And it used to take valium and 3 nurses to hold me down for a blood sample.Ha! I know what you mean. I now use "therapeutic" lavender essential oil either from Young Living or Rocky Mountain Oils. Works incredibly well; also use it for dental visits.
Shots:
Get over it - it is just a very thin needle - that is all that is going in quickly and out quickly. People tend to react to the whole assembly when it is just that very small needle going in and out quickly.
I had cataract surgery on both eyes. After all that was over, I watched, or started to watch, a cataract surgery on line. When I saw the surgeon stick a needle in the eye and move it around in the eye, I closed the page - could not watch that. If the needle had stayed still, it would have been okay but dragging a needle around in the eye was too much. Sticking a small needle in the arm or abdomen is nothing. Years ago, I gave myself allergy shots in my leg, just a tiny needle in and out.
My cataract surgeon did my left eye first. You are not put totally out for cataract surgery. I could see in my eye what he was doing. When he broke the lens, I saw it happen in my eye - it looked like pieces of sparkly glass falling down in my eye, then I saw the pieces being sucked out of my eye.
One goes back to the eye doctor the next day. I told him about seeing it happen in my eye - I thought that was normal. He said he had never heard of that happening before - said it should be written in a medical journal. I was shocked - I wasn’t supposed to be able to see that.
When he did the right eye, he had the anesthetist knock me out completely. He didn’t tell me he was going to do that. The reason for not knocking someone out is so the patient doesn’t come to and move his/her head - the head has to stay still. I suppose, since he knocked me out, there was someone holding my head to be sure it didn’t move. He had to stay in my right eye longer than the left eye as the cataract was larger in the right eye. That eye swelled due to that and I couldn’t see anything out of it the next day. As the swelling went down, I could see.
Dentist:
Going to a dentist was the worst thing for me - I hated it all my life until now. The dentist I have causes me not to dread it, it’s nothing to me now. He can take out a tooth so easily, I never know when it happens and he sews up the wound so it doesn’t bleed afterward. I have never had one pain after the tooth is out. He wants to make a bridge where he took out the tooth but I’m waiting for cool weather to do that as I’m tired of going out in 100+ heat to do anything. I think our hot weather is over now.
Don’t freak out with having a shot. Promise yourself a treat when you get out of where you had the shot and only think of that when you are getting the shot. A little needle and you get a treat afterward. A needle isn’t going to kill you so don’t worry about it. Only worry about something that might kill you.