2 impacted wisdom extractions in 2 days!! HELP!!

[freakedout]

I suffer from EXTREME anxiety and also from panic attacks. I am very nervous about an upcoming oral surgery I am having 2 days from today. I am going to have IV sedation for 2 boney impacted wisdom teeth on the bottom. I am wondering if anyone can give me any insight or tips to deal with my anxiety and also let me know what to expect, from the pre-op to post-op. Should I request something for anxiety before the procedure? What should I expect for my pain level afterwards? Are patients typicially prescribed pain killers for post-op treatment? I am a baby when it comes to anxiety and pain.


Any insight would be a great help.. thank you in advance!!

 

[GrahamDee]

Freakedout, there are others in this forum who can give you good relaxation tips and techniques. But I can describe what I went through when I had IV for a molar extraction.

IV really is a wonderful thing. I was a right physical and emotional mess when I got in the chair, but all that happens is (from my experience, that is), you go in, quickly weighed, a blood-pressure cuff is put on one arm, a cannula - which is a tiny little plastic needle - is put in a vein on the back of your hand (sometimes it can be inside your elbow), which is nothing more than a very, very, tiny little pinch and a syringe is slowly emptied into the cannula. I was told to sit back and relax. By the time I counted to ten, I was in the other room, tooth missing, full of LA and wondering "how did I get here?", "What just happened?" and "Who cares anyway?"

It really is nothing more than that. I felt nothing, I heard nothing and I remembered nothing. I just wanted to go home and sleep for the rest of the day.

Sometimes people can ask for a pill to take before going into the surgery, but in my case I didn't and its not always offered. I guess it depends on the surgery and where you are. Post operative care should be to warn about continual bleeding, stuff like don't spit out fluids or use drinking straws for the first 48hrs (there are dental professionals on here who may give the correct advice), don't get food in the socket, keep your head up and nighttime and gently rinse out your mouth with salt water every four hours.
As for pain, take some ordinary pain killers before the LA's wear off. It shouldn't be very painful, but it may be uncomfortable for a few days.

Believe me, when it comes to pain and anxiety, there cannot be many people worse than me!!! But the worst thing about IV - is sitting in the waiting room getting yourself in a state of panic about it. IV is the absolute best thing ever!!! It has changed my life with regard to having extractions.

Hope this helps

 

[freakedout]

Thank you for replying. I was in ALOT of pain the day after. I was sick from 4am on all day that day too. IT WAS HORRIBLE!! I think it was because of the meds, I couldn't keep anthing down. Talk about a nightmare!! I'm in pain and need to take meds, but can't keep food down long enough to take them, and when I tried, it just made me sicker. UGH!! I called my dentist, he told me to take 50mg of benadryl, and IT WORKED. It settled my stomach down just enough to get food and meds in my system. After that, I was uncomfortable for about 2 or 3 days. Unfortunatley, food keeps getting stuck in one of the holes where the tooth had partially poked thru, and when I wake up in the morning I am in a considerable amount of pain. I go back to the dentist in 2 days, I hope its just a small infection and nothing thats going to cost me a bunch of $$, because after dropping almost $1,500.00 for the surgery, I simply can't afford to do anything else right now. I had a script for Keflex, and read online that it is used for dental infections, so I am using that to get a head start in case it is infected.

Anyway, to those in the future who are getting wisdom teeth removed, I would greatly recommend the IV sedation. It worked wonders for me, I don't remember a thing about the procedure, and wasn't in any pain the day of. Just know that the 2nd day is the worst, if your stomach is funny like mine was ask your dentist about benadryl, it worked great for me!! Just know it gets a little better each day after that. Good luck!!