How can I break the pattern of fainting after shots? I never had a problem until the HPV shot.?

Question

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.

I stayed there for at least 15 minutes because they didn't want me to faint again. I didn't drink any more juice because i felt so nauseous. After the 15 minutes, another nurse came in to help me up in case I fainted again. Everything started to go spotty again when i stood up so they sat me in a chair. my mom says that I fainted again but i didn't think i did. 2 nurses were holding me and I was in a chair so I'm not really sure. After I may or may not have fainted a third time, I threw up several times. I went to the podiatrist about 2 months later for a very simple ingrown toenail procedure in which my toe is sprayed with a cold spray and then a shot that numbs my toe is given. After I got the shot, everythign went spotty and I was concious enough to say I thought I was about to faint and then passed out.

The chair I was in was reclined backwards so there were no consequences but after that I threw up several times. After about 15 minutes, I felt okay so I got up slowly and walked all the way to the car and I was fine. We'd been driving in the car for about a minute when everything went spotty again so I told my mom and she pulled over and I didn't actually lose consciousness but almost. Now whenever I think about having to go back for my second Gardasil shot, I get very anxious, sometimes to the point of tears. I'm afraid that the HPV shot started a pattern for me in which my body recognizes that I'm getting a shot and I pass out, even though many people pass out from the Gardasil vaccine for some reason. My question is is there any way to break this pattern? Is there any reason my body may have recognized the shot at the podiatrist and made me pass out? Help! I’m so scared of shots now!

Answer 1

I'd have a long talk with your doctor about this one, can't say for sure that it's the shots causing your fainting, but if it is, then I am sure something can be done to help you. But, all of those situation could have been brought on by a vaso-vagal response too, and that should be addressed by a doctor.