Needle phobia help!

 How can I give myself shots when I shake when I have the needle out!  It's for blood thinner and I have to do this for 21 days!!!! I am scared to death!!!! Good news is I got out today and went to Pappasotos with the family, I ordered water and broth! They strained it for me and it was to die for!!!! Go me!!!!

 Maybe you could ask a family member to do it for you? I had to do the shots too, they aren't AS bad when you think of what they are preventing. Still sucks though:/ I'm surprised the hospital didn't make you do it by yourself before you left there. Either way! Good luck, I hope you find something that works.

I am a paramedic and dont mind needles so it wasnt hard for me to stick myself in the leg.  If your afraid of needles I'm not sure how to make you not scared of them.  Like the other poster said, have someone else give it to you.

I third the suggestion of having someone else do it. Maybe after a few days of seeing it's not so bad, you'll ease up a little.

The good news it's only for a few weeks. It'll be over before you know it!

I would love to have someone else give it but my husband won't for his fear!! Daughter too!

Thanks though.. In the lower stomach and shouldn't be a prob... Ha!

Jeez! Even if I was afraid for myself, I would do it for someone else if they needed me to.

Co-worker? It needs to be someone you see everyday.

Hope you have gotten a friend or family member to give you the shots. I am wating for my VSG.   Idon't understand .. why the shots?  Thanks

Some doctors require blood thinner shots postop for a few weeks to reduce the odds of a blood clot forming.  It's just another one of those things that varies from dr to dr.

 From my doctor, yours may be different.  They want to make sure that you are getting your blood thinners so you do not get a blood clot after surgery.

Not to scare you into it, but I have had a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung) and ended up spending two weeks in ICU.  My parents were called in at 2am on my birthday of all days, basically to say goodbye to me because the doctors didn't think I was going to make it.

(This was not related to my VSG btw, this was about a year beforehand).

I'm petrified of needles, always have been, always will be.  I've have to take xanax (anti-anxiety, stronger then valium) before a blood test for many years, I'm so bad.  So I feel your pain!  After the VSG I had to have the tummy shots of (I forget if it was heparin or klexane, one was in my IV during surgery and the other was the tummy shot but I get them confused) but anyway, I was on three weeks of tummy shots after surgery.  

It took me nearly an hour to do the first one my first night home, because I was sitting in the bathroom crying.  My mum is a nurse, but she wouldn't do it for me because she knew I needed to find the courage to do it to myself.  She sat with me and talked me through it, and eventually I just took a deep breath and did it.  

It wasn't terrible.  I mean, it wasn't wonderful, and I still hated needles, but it was a tiny little ***** in my lower belly and then it was over.  And the next night it still took me half an hour to get up the courage to do it, but it was a little easier.  By the end of the three weeks it was a matter of prep, ***** over.  And then the three weeks passed really quickly and I'm now two years out from surgery, and reading your post is the first time I've thought about them since I finished doing them  lol.

Sadly there isn't a  'trick' I can tell you to make it easier, but the first one is the hardest.  Once you've done that, it's easier to do the second one, and even easier again to do the third one.  I guess mine was motivated by fear of another emoblism so it's different to you, but  I do understand fear of needles. *hug*.   As the others have said, if you can get someone else to do it, fantastic!  But if not, remember that you were brave enough to have the surgery, you're definately brave enough to do this.