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Breathe_Deep23
Junior member
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2017
- Messages
- 5
I’m having my wisdom teeth extracted early Friday morning, and I’m having pretty severe panic attacks about that are affecting my sleep (I have been prone to anxiety and panic attacks since I was a kid). I’ve long had a pretty bad phobia about the dentist because of bad experiences as a kid. I have a small mouth and a sensitive gag reflex (I think this has become as much a psychological response as a physical one, to be honest). My problem is that I also have a fear of being sedated, which will be necessary for this procedure. I’ve never had it before, and I am very worried.
I have asked all the questions of the doctor and nurses that I can think of to try to calm myself. It’s IV sedation (“conscious” sedation or “twilight sleep”). The drugs they give are fentanyl, versed, and Propofol (as needed), as well as an anti-nausea medicine. The women in my family have reacted very poorly to Propofol (having a difficult time waking up and dealing with severe nausea), so I very much do not want this. I have also asked to be given the reversal drug flumazenil to counteract the versed.
My major fear is feeling and acting outside of my own control. I don’t like the vulnerability of being sedated and I don’t like the idea of anyone seeing me like that, and I was wondering if anyone with experience with these drugs or this kind of sedation could offer any insight (and comfort if possible). I don’t like the idea of being out of it all day for a basically 30-minute procedure, but I also know I’d be miserable during the procedure if awake (scared of the procedure, scared of the stuff that makes you not scared, *sigh*).
My procedure is at 7:45 a.m. (I specifically wanted to get it out of the way early so I wouldn’t dread it all morning/day). I have several (probably silly) questions:
This are all the questions I can think of now. As you can see they’re all related to the sedation. I’m not looking forward to the procedure or recovery, either. But sedation just really stresses me out (ironically, as it’s meant to help anxiety), and I’ve never had it before.
Basically I want to bounce back to full consciousness and clearheadedness as quickly as possible and avoid nausea. Those are my main fears and concerns. Any advice on how to do this, or words of comfort from people who’ve had IV sedation before would be wonderful. I’m very panicked, and dreading the panic attacks is almost worse than dreading the procedure. Thanks in advance!
I have asked all the questions of the doctor and nurses that I can think of to try to calm myself. It’s IV sedation (“conscious” sedation or “twilight sleep”). The drugs they give are fentanyl, versed, and Propofol (as needed), as well as an anti-nausea medicine. The women in my family have reacted very poorly to Propofol (having a difficult time waking up and dealing with severe nausea), so I very much do not want this. I have also asked to be given the reversal drug flumazenil to counteract the versed.
My major fear is feeling and acting outside of my own control. I don’t like the vulnerability of being sedated and I don’t like the idea of anyone seeing me like that, and I was wondering if anyone with experience with these drugs or this kind of sedation could offer any insight (and comfort if possible). I don’t like the idea of being out of it all day for a basically 30-minute procedure, but I also know I’d be miserable during the procedure if awake (scared of the procedure, scared of the stuff that makes you not scared, *sigh*).
My procedure is at 7:45 a.m. (I specifically wanted to get it out of the way early so I wouldn’t dread it all morning/day). I have several (probably silly) questions:
- How much do you wake up before they discharge you? Are you fairly normal? I would prefer to be at least back to acting relatively normal, if not feeling it, before I leave the doctor’s. Are they required to make sure you’re awake and pretty alert before they let you go?
- How long does the medicine take to wear off? I’m told these drugs are meant to be fairly short-acting, but a lot of people say they’re out of it for the day. I realize everyone reacts differently, but I’d rather not just be out for a whole day.
- I’m getting all four wisdom teeth taken out, and I’m guessing that means a good bit of Novocain. How long will that last? That’s such an annoying feeling, and I don’t want to feel like I can’t swallow or will gag.
- Will I act dumb? This is one my biggest fears. Most people I know in real life with experience say no, but those videos we’ve all seen have me worried. Are those people being primed to act that way, or am I doomed to make a fool of myself?
- One of my biggest concerns is nausea afterward (I’m somewhat emetophobic anyway, which plays a part in my gag response to stress, I think). They’re going to give me anti-nausea medicine in the IV, but what are the chances of having trouble with that. Nausea is no fun anyway, least of all with a freshly operated on mouth.
This are all the questions I can think of now. As you can see they’re all related to the sedation. I’m not looking forward to the procedure or recovery, either. But sedation just really stresses me out (ironically, as it’s meant to help anxiety), and I’ve never had it before.
Basically I want to bounce back to full consciousness and clearheadedness as quickly as possible and avoid nausea. Those are my main fears and concerns. Any advice on how to do this, or words of comfort from people who’ve had IV sedation before would be wonderful. I’m very panicked, and dreading the panic attacks is almost worse than dreading the procedure. Thanks in advance!
. I you tubed propofel and got myself scared but i trusted my Dr and everything really was ok. and I'm glad I had no idea what was going on. They did say I mentioned my favorite bakery before they did the procedure which was an upper endoscopy one time. but that was the extent. once they put the meds in your iv line you wake up and are good was my experience.. it wasn't wisdome teeth but it was those sedation drugs.
