20 minutes in...

...to my glucose tolerance test. So far, so good. The Glucola wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be; it reminded me of that flat orange drink we used to get in gallon jugs at Walmart when I was a kid. And thank GOD the phlebotomist didn't miss my vein. One stick down, two to go.

I was absolutely terrified of doing this this morning. I have had a paralyzing fear of needles for as long as I could remember. As in, I legitimately used to have full-on, completely involuntary, panic attacks that would cause me to hyperventilate and shake uncontrollably and sometimes require oxygen. At one point my doctor prescribed Valium for me to take prior to some blood work, and even with two of those in my system I still had an attack and had to be held down. Good times!

When we started talking about TTC last year, I decided I needed to get a grip, since pregnancy (and TTC, as I have now learned) involves a whole lot of needles. I went to several sessions of hypnotherapy with a very good doctor and he really, really helped me. I still don't enjoy having blood drawn, but I can sit in the chair like a big kid (squeezing the bejeesus out of DH's hand, of course) and I can do it without hyperventilating or having an embarrassing meltdown.

But so far I have only "tested" my recovery in single-blood draw-increments. I now know I can hold it together for a single needle stick, with plenty of time in between to recover. I even survived a blood draw all by myself at the RE the other day (see previous post -- I wasn't expecting to have any labs drawn during the appointment so I didn't make DH come with me). But I honestly was not sure if I could keep my composure and stay calm knowing I would be stuck THREE TIMES in TWO HOURS this morning. I hardly slept last night dreading what was coming. I woke up at least three times that I can remember, jerking myself awake and just generally freaking out.

So, long story short, I was majorly panicking and am now majorly relieved that so far I am doing ok. The phlebotomist who drew me the first time was awesome, I'm hoping she sticks around until 8:00 (when I'm finished). I'm also dying for a coffee, and I am going to reward myself with the biggest, fattest, sugariest drink ever when this is over. :-) Here's hoping the next hour and a half go quickly!