]

<'> that brought back memories. So sorry it went badly. Its done though, & when he's older he will understand - JP stil remembers his blood test but understands why it needed to be done.

[Mum of 3]

<'> that brought back memories. So sorry it went badly. Its done though, & when he's older he will understand - JP stil remembers his blood test but understands why it needed to be done.

 

Thanks, Pearl. That makes me feel so much better.

I left him at my Mum's tonight (he has a stop-over with her every Tuesday), and he kept getting out of bed saying he was scared.

I've just rung her to see how he is. Apparantly, the thing he was scared of was 5 wolves (!). She told him she'd seen them, in the other room, and biffed them on the head .

He went to sleep happy. .

Sometimes, I think I might be worrying too much!

[vicbee]

Hi

 

I read your post with a very familiar feeling!! It was like reading about my daughter. She has been needlephobic for many years after having to attend hospital for around 6 grommet insertion operations over the years. She also hates anybody 'medical'. Bless, even when the Ed Psych came to assess her at school, she asked her if she had an injection in her bag!! She is getting more and more used to them now after all her diagnostic appointments but still very wary. we have had all the dramas of having to pin her down to give her anaesthetic. It took 6 nurses one time when she was going down to theatre. Heart breaking. A few months back she was told by the paediatrician that she needed bloods taken. I told him straight after years of trying to coerce her that there is no way on earth she will have it done and she will need to be sedated. This was arranged and what should have been a 3 minute process took around 3 hours in all. She had to go onto a ward, be given the sedation and then bloods taken. It took around an hour for her to take the sedation medicine. Unfortunately I told my daughter that she would be asleep. She didnt go to sleep and wouldnt even lie down because she knew that the needle would be coming soon. When the nurses came to take the bloods she freaked out saying 'but you said mummy that I would be asleep and I AM NOT asleep'. Usual story of her holding me to my every word! This is the first time I have been able to tell the hospital that she is autistic and be able to tell them what will work and what wont because i now understand my daughter. I cried in that hospital that day when she was pleading with me saying 'you said i would be asleep' because all the previous times when she had been to hospital and had the same reaction, i never knew about her autism and used to get so angry and frustrated with her when i couldnt reason with her and all the staff would be getting irate because she wouldnt have the anaesthetic etc. this last time, I was able to understand my daughter's reaction and deal with it better.

 

So maybe you could ask for him to be sedated next time, it certainly takes the edge off things but i am not too sure whether this will work again for my daughter as she knows now that she wont go to sleep as expected. It must be so terrifying for them but they just dont understand that it is for their own good.

 

I wonder if there will ever be a day that my daughter isnt scared of absolutely everything....

Edited May 7, 2009 by vicbee