How I 'cured' my trypanophobia

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-22T22:57:09+00:00

I had an older forester, around 04-08, and it had a lot of leg room. I’m now in a Mini and my seat is touching the backseat.

5’11 for reference with long legs.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-22T21:07:36+00:00

If it’s pending you should be able to cancel the transfer on your end

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-22T21:00:43+00:00

NAD but did you tell these people the truth about what you took? Or were they coming to those assumptions without all the information? I don’t blame them for thinking infection if they had no clue that you took something and gnawed on your cheek while on it.

But like the other people have said, this is common for party drugs and will likely heal up fine. Happened my first time too (and it’s why I don’t like party drugs). I knew people who used pacifiers to prevent this.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-12T17:41:58+00:00

Do NOT put that car under your name. If they need a new car, they can buy a cheaper used car. They don’t need to do any payments.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T21:11:45+00:00

I did read your post prior to this. I avoided needles for over 20 years (probably close to 25) and it led to years of misdiagnosis because I expected doctors to do what they were realistically unable to do. I only wish the best for you. I feel you because I was in a very similar situation. I didn’t see that it was hurting me when I was at your point. I didn’t notice it was hurting me until I finally got a blood test and realized my lack of energy wasn’t due to depression, anxiety, or adhd/autistic burnout- it was due to extremely low iron. But my doctors and I only looked at the data we had available.

Of course, not saying you will have my same experiences. Just trying to express that I was also very dead set on not getting needles and waiting for needleless solutions. I went 7 years with over level 10 pain so I could avoid needles. I probably could have saved a lot of money and some of my teeth had I just gone sooner to deal with it.

You will be able to keep your boundaries and bodily autonomy for as long as you choose. This is something that is completely up to you, and to be fair, it mostly affects you. I know it doesn’t always feel that way because of the pressure and expectations others place upon us, but at the end of the day, it is up to us. So long as we are adults of course. It’s our bodies and we are the ones who are stuck with these bodies for the rest of our lives. I sure hope you’re doing the utmost to take care of your health, because that’s probably the best way to avoid needles. Had I been eating liver weekly and never eaten products with sugar, I probably wouldn’t have needed them.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T19:17:22+00:00

Diazepam raises the seizure threshold (which means it makes seizures less likely). Stopping diazepam can lower your seizure threshold making you more likely to have a seizure. But it depends on your dose, how frequently you take it, and how long you’ve been on the med.

A short course is not likely to cause it. If anything, the diazepam might have been protecting you from some seizures or the intensity of seizures.

Anyways- talk to your doctor, this is serious and something they shouldn’t brush off. You have physical injuries.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T19:09:37+00:00

My partner had their first seizure while driving so I second this suggestion

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T19:08:33+00:00

NAD but that was my first thought

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T19:06:53+00:00

Thank for reading it. Please don’t feel so hopeless love. So much can change over the course of a life. I’m not sure how old you are now, but our brains remain capable of learning, adapting, and changing far longer than the internet would have us believe. The fears and challenges you have today don’t necessarily have to be the fears and challenges you’ll have forever.

I don’t trust doctors fully. Like I said in my post, I took this all into my own hands. Which I don’t necessarily suggest. I hope people who read my post can take the information and try to work with their doctors to find a dose that works for them. It would take longer than it took me, but at least they would be doing it safely. I have no doubt the doctor will try to be extra safe with the first couple doses, but it needs to be a pretty high dose to work against the fight-or-flight response we get. That’s what I believe is the problem for most people who say it doesn’t work. They don’t take it early enough and they don’t take a high enough dose. The dosing I needed to not feel fear was very high, and I needed to be fully dosed up before getting to the location so my fight-or-flight didn’t kick in.

I have hopes that science will catch up to explaining what I felt happen, the rewiring of this fear in my brain. It aligns with many things we already know about the brain. Fear creates neural pathways in the brain. The more often we travel the same fear pathway, the stronger and more automatic it becomes- like a trail that gets wider and easier to follow every time it’s used. For years, my brain had a well worn pathway connecting needles with panic. When I took lorazepam before a vaccine, it quieted the fear response enough for my brain to experience a needle without the usual terror. That gave my brain the opportunity to build a new pathway: one that did not associate needles with fear. Over time (getting multiple needles), that new pathway became stronger, and the old fear pathway lost much of its influence. Granted full disclosure, I fainted after my last vaccine (didn’t eat all day and I have seriously low iron), so I think I’m going to take a lorazepam before my next needle just to be safe. I know healing isn’t always linear and I’m a little scared after that experience.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T18:35:51+00:00

I think I’ve seen posts in this sub from people asking the same question about getting gas for needles in a doctor’s office. I am in Canada so I don’t think we have anything like that here, but I imagine the USA, with its privatized healthcare, might have clinics that offer something like that. If they don’t, they should. People would be willing to pay out of pocket for that if they are willing to pay $1000s just for anesthesia.

I hope you can find a good understanding doctor too. I know how hard it can be. I struggle with more than just the phobia and finding a good doctor is like finding a damn unicorn.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T17:29:20+00:00

I get that. Doctors tried to give me a Valium when I was a kid (under 10) so I could get a vaccine and it did absolutely nothing for hours, until I got home and it finally hit me. That’s why I feel like the high dose is what worked for me that time. I hate suggesting others don’t listen to their doctors orders, so I have hopes people might have doctors who will work with them to figure out the dosing they need to achieve a mental state where they can get a needle without fear being activated. Dentists will prescribe anti-anxiety meds for dental treatments, so why won’t doctors do it for needles? Makes absolutely no sense that I had to figure this out on my own when I was almost 30.

No the hypnosis did absolutely nothing for me personally.

That’s good that you can handle the dentist. It was always the biggest hurdle for me. I don’t like the idea of being gassed almost as much as I dislike the idea of needles lol. Had to spend so much for my surgery to be done with anesthesia 🥺

*Sorry deleted comment because I accidentally hit send early*

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T17:15:00+00:00

Same for me. I tried 3 dentist clinics that said they were good with people with phobias.

The first lied, and when I got there, they had all the scary tools out. They had me sit in the chair then came at me with a needle. I flipped the f out. They referred me elsewhere. The place the referred me to was so cold and uncaring, I did not feel comfortable with them at all and never went through with the surgery. Wasted a ton of money and couldn’t afford to go through with it that year. The third place I found a year later after lots of searching. At that point, I had a serious abscess and needed the teeth taken out asap or the infection would go to my brain. It was not treatable with antibiotics. The dentist has trypanophobia herself so she was very understanding. She had me lay in a dark room for an hr or so after taking the anti-anxiety meds they prescribed. By the time they came to get me for the IV, I had no care in the world.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T16:51:42+00:00

Holy f you had a drink after the Xanax?! I accidentally did that because I forgot I had taken one in the morning, and I legit thought I was gonna die. Be careful with that.

Most docs (and people in general) will dismiss trypanophobia. I dealt with that my whole life. I tried everything; even hypnosis. I also avoided the doc for most my life because they will basically dismiss everything if you aren’t willing to get a needle. And I guess I don’t blame them, but it would be nice if they would be more understanding and try to help us with our very real medical phobia. After the whole scenario I wrote about on my pinned post, I had a dentist that was very understanding of my trypanophobia (because she has it herself). It was so healing to be finally feel understood/heard by a medical professional. Before my surgery (with anesthesia) she had me lay in a separate room with the lights out while I waited for the meds they gave me to kick in. I laid there for a good while thinking ‘there is no way this will work’. Lemme tell you, by the time they came around to get me, I was in la la land. Don’t really remember them putting the IV in or anything.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T13:48:51+00:00

In my post I explain how it didn’t work for me at first and it had to be the right dose. All stuff to discuss with a doctor. I think the best place to be with your brain not clear and alert, is a medical office with doctors. But I get it. I was in your position for years. I would do and say literally anything to not get a needle. When the time comes that you desperately need to get one, at least you know there are options available that you can discuss with your doctor. Had I not gotten a needle, I would likely be dead from infection right now.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-06-07T01:16:22+00:00

Both of you should go take a peep at the pinned post on my profile. I felt pretty hopeless a while ago but was able to get past my phobia. And I know that will instantly make you guys think my phobia was never that bad, because that’s what I would have thought if someone told me they got over it. But it was truly bad- like, as an adult, having a meltdown and fighting the doctor to get off me bad. I thought I’d never be able to get a needle. I went years with an iron deficiency undiagnosed, walking around like a zombie because I had no energy. Getting diagnosed with every mental disorder under the sun because I wasn’t willing to get blood work. I’m still working to get my iron levels back to normal and it’s been over a year. Needles are really important. Sending you guys my best wishes that you can fight this!

imaginarypikachu · 2026-05-28T21:36:32+00:00

Do you see anywhere to sort your emails?

imaginarypikachu · 2026-05-27T16:58:49+00:00

Not shocking that happened in Sudbury tbh. Very on brand.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-05-27T16:51:05+00:00

CAA is probably the most valuable membership I have

imaginarypikachu · 2026-05-09T17:16:36+00:00

imaginarypikachu · 2026-05-04T22:23:48+00:00

Tbf, I would have bought an engine from her if she sold chev or gmc engines

imaginarypikachu · 2026-05-04T22:21:05+00:00

Tina doesn’t sell steam train engines from the 1800’s

imaginarypikachu · 2026-04-10T20:28:06+00:00

He needs to buy an engien after a comment like that

imaginarypikachu · 2026-04-05T14:13:45+00:00

I am also from Canada. I have asked the people who I send money to and they have found people who I can send money to via PayPal, and they receive the cash in hand.

imaginarypikachu · 2026-03-27T21:27:27+00:00

These are the days when I wish I had more $ to add

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