Couldnt get tooth removed today; high blood pressure; long story please bear with me

[Nutfig1]

Couldnt get tooth removed today; high blood pressure; long story please bear with me

So today (September 24th), after having to wait THREE MONTHS, was my appointment to have my wisdom tooth with a huge cavity pulled. Lately I had been getting a bit more anxious than usual as the date was drawing nearer. But I thought I had it under control. I really did, despite not sleeping two nights beforehand. I just assumed that the lack of sleep combined with a .5 Klonopin (which I have a prescription for due to being diagnosed with anxiety and OCD in 2006) that I took beforehand would continue to keep me nice and sleepy and calm...

BOY WAS I MISTAKEN!

First the nurse who called me back told me that neither my boyfriend nor mother could be with me during the procedure. I have no idea why. The room was certainly large enough to fit me, both of them, a nurse, and the dentist/doctor/oral surgeon.

The nurse had to keep taking my blood pressure because it was so high (180s I think), although I honestly didn't feel THAT nervous and was still pretty exhausted from the lack of sleep and Klonopin. I was, however, upset that my boyfriend and/or mother couldnt be with me, so I told the nurse I had to go to the bathroom and instead returned to the waiting room and informed them of the situation (I wasn't able to text them, because there was no reception in the building.)

The oral surgeon met up with us and told us there was no way he could safely remove the tooth without me bleeding severely because of my high pulse and blood pressure. He kept reiterating how dangerously high my diastolic rate was (in the 120s) to the point where I wondered if I were about to have a stroke, aneurysm, heart attack, etc. He explained nothing else to me, and I became very frightened.

(A little bit of a backstory: In February 2012, I was hospitalized for a blood clot on my heart which caused congestive heart failure. I spent two weeks there where it was dissolved with medicine. Thankfully I made a full recovery and have been fine since even though I still take lisinopril and carvedilol to keep things running smoothly. To this day doctors don't know what caused it. I have no congenital heart problems and have always tried to live a healthy lifestyle. Earlier this year I started swimming at a new local gym but haven't been nearly as much since discovering the cavity in my tooth on June 28th.)

He sent us to the local stat care place where they got the same worrying results after repeatedly checking my blood pressure and pulse and giving me an EKG. The doctor returned to the room and told us that I would need to be hospitalized and given an IV drip and some fluids to bring down my blood pressure and pulse and to rule out any heart problems. By this time I had become terrified that something serious was wrong with my heart once again and I left the room in the middle of his explanation wanting to cry. My boyfriend followed me outside and did his best to comfort me, later followed by my mother who assured me that I was just nervous and simply needed some help to calm down.

At the hospital, they repeated the same tests with similar results, so they had me lie down on a gurney and hooked me up to an IV and some fluids. Eventually my pulse and blood pressure thankfully started to decrease. The chest X-ray and blood test showed that everything including my heart enzymes was normal, although the urinalysis indicated some minor dehydration. I was soon released and able to come home and FINALLY sleep.

But, obviously, the tooth is still there after all of this. The dentist said to follow up with him after all of this gets straightened out. But I'd rather not return to him. As someone with OCD and generalized anxiety disorder it's imperative that all of my physicians have a good bedside manner and put me at ease, which he absolutely failed to do by being so unnecessarily direct, and upsetting me so badly. My family lives in a small town, and we are fortunate enough to be able to go to the best doctors in our state (most of whom, including my cardiologist, are located in our state's capital city.) So I'm seriously considering calling my cardiologist, someone who did nothing less than save my life from the worst health problem I've ever had and who knows first-hand about how my anxiety/OCD issues can tie into it. I'm hoping he can recommend a good oral surgeon in the same city as him who can put me at ease when removing the tooth. Also, if God forbid an emergency such as excessive bleeding arises during the procedure, there are several highly-ranked hospitals in our state's capital city (one of which I stayed at while being treated for the congestive heart failure.)

What do yall think? Should I find another dentist, or was I overreacting? I appreciate the words of wisdom and comfort I've received from others on this forum, so please be honest. Thanks in advance.

 

[Enarete]

Re: Couldnt get tooth removed today; high blood pressure; long story please bear with me

Dear nutfig1,

sorry to read how badly things went, I can't even imagine how scary it must have been for you.

There are several parts of your story - there is the medical part with your medication, blood pressure and hospital. There is also a mental part to it with your OCD and generalized anxiety and there is an emotional and 'putting someone at ease' part which is the one I have some thoughts about.

It is normal that you wish to have someone with you during a bigger treatment and especially when you are nervous. This is also important for any information that your dental team might give you shortly before the treatment or after it as we cannot think clearly or remember things well once the anxiety takes over. It is also good to have someone trusted who can make sure you will be taken cared of. So if anyone from your dental team insists on you being alone, they should be able to provide you with an explanation about the reasons for it and offer you any kind of solution or something that would make things easier for you. I find it hard to imagine that you really had to 'escape' from the treatment room to inform your family about what's going on.

Also, if any complications appear during a procedure or in your case, a procedure cannot be done, than your dentist should provide you with explanation and information to that and he should do it in a manner that doesn't scare you and doesn't leave any question marks.

So given these two things, I could understand if you do not like the idea of this dentist treating you. The final decision is yours and there is no right or wrong. Dental (and any medical) treatment is about trust and there is enough discomfort involved even with the kindest dentist so it might be a good idea to be picky about where to go.

Hope you recover from this experience soon and may you find someone who can put you at ease and make you feel taken care of well.

All the best wishes and keep us posted

 

[Nutfig1]

Re: Couldnt get tooth removed today; high blood pressure; long story please bear with me

Thank you so much for your reply. Yesterday I called my cardiologist and told his nurse what happened (He wasn't there). She said he would get back in touch with me and call in some stronger blood pressure pills or ask me to come in and talk with him, etc.

I probably won't seek out another oral surgeon. But later on my mother will call the place and tell the receptionist about my severe OCD and anxiety and ask if some concessions can be made.

I know that I'll have to be put under general anesthesia during the extraction (because of my high blood pressure). Having to be put to sleep for a surgery has been a terribly obsessive fear of mine for years now, and everytime I think about it I feel like crying without stopping.

I'll probably have to lie down on a cold, hard table in an all-white room and count backwards while the anesthesia takes effect probably without a loved one there. Just thinking about it makes me feel so terrified. I absolutely cannot stand the thought of things being rushed while I am so nervous. Having to deal with this much anxiety is pure hell.

I think it would be at least a little bit easier for me if maybe I went to the office several hours before my appointment so I could just get comfortable with being there. I would take a Klonopin and a Norco beforehand and just sit in the waiting room while it took effect (The combination of the two relaxes me so much that I almost feel like I can barely move) and allowed me to slowly fall asleep (or almost fall asleep) on my own terms. Then when they have me lie down on the surgical table, hopefully a loved one could come back and talk to me while I fell back to sleep, and the dentist could give me whatever other meds he needed to and perform the extraction. As soon as I fall asleep the person who is with me would leave the surgical room. I really don't feel like this is too much to ask for and I hope to God the dentist will allow this or at least find some other way to put me at ease.

My tooth is already half rotted away (large cavity) and today I noticed a bit of a foul smell.
I've just finished taking a round of Cipro. I wish to God the tooth would just rot out on its own and I wonder how long it would take for that to happen. I know this isn't a wise thing to do, but I was wondering if anyone on here has ever done that

 

[LittleLynnie]

Re: Couldnt get tooth removed today; high blood pressure; long story please bear with me

I've had several dental surgeries with a full general anaesthetic, and it was in the dentist's office and in the usual dental chair. The only difference was the level of anaesthetic administered. I know that some people with serious heart issues have to have the surgery performed in the hospital though, but I wouldn't jump to that conclusion without first finding out which one will be true for you.

Good luck.

 

[Bonski98]

I had one of my teeth pulled with IV sedation and I was in a usual dental chair. They set up the IV in my arm, it didn't take very long, and the dentist asked me what kind of music I liked and that's the last thing I remember. My only problem was most types of anesthesic makes me nauseous. I honestly think that, the reason I'm so fearful is because of the never-ending reaction from the dental and doctor staff. Many of them don't know how to take blood pressure the correct way. They just don't believe that I have normal blood pressure at home. So I feel like I constantly have to defend myself. If they would just not make a big deal about it, I think I might feel better. I hope you can get rid of that nasty tooth so you can get on with your life without all this unnecessary anxiety.