How Can I Break The Pattern Of Fainting After Shots? I Never Had A Problem Until The Hpv Shot.?

by Rachel on February 26, 2010

I’m in highschool and I know it’s weird but before I got my first HPV shot, I actually sort of enjoyed shots. Not that I enjoyed the pain but I’m just interested in medicinal things and i like to feel how the injection spreads through my arm….Anyway I went in for my shot and I obviously wasn’t all that nervous because I didn’t mind shots. I got the shot and about 5 or 10 seconds after i actually got poked with the needle, everything started to go spotty, then went black and i woke up on my back on the table. I had apparently keeled over sideways & my mom/the nurse had put me on my back. I was very nauseous and very very uncomfortable (I had never fainted before that). Several nurses came in to help and had me drink some juice. I had eaten 2 meals prior to recieving the shot. After a bit, the nurse helped me & I slowly sat up, then climbed down& the nurse was holding my arm while I was standing there when I passed out again. The nurse caught me & I woke up on the ground, on my back.

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

B February 26, 2010 at 4:38 pm

oh mann im so sorry.. but what i do is breathe out when they put it in ..and maybe you should close your eyes so you cant see it

Sara February 26, 2010 at 8:54 pm

Sometimes when I give shots or I.V.’s people faint. Fainting is basically a reaction your body has to stress, and its purpose is not always the same. Basically your body pulls its blood toward its trunk, leaving the head deprived of oxygen. It’s a fight or flight response. I don’t know if you can really talk your autonomic nervous system into acting differently. Sometimes, just before you faint, you may notice yourself working up to an almost frenzied state. People used to equate frenzies as the cause of fainting spells, but often it’s the reverse. The altered blood levels are the cause of the frenzy (for lac of a better word). Anyways. Know your a fainter, and when faced with an injection, make sure you are lying down, as gravity will assist in this phenomenon, which you don’t want. You’re not a wimp. It’s just how your body reacts. Clear as mud?

Tarkarri February 26, 2010 at 11:55 pm

It sounds like you had an effect from the gaurdasil, and they will probably have you sitting down when they give you the next dose, as the same reaction is likely again.
The response at the podiatrist was probably an ‘hysterical’ reaction due to your fear of it happenning again, even sub-conciously.
You need to remind yourself that this reaction was not due to the injection as such, but the contents, and that it is not likely to happen again for other than the gardasil.
My daughter had never had a problem with blood tests ro injections until her father took her for one instead of me. He was anxious and she fainted as a reaction to his expectations. We are now having to work on her overcoming this, when in the past she was like you and just facinated! Grrrr

Robert S February 27, 2010 at 1:05 am

This is a psychological & emotional reaction!
No vaccine could have that effect so quickly.
I suspect you built up a huge anticipation about HPV.
Now your mind has equated this with every shot.
It’s a learned response;-{ you have to unlearn it.
Try to tell yourself it’s all in your mind & relax.
Above all, don’t watch the needle or preparation.
There are no known ill effects.

The Midnight Captain February 27, 2010 at 3:12 am

talk to ur doctor about it the shot might of had a bad effect on u

bombasti February 27, 2010 at 7:35 am

It sounds as if you had a bad reaction to the medication. If I were you, I would not take that medication again before consulting the doctor. This drug is so new that there are many unknowns. While it sounds like a great solution to HPV and possible cancer, no one knows everything there is to know about it. Furthermore, anyone who takes it right now is really a guinea pig to see what the reactions will be. Sorry I couldn’t be more encouraging but I am scared of these new drugs that haven’t developed a solid history yet.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
As far as your wanting to hear something other than the fact that the drug might have side effects, all I can tell you is, practice safe sex and avoid promiscuous behavior that could lead to STD’s.

?Sparkles and Cats? February 27, 2010 at 8:30 am

the same happened to me!!!!
except not that shot
in 7th grade i got two shots, then i was normal didnt feel a thing
then i felt like i was gonna barf. my mom said i needed air
so i went outside and walked around(that was a big problem) thankfully i had a brain and came back inside. sat on a chair then got up and told my mom i felt dizzy ( this happened at the doctors office) then i started seeing black and white, then gray and then all of a sudden i am half concious going through the hallway of the doctors office
turns out i fainted and i was gonna fall on a kid, but the kids dad caought me. lol how embarracing. right? well i was laying down on the bed thingy then the doctor was like do u know wat happened? i was like no!
then my mom was so scared she was gonna faint, but she didnt lol
ya so i had to go to this resperatory thing and got they thought it was because of my heart, turns out it wasnt. so thats that story
then later that year in science we were wathcing a movie about eye surgery someone was getting it, then i fainted lol
so ya
i am scared to get my next shot, now im going to 9th grade and am scared to go to the doctors lol
i need help to with that
just close your eyes and think about unicorns and and girly nice raimbow stuff lol or just like close ur eyes.
GOOD LUCK SISTA

KAYLA <3 February 27, 2010 at 1:27 pm

I got the shot about a week ago and had similar problems. I am the same way as you and I don’t mind shots at all. After I got the shot i felt very nauseous but I did not faint. A few hours after the shot I threw up twice. I am too, afraid to go back to get the shot in 2 months. I don’t know why the shot made you faint but that is very wierd. Let me know what you find out. :)

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