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Fear of IV sedation

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scaredskye

Junior member
Joined
Mar 27, 2017
Messages
2
I have been putting off getting my wisdom teeth (one of which is decayed and has been infected) for a long time because Im so scared of being sedated. I've read about people dying during it and I'm so scared of the unknown. Today I went in to finally get it done and the doctor was about to put the iv in but I started crying because I was so scared and anxious. He then started being very rude and insensitive towards me and told me to be quiet and kept saying mean things and then told me to leave and never come back. I have terrible anxiety in general and him being mean to me just made everything so much worse. Now I'm even more scared of getting the procedure done. I know they HAVE to come out soon, but I'm so terrified of something bad happening, like if I stop breathing or go into cardiac arrest and get brain damage or just never wake back up. I don't know what to do :(
 
Trust me no one's gonna die due to extraction.....Its doesn't worth your life. Think of the pain relief and you, being able to enjoy all your fav things. Be brave, its just a matter of hour or two
 
Hi Scared -

That's a horrible experience to have at a dental clinic!! I can't believe a medical or dental provider was that rude and insensitive to you!

Do you feel like you can call around to see if another Oral Surgeon has time to see you soon? Maybe do some digging on Google and reading reviews of local providers. Ask friends/family who they prefer or recommend.

I wrote this in another thread about having IV sedation, I hope you can find some comfort in it (it's an honest, positive review of my personal experiences having extractions/dental surgery with sedation).

Seriously, your story is awful. I'm so sorry that happened to you. There are EXCELLENT providers out there and few rotten apples. You got a terribly rotten apple, the kind that falls from the tree & lays on the ground for weeks and ROTS while bugs and worms eat it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My reply in another thread:

Hi Gem (and anyone else reading this thread who are nervous about having IV Sedation) -

I've had IV sedation for two extractions recently, I had IV sedation for wisdom extractions (all 4 at once, all were impacted) several years ago, I had IV sedation for an implant surgery recently, and I had IV sedation for 2 medical procedures. ALL OF THEM were uneventful and I had very positive experiences. I had zero nausea with any of them. It's important to always follow ALL pre and post procedure instructions and do not deviate without consulting your Dental/Medical provider first. My experiences were basically as follows with minor changes per procedure (Not all were performed by the same Doctor/Oral Surgeon, etc):

The nurse calls me back to the procedure room, I am prepped with sticky pads to monitor my heart during the procedure, I have a finger monitor placed to measure my blood oxygen levels during procedure, and have a BP cuff placed on my arm to monitor my BP several times during procedure. I had an EXCELLENT dental nurse at my last Oral Surgeon...she was just fantastic at calming me and making sure I knew that I was in control and they wouldn't do ANYTHING if I wanted to walk out. Then an Anesthesia Nurse comes in with the Dr. She tells me what she's going to give me (specific drugs), triple checks with me again if I have any drug allergies (This info was given online when I became new patient, I had to sign off that the list hadn't changed every visit and then a 3rd check by the nurse at the procedure). She places an IV in my arm. Then she asks me if I'm ready and says she's going to give me a sedative. Since I've had the IV sedation so many times, I'm always looking forward to it. Literally as soon as she says "I'm going to give you a sedative now" ...I remember nothing after that. Nothing. They say you are able to follow instructions and even walk from the procedure room to recovery room and I have ZERO memory of any of my procedures and I certainly don't remember walking from procedure to recovery room. Most Dr's work off the same cocktail as I understand it and some of the drugs they give you cause retrograde amnesia so that even if you're aware of something during the event, you won't remember it later. Some people say they have flashbacks occasionally about a procedure. It's never once happened to me. Zero memories of any of my IV sedation events.

Also, it's important to know that even tho you're basically out of it, of course they still numb the area they are working on in your mouth. You'll wake up numb and dopey. I asked the nurse last time how they know if you need more local anesthesia, and she told me if I didn't have adequate local anesthesia, my BP would rise, and I would have reacted during surgery so that they could stop immediately and give me more local...and if I got upset or panicked during procedure they would immediately give me more happy juice in my IV. She checked my chart (from previous extract procedure) and showed to me the notes about both local and IV reaction that showed I got minimum amount of IV sedation and had average amount of local -- none needed topping off during the procedure. All of that comforted me that. The Dr was doing his work while also monitoring my vitals, the Anesthesia nurse was there to also monitor vitals and to administer more sedation as needed, and the Dental Nurse was there to assist the Dr and the Anesthesia Nurse as well as monitor vitals. They all made an excellent team and I couldn't have asked for better care. If you're seeing an Oral Surgeon in America, it's important to know that your Oral Surgeon is an MD with additional training in Oral Surgery.

It may be comforting to know that since you are IV sedated and not having general anesthesia like they give during body surgery, the Anesthesia Nurse and Dr. have medications at their disposal that they can use to bring you out of sedation very quickly if the need arises for any reason. All medication has possible side effects, but having IV sedation is exponentially safer than having a general anesthesia.

You'll "wake" in a recovery room and think that only a moment has passed but the extraction site in your mouth is numb. I usually wake up all perky and entirely too happy. Like, stupid happy. I don't know why I have that reaction, but I do. Some people can wake up and be upset or cry. Obviously you can't drive yourself home, and that's something to consider.

There has been one negative in my experiences that I should note: Unfortunately, in most of my medical/dental procedures with IV sedation, the clinic staff seem to rush you out of the clinic. They keep you in recovery for 30-60 minutes generally and they check your BP and blood ox several times to make sure you're recovering well but they're asking you to sit up well before you're ready (you just want to nap!!). I always felt a bit rushed out of my dental IV sedation procedures, and one medical procedure. Another med procedure I was put into a recovery room and allowed to stay as long as I felt comfortable. That was nice.
When you wake, you may feel super tired, and hungry. I'm *always* hungry after not eating for well over 8 hours!! I always stock up on easy to chew foods so that as soon as I get home, I make some soup and eat some pudding, take a pain pill that was RX'd and have a long nap. I wake again a few hours later feeling mostly "normal" except for some tenderness at the extraction site.

I have to say, and I'm not making this up, recovery from extractions is EASY with regards to "pain" following the extraction. It's not really "painful" as much as it's tender and sore. Follow all instructions with regards to pain management after your extractions and you should be fine. Literally, my pain is generally a 3-4 at most following a textbook extraction -- this lasts me less than 30 hours usually. I've never suffered the dreaded dry socket -- but I know people who have. No straws, no smoking and try not to disturb the clot to avoid dry socket!! The discomfort and swelling from extraction shouldn't last more than a few days for most people. If you're currently having pain in the tooth that's scheduled to be extracted, the recovery from extraction will be much easier than the pain your tooth is causing you now!! I do not say this to make you less anxious, it's absolutely true in most cases.

I've read that dental pain is generally caused by inflammation - I tend to have better results with Ibuprofen to keep swelling down after extraction...the RX'd pain pills don't do much for pain, they just make you so dopey that you're not as aware of the pain (or not as anxious about it)...this is just my experience, others may have different experience with pain meds. I take the Ibuprofen *with* the pain pills for best relief. Again, just my experience. Follow your Dr's advice and always make sure you're not taking something that will have a negative interaction with other meds you're taking, incl vitamins. Check with your pharmacist to be sure.

Overall, I've had nothing but excellent experiences. Well, as excellent as possible considering the circumstances. I don't have any horror stories about having extractions. I've never been awake for an extraction but I've heard it's rather quick and a lot easier than most people think it will be. The tooth isn't "pulled" as much as it's wiggled out of the socket (as was explained to me by my Oral Surgeon). Honestly, I'm surprised they offer IV sedation for a single extract -- it's over within minutes. Literally. It takes much more time to prep you with all the cuffs, sticky pads, double checking your allergies, placing an IV, confirming what procedure and which tooth you're having extracted and then getting you to "sleep"...all of that takes more time that the actual dentistry! There are occasions of complications, but it's never happened to me. And it's so expensive!! But if you're nervous, it will certainly keep you comfortable.

You'll be fine. Think positive thoughts and go in the clinic with confidence because you can do this!!

Good luck. ;)
 
Thank you so much! I found another place that a few of my family members have gone to. Hopefully they'll treat me better and all will go well! Thank you so much for your kind words and helpfulness!
 

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