Next step is IVF but I have a needle phobia

Hi everyone,

This is my first post after being a frequent reader for a little while now :)

My husband is 29 and I'm 26, we have been ttc for around 14 months. We have been seeing a FS for the last few months and going through all the tests only to have been diagnosed with the incredibly frustrating " unexplained infertility".

At our last appointment, we were told IVF is our best option and we have decided to give ourselves until the end of the year to keep ttc naturally and if no luck, then start IVF in January.

To be honest, I am not feeling positive that anything will happen before the end of the year and I am really nervous/scared/worried/freaked out about the whole IVF process. I have a pretty bad needle phobia (I get very anxious and faint or nearly faint a lot of the time). I also had a hycosy last month and passed out when the dye was being injected.Although hubby is supportive, I think he gets a bit frustrated that I have this reaction that I can't control (and he cant help with) and that adds a little bit more stress to the whole thing.

I haven't got anyone to talk to that knows first hand what I am going through. I've been seeing a counsellor which has been very helpful, but it would be nice to hear from other ladies out there that are going through IVF and can offer any advice, thoughts, suggestions that might help put my mind a bit more at ease...I don't really want to spend the next 3 months getting more and more stressed about it!

Hi and welcome!

You should come and join us in the LTTTC Assisted conception thread- we're all going through some form of AC.

I had a needle phobia too- not quite as bad as yours though :-)

Once I did the first needle- I knew it was nothing to be worried about.
The needle tip is so fine!
In fact, I'm still afraid of other people giving me injections- I'd much prefer to do it myself!

Could you have a look at some YouTube videos to get an idea of what you may be doing?
My fear was mostly of the unknown.

All the best :-)

I have a massive needle phobia too, but I have found my saviour! It's called Emla, you can get it at the chemist, you put the cream on your skin (don't rub it in), put a patch over it and let it soak into your skin. You have to do this at least an hour before the needle. It will numb the area and you won't feel the needle at all.
I had a blood test a couple of weeks ago and didn't feel a thing!

I discovered it when they used it on my son's hand in the hospital paeds department. They call it angel cream there and use it so kids won't feel needles.

I have a needle phobia too. I also use Emla patches for blood tests and they are fantastic! The thought of IVF had me really worried and the first needle was the hardest but after that I was ok. DH always did them for me and I found the more I had the less anxious I felt. The IVF needles are that fine all I needed was a bit of ice to numb the area first. It is worth it in the end... Try not to worry about it until the time comes too - I would always be a mess leading up to blood tests etc for a good week before and then realise afterwards how silly that was. I thought I would never get through any of this but I have. I saw a councillor who specialised in phobias and the trick was gradually getting used to it. I started just looking at pictures of needles which freaked me out enough and then when I was comfortable enough with that I moved on from there and got my MIL to buy me a needle which every now and then I would just look at. Of course that got the heart pumping too but gradually the anxiety lessened. I can honestly say I can now get a blood test without any anxiety at all (still use the patches though - i'm not that good yet!). You can do it, you just have to believe in yourself that you can!