Vasovagel Syncope or "i faint alot"

Hey Ladies,

As I sit here waiting to get approval for my DS at Madigan....I real alot about the "lab draws" every 3 or 6 months.  I have the syndrome listed in the subject line and guess what my trigger happens to be??? Yep....you guessed the blood draw needle.   I know it is stupid, I know it doesn't really hurt that bad and the thing is tiny.....but I have been fainting during blood draws for over 30 years!?  

I have managed to make it through it once or twice, but the majority of the time I am "out cold"!   I know there isn't anything ya'll can say....but I just thought I would mention it.  I have no idea how I will make it through blood draws 2x a year at the least with them taking 12 or more vials of blood, but I'm not giving up!  I know the DS will change my life......so if I have to faint 2x a year for it.......oh well!!

And the even stranger thing is I had my twins vaginally and naturally (not by choice...got there too late for c-section that was scheduled 2 days later) and twin A was BREACH!   So I have had my share of pain........but nevertheless the vasovagel trigger is the damn blood draws!!   UUGH!

 My daughter had the exact same problem.  You know what cured her?  Surgery.   She had to have her hip reconstructed, and had so much blood work performed, that she was able to develop a tolerance for the procedure.      Perhaps you can seek some counseling for this before your surgery, as it definitely is an emotional issue with a physical manifestation.

My friend has this same issue and she had female medical issues req. several blood draws. She found that if she laid down for the draw she would not faint. Now finding a place to lay down might be an issue as it was for her but the lab did have one room with a cot like bed and she started requesting that room when she went in. I dont know if that will help but might be worth a try:)

You are totally right Julie, it is totally a mental thing that manifest itself physically!  I'm working on getting over it......and there have been occasions where I can keep myself from fainting, but those times are still few and far between!!   And yes, I will be asking to lay down in the future since lab draws will become an integral part of my life once I am switched!   It is just plumb crazy how it works, I mean, I have had 3 surgeries so far, IV's many times and 4 natural child births..so I'm no stranger to medical procedures or even "pain" for that matter..........but the minute they try to "get blood" from me......."lights out"!!