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4 Wizzies Out with IV Sedation

T

Teef

Junior member
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
9
Hello Fellow Phobics!

I've been reading these forums for about a week now in preparation for the extraction of all 4 wisdom teeth. I found it both cathartic and terrifying at times, depending on which post I read. My major fear was being aware of the extractions - the sound, smell or feeling - which is why I opted for IV sedation (also known as conscious or twilight sedation, not the same thing as general anesthesia).

Many of the posts I read said they had IV sedation and were asleep during the procedure (those were the cathartic ones). Then there were others who had IV sedation and reported being aware, but not really caring (those were terrifying.) Well this morning at 8:30 AM I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed, and am THRILLED to report that after the IV insertion and introduction of the Versed, I knew NOTHING of the time I spent in the chair. It was lights out for me, then I woke up just in time to hear them tell me I was shaking and move me to the recovery room. Then time for another big nap before going home and napping some more.

I brought headphones to listen to just in case I was aware, but I never got around to turning them on. Just didn't need them! So I just wanted to add my name to the list of people who had them out with IV sedation and wouldn't have had it any other way. Everything I had imagined beforehand was WAY out of proportion to what actually was. It was a breeze in comparison. Hope this helps to allay the fears of anyone who has the same concerns that I had (awareness).

:party:

Best of luck to all!

- Teef
 
Hi Teef

First of all, let me say, well done you ! :jump:

I,m a 'stickler' for posts regarding iv sed. (coz i,m one of those cowards who need yet to make apt.) and i reckon iv is the only way i wud get myself in the chair.

Like you, i read posts, and yes peoples experiences of iv do seem to differ' which can be confusing......

I get buzz from reading posts like yours, so for that i thank you :)


Maybe some day i will be posting a thread like this :)

Once again well done :respect:

ps} did you ask to be 'deeply' sedated...or did you just get given your 'quoter' ?

cheers for the update

Gilly :cheers:
 
Hi Gilly,

I hope you can add your name to the list of success stories (and soon!) I can honestly tell you that worrying about the procedure is far worse than having the procedure. In fact, stubbing your toe is worse than having them pulled because I was truly aware of nothing.

I'm 29 years old (and female), and worried about having to have them pulled for ages now. I was probably about 18 when they began coming in, and soon afterwards I felt the first effects of crowding. This is surely more than you want to know, but at one point I was brushing my teeth and felt a 'pop' and found that the bottom tooth left of center (next to the canine) had actually moved backwards giving me a touch of the snaggle-tooth! It was terrifying for me because all hope that maybe my wisdom teeth would fit was erased. But it didn't mean that I was on the phone to schedule an appointment -- that took about ten years!

Everyone seems to have a story about why they believe they developed a dental phobia, and I'm no different. When I was a child (perhaps around 9 or 10), my parents took me to the dentist and I found I had 7 cavities to be filled. At that age, I had no concept of what it meant to have a filling. The word "filling" seemed to imply just that - filling - but I didn't understand that drilling would accompany it. So when the dentist tried to get me to have shots of novacaine in my gums, I politely declined. And for some reason, this dentist deferred to my childish judgment and proceeded to fill them without. I won't fill you in on the details of my memory - save to say that from that moment on I've been afraid of stimulating all five senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, & sound) while in the dentist chair. I didn't go back to the dentist for another 15 years until I was 25.

The only reason I went then was because I was literally humiliated into it. My husband and I were attending a play, and it was hilarious! I was laughing the whole time, and my husband told me afterwards that when I laughed it smelled like something died. :redface: And to add insult to injury, he said my teeth looked green and fuzzy (I'm embarrassed even typing that!!!) So I was humiliated (and a good bit angry) and decided I would take myself in for a cleaning. I did, and was relieved to find that although my teeth were stained, I had developed no cavities. The cleaning was uncomfortable, but painless and something I was willing to do again. She did tell me, however, that I would have to have my wisdom teeth out at some point. I had no intention of following that advice!

Then four years later (no cleanings during that time), I found that a new wisdom tooth erupted - this time on the top. Vanity kicked in as I began wondering if my top teeth would become crowded and push my top teeth around so I decided I'd better go have them cleaned and assessed again. Sure enough, they would have to come out. So I scheduled an appointment with an oral surgeon recommended by my dentist, and he seemed very gentle and put my fears at ease a bit. I told him how anxious I was to have this done, and he offered to prescribe me a bit of Valium for the night before and morning of surgery.

But as time came around for my appointment, my anxiety grew to straight panic. I literally felt nauseated, and my heart would race every time I thought of the surgery. Which was often! So what did I do? Tortured myself by reading forums and watching videos on YouTube of people who had had them out. Not always a good idea as you've found.

Strangely, the day before my surgery, I felt a sense of calm. I think I had worried myself out. I even waited until 8:00 PM to take the Valium and could have probably not taken it at all that night, but wanted to make sure it didn't effect me badly so that I would be able to take it in the morning. I found that it made me even more calm and very tired. I went to bed at 10:00 PM (early for me) and slept fairly soundly through the night before taking the next dose of Valium 1 1/2 hours before my appointment.

You asked if I asked for extra sedation or just let me get the standard. Well, when filling out the form in the waiting room, under the "special consideration" section I wrote "Very anxious - want to be completely unaware." I'm not convinced anyone actually read that part, and when they took me back to the room and were about to begin my IV, I asked the nurse how they would know I had been sedated enough. She told me that they would know if I became restless, and that they would give me more sedation. As far as I know, that wasn't necessary, because the last thing I remember is the surgeon saying "And here comes the Versed. Your vision will be affected first." After that, I have zero recollection until waking up.

That said, if I had known this is how it would be, I would have done it YEARS ago and saved myself all this worry. I hope that you can also relieve your fears - it is so worth it!

Best wishes for a healthy mouth and mind,

Teef
 
:cheers: Well done, Teef.

As one of those who reported a fully aware IV experience, hope I didn't scare you. It was honestly fine - nothing to be afraid of at all. And I came out glad I remembered so much as what I did recall was that the procedures were 100% painless.:)

So well done, you. And to anyone hesitating because they think they may have an 'awake' IV - don't worry. This may be enough to deal with your phobia as well as the teeth, as if you can remember the whole thing, you know there is nothing to be scared of anymore.

:)
 
Congrats, Glad yours went as well as myn did:cheers:
 
Poodleoo & mikey -- thanks for the back pats! It's nice to have a place to share this kind of story where people really understand how big of a deal it is/was to us phobics.

I had one more interesting thing to share from my visit. When they brought me back into the room for the extractions and right before inducing the IV, I realized they hadn't weighed me (which I fully expected them to do). I asked the nurse, "Hey, you didn't weigh me -- how do you know how much sedation to give me?" She answered that a 90 pound woman may need more sedation than a 300 pound man and so they would tailor the amount to how I responded. I thought that was kind of neat, and was glad they recognized that there's no standard formula for sedation dosages. Bottom line was that it worked! ;D

Now I'm on day 3 of recovery and feeling pretty darned OK!

Best to all!
 
Congrats, Teef :cheers:!!! I bet you feel like an entirely different person now that you went to the dentist!! I, too, had 9 extractions (with IV sedation, of course). I have one memory of starting to open my eyes at one point but I guess someone realized I was waking up and back to sleep I went!! :sleep:
My recovery was really easy! I actually had 2 little meals the same day of my procedures (soft foods, of course).
I don't know about you, but since I've had my extractions, the only way I can describe how I feel is :jump::jump::yay::yay:!

Congrats again!! Great job!!
Jen :XXLhug:
 

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