I have no idea what I'm going to do. I need to get four vaccinations done soon, and I have to go to the regular doctor to get them. This means that the nurses have no idea about my self harm. They said that the shots have to be done in the arms, and I have self-harmed there before.. I don't have any fresh cuts or anything, they're all scars, but what do I do?! Do I forewarn the nurse? Do I just let them give me the shot without saying anything? What if they say something to me about it? I have a feeling that this is going to turn out terribly.. What can I do to not have a panic attack there at the doctor's office? :(
I can't tell you exactly what will happen since I don't know how the doctors and nurses work there, but whenever I have gone to get different things done involving my arms I never had any questions and they just did what they needed and that was it. Also, it's really down to what you want to do when it comes to telling or not. You could always go in and not mention it and if someone does end up saying anything then you can go from there. I know this will be hard to do, but try to relax a bit between now and your appointment so that you aren't constantly wondering what will and wont happen.
I only have one scarred arm really so I just ask them to put the injections in my other arm. The nurse I had was fine with it. Though when I was having blood taken she did look at a few of my scars on my wrist but didn't say anything :)
I have to have blood tests every three months or so and I just give them my right arm (less scarred) and they are fine with that. Although, sometimes they are so bad they dig around in my right arm and then have to use my left but have never said anything about it.
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I get my bloods done at my GP surgery, even though they like you to go to Boots. My GP said it would be fine to go the nurse there, she just said to warn the nurse first and say that she knows about them and i'm getting help.
I did that but the nurse wasnt phased at all, and i dont think she would have said anything anyway. They're used to it. Mine were fresh cuts too. I think with scars you will be fine, i wouldnt have thought you needed to pre warn them... but its up to you if you would rather. I think as long as you can reassure them that its old, and that you're getting help/got help... then you'll be fine.
If I can I just offer my less scared arm or if I can't then I act like there's nothing there or like I show my arm all the time.
I find the more of an issue I make of it, the more of an issue other people make it.
If you think of it nurses see all sorts of people on a daily basis and although you may be the only person you know that self harm they've probably see people all the time and have probably even seen someone else the same day.
Yeah, the nurse is just there to administer a vaccine. Doubt that they'd say anything at all. Chances are that if it was long ago, they'll barely notice.
Hi,
I got vacinations for my holiday on Tuesday and th nurse said nothing about the scars on my arm
Mine are all old (over a year) so don't show much but she must have seen them as she injected right in the middle of a whole load.
She said nothing so it was ok.
Hope it goes well for you.
Regards
Liz
I've been asked about my scars a few times when getting vaccinations and whatnot. I didn't have any fresh cuts at the time, so I just told them I "used to" self-harm, and they seemed fine with it. No one's ever made it a huge deal or anything.
Good luck getting your vaccinations... hope it goes well :)
"God take me, because I hate me" -Underoath
We are male and female. We are artists, athletes, and students. We have depression, PTSD, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, or maybe no diagnosis at all. Some of us were abused, some not. We come from all walks of life and can be any age. We are every race or religion that you can think of. Our common link is this: We are in pain. We self-injure. And we are not freaks.
Thought I would post again. When I was getting something done I had to show my thighs for it. Now my thighs are... badly scarred and it freaked me out, I tried to get around it but this nurse was havig none of it. So I ended up showing my thighs and like i said she just did what she needed to do and that was it, no comment nothing. It was me who was shaking and trembleing afterwards lol.
Many others have already said, but your nurse has most likely seen this kind of thing before, on multiple occasions. If she asks, it's probably just to check that everything is okay, but if they're all old scars, then I'm sure you can just explain that you're not currently self-harming, so they won't push it.
Good luck, I can understand why you'd feel nervous but try not to be. You'll be in and out of there in no time :) xx
Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world awaits in darkness for the light that is you.