[Freemind80]

I never knew such forums existed and I'm glad to have found some place where I can pour out my feelings.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago a lab tech came to my house to draw my blood (for life insurance purposes).

The tech was an hour late and he was visibly sick (excessive coughing, sniffling, etc.)

From the get go, everything just didn't feel good. He forgot to swab my arm down, didn't give me a paper for my records, etc. Everything he did was just sloppy and "unprofessional."

After he drew my blood and left, that's when the panic slowly crept into my mind. He was sick and hadn't washed his hands.

So all of these thoughts flooded into my brain. What if he was careless and used an already used needle? What if he had pricked his hand by accident and then used it to draw my blood? After all, these techs are on a tight schedule and the needles they use are part of a box set. Maybe he didn't want to waste time.

And then my nightmare started. Couple of days after, I started getting a tight feeling in my chest and my throat was a bit stiff. About 4 days ago is when the severe nausea started to hit me. There were times where I almost threw up. Staring at a computer screen or eating triggered this severe nausea. I tried going to the gym today and had to stop early because of the nausea. 2 days ago the headaches started to come. The headaches get pretty bad. Today, the right side of my throat is a bit sore.

People tell me I had no risk at all but, a part of me still is extremely scared and a complete mess.

After work I come home and just want to sleep and not think about things. This whole ordeal has drained the life out of me and there are times where I feel like I'm going to completely lose it.

People tell me I'm being ridiculous but these symptoms are eating me away.

Am I being ridiculous or are my symptoms justified?

I'm sorry for the long post.*

[kaliope]

as I said in your duplicate post, your feelings are real. take some action to make yourself feel better.

[tweak800]

Your feelings are real. Have you gotten tested to put your mind at ease?

[lovelyj123]

Originally Posted by Freemind80

I never knew such forums existed and I'm glad to have found some place where I can pour out my feelings.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago a lab tech came to my house to draw my blood (for life insurance purposes).

The tech was an hour late and he was visibly sick (excessive coughing, sniffling, etc.)

From the get go, everything just didn't feel good. He forgot to swab my arm down, didn't give me a paper for my records, etc. Everything he did was just sloppy and "unprofessional."

After he drew my blood and left, that's when the panic slowly crept into my mind. He was sick and hadn't washed his hands.

So all of these thoughts flooded into my brain. What if he was careless and used an already used needle? What if he had pricked his hand by accident and then used it to draw my blood? After all, these techs are on a tight schedule and the needles they use are part of a box set. Maybe he didn't want to waste time.

And then my nightmare started. Couple of days after, I started getting a tight feeling in my chest and my throat was a bit stiff. About 4 days ago is when the severe nausea started to hit me. There were times where I almost threw up. Staring at a computer screen or eating triggered this severe nausea. I tried going to the gym today and had to stop early because of the nausea. 2 days ago the headaches started to come. The headaches get pretty bad. Today, the right side of my throat is a bit sore.

People tell me I had no risk at all but, a part of me still is extremely scared and a complete mess.

After work I come home and just want to sleep and not think about things. This whole ordeal has drained the life out of me and there are times where I feel like I'm going to completely lose it.

People tell me I'm being ridiculous but these symptoms are eating me away.

Am I being ridiculous or are my symptoms justified?

I'm sorry for the long post.*

First of all you are not ridiculous. This is such a common fear believe it or not. I was in your shoes last winter i literally put myself into a depression and panic thinking i had HIV because i was paranoid that the nurses stuck me with a dirty needle in the hospital. I lost sleep...i lost weight..i cried myself to sleep. I thought my life was over. I was driving my family absolutely nuts. Im 100% sure you are fine. When we fear something we obsess over it. People who dont have anxiety like us let fears and thoughts go where as us we hold on to it and become attached to it and let it consume us. What you are going through is terrible but you have to know it is an irrational fear and you will be fine.