So there's a medical term for my aversion to needles: vasovagal reaction.
There's a whole process that begins with decreased heart rate, lowered blood pressure and the possibility of passing out. according to my nurses at the clinic, it's always a problem with young, healthy, and seemingly macho men.
here's a quick link to an article on managing vasovagal reactions: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_200104/ai_n8936778
Anyway, so before we began yesterday's chemotherapy, the nurses needed to find a new vein for an iv. I told the nurses "I freak out" around needles. at this point, Emily, who is one of my regular nurses, introduced me to this nurse from Oakland who was shadowing her that day. the nurse was nearing her certification in imaging and would use the technique to hopefully overcome my vasovagal reaction.
the nurse asked me to close my eyes, take a few deep breathes, and imagine myself in a calm,familiar and peaceful place.
I pictured myself on the evening of my 24th birthday, at a bar on Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, with my narco news cohorts.
given hurricane dean, I wonder if that bar is still standing?
At her direction, I recalled the silver swells on the ocean that night, the way the water was black, a mirror of the sky and all the dancing and singing on the eve of what would be my last night of that trip. I recalled my friends Luis, Andrea, Sunny. I remembered Ugo and the way he danced with his bony elbows. she asked me about the breeze, and me with my fantastic imagination, I could nearly feel it along my arms and chest.
all the while Emily was readying my left wrist for an IV that would be used to inject pre-meds and the days dose of bleomycin.
there was some thing that made me realize they were about to inject me -- maybe an increase in a specific command from the nurse or a slight gap in our dialogue. of course i felt the pin prick.
but when I opened my eyes and found my wrist bandaged with IV in place, i was fine. the prick barely hurt on top of that.
as far as I could tell, imaging worked. hell, I didn't go green (which is my normal reaction) and I didn't nearly pass out.
Here's a link to an article on web md of guided imagery.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/tc/Guided-Imagery-Topic-Overview
There's a whole process that begins with decreased heart rate, lowered blood pressure and the possibility of passing out. according to my nurses at the clinic, it's always a problem with young, healthy, and seemingly macho men.
here's a quick link to an article on managing vasovagal reactions: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_200104/ai_n8936778
Anyway, so before we began yesterday's chemotherapy, the nurses needed to find a new vein for an iv. I told the nurses "I freak out" around needles. at this point, Emily, who is one of my regular nurses, introduced me to this nurse from Oakland who was shadowing her that day. the nurse was nearing her certification in imaging and would use the technique to hopefully overcome my vasovagal reaction.
the nurse asked me to close my eyes, take a few deep breathes, and imagine myself in a calm,familiar and peaceful place.
I pictured myself on the evening of my 24th birthday, at a bar on Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, with my narco news cohorts.
given hurricane dean, I wonder if that bar is still standing?
At her direction, I recalled the silver swells on the ocean that night, the way the water was black, a mirror of the sky and all the dancing and singing on the eve of what would be my last night of that trip. I recalled my friends Luis, Andrea, Sunny. I remembered Ugo and the way he danced with his bony elbows. she asked me about the breeze, and me with my fantastic imagination, I could nearly feel it along my arms and chest.
all the while Emily was readying my left wrist for an IV that would be used to inject pre-meds and the days dose of bleomycin.
there was some thing that made me realize they were about to inject me -- maybe an increase in a specific command from the nurse or a slight gap in our dialogue. of course i felt the pin prick.
but when I opened my eyes and found my wrist bandaged with IV in place, i was fine. the prick barely hurt on top of that.
as far as I could tell, imaging worked. hell, I didn't go green (which is my normal reaction) and I didn't nearly pass out.
Here's a link to an article on web md of guided imagery.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/tc/Guided-Imagery-Topic-Overview
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