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Local anaesthetic fear

L

Lozboz

Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Messages
45
Location
Uk
I am due to have a double apicectomy on Friday and to put it mildly, I am absolutely terrified and working myself into a complete mess.

My usual dentist usually does my treatment with a local with no epinephrine in as it causes me to panic. This appointment is with an endo, who seems very nice but doesn’t know my history. I did explain I’m anxious to him but can usually cope when I’m in the chair. This only works because I haven’t had the adrenaline rush which makes me panic.

From what I’ve gathered on Google the apicectomy requires a local with twice as much epinephrine as usual so I am in a spin.

My GP has said she will prescribe Diazepam if I want. I try to control my anxiety and panic without any medication at all, but I am so worried I’ll have a massive panic attack and not be able to go through with it (and lose my £1000!). I want to save my teeth desperately, but I feel like I won’t cope.

Does anyone have any reassurance or advice?

Thank you.
 
Either you've misread something or somebody has posted rubbish on the internet again (surprise!). Ain't no such thing as local with "twice as much epinephrine", at least not commercially available in dentistry...

Ask the person doing the apicectomy for epi free local, it's no big deal.

While we're at it, Diazepam is a rubbish drug for nervous patients, but GPs tend to hand it out like sweeties. Ask for Temazepam instead if you feel like something extra would help, but you need to check with the endodontist first that they'd be OK with you taking it. Ideally the endodontist should prescribe their own premed.
 
Either you've misread something or somebody has posted rubbish on the internet again (surprise!). Ain't no such thing as local with "twice as much epinephrine", at least not commercially available in dentistry...

Ask the person doing the apicectomy for epi free local, it's no big deal.

While we're at it, Diazepam is a rubbish drug for nervous patients, but GPs tend to hand it out like sweeties. Ask for Temazepam instead if you feel like something extra would help, but you need to check with the endodontist first that they'd be OK with you taking it. Ideally the endodontist should prescribe their own premed.

Oh wow really? This is my own fault really as my Endodontist did say not to google anything, but I was trying to find positive stories. Gordon, thank you so much. You’ve given me so much reassurance over the last few months and I am genuinely very grateful.
I didn’t mention premeds to my Endodontist, I was speaking to my GP about my general anxiety and mentioned the procedure and she said she could give me diazepam if I wanted it. I will send my Endodontist an email today to see what he thinks. I think I can cope without it as long as I can have epinephrine free anaesthetic. I’m still terrified but nowhere near as much as having a massive panic attack with normal anaesthetic. Thanks once again.
 
Either you've misread something or somebody has posted rubbish on the internet again (surprise!). Ain't no such thing as local with "twice as much epinephrine", at least not commercially available in dentistry...

Ask the person doing the apicectomy for epi free local, it's no big deal.

While we're at it, Diazepam is a rubbish drug for nervous patients, but GPs tend to hand it out like sweeties. Ask for Temazepam instead if you feel like something extra would help, but you need to check with the endodontist first that they'd be OK with you taking it. Ideally the endodontist should prescribe their own premed.

Can I ask another question please, so I don’t Google?!! Will the lack of epinephrine mean it’ll bleed more? Thank you.
 
Hi,

I think that for an apicectomy it is not crucial to anesthise with epinephrine. Naturally it is up to the dental care provider but it should be no problem. I would definitely ask.
 
Hi,

I think that for an apicectomy it is not crucial to anesthise with epinephrine. Naturally it is up to the dental care provider but it should be no problem. I would definitely ask.

Thank you ?? He did mention it was fine for root canal, but that was before we knew it was going to be an apicectomy. When I googled it says on so many dental pages that it uses double the epinephrine so I was really worried ?
 
Can I ask another question please, so I don’t Google?!! Will the lack of epinephrine mean it’ll bleed more? Thank you.

No it won't make any difference.
 
No it won't make any difference.

The day is here ?. I am okay at the moment, but really nervous. I don’t want to take the benzo if I can help it. I will come back and post how it went as I’ve found previous threads really helpful when the outcome is posted.
 
So I’m home and the procedure is done. I was anxious this morning but didn’t feel that I needed the benzodiazepines, so just drove myself there. We did talk about the anaesthetic - he definitely used epinephrine as I had the mega shakes, but then sat in the waiting room reading for ten mins and was fine once I went back in the chair. I listened to an audible book on full volume whilst he worked away and it was genuinely easier than a root canal. Not too much drilling at all which I found surprising. My face is quite swollen at the moment but he said it’s to be expected as the tissues relax and the anaesthetic wore off. He said I had a lot of infected tissue around my 20 year old RCT and hopefully the bone will start to regenerate in 6 months.

I just wanted to update as I know myself that when reading here for experiences, it’s always very reassuring to have someone say it went alright and was bearable.
 
Well done you for getting through it and thanks for following up.

Get some ice on the outside ASAP, a bag of frozen peas/corn from the freezer wrapped in a tea towel is perfect. Apply for a few minutes at a time then return to the freezer :)
 
Lozboz,

So glad you made it through and it wasn't too bad.. Hope the swelling goes down soon . and you can reward yourself with something soft to eat soon. HOpe you get some rest.

I agree with Gordon, a bag of frozen veges is great ice :) One time I had dental surgery was out of ice and veges, I ended up with a frozen burger under a piller sheet.. it was vacuum packed. and very frozen so worked perfect , not that I would advise frozen burgers on it. but Gordon made me think of it :)

Hope the healing is smooth and fast..
 
Well done you for getting through it and thanks for following up.

Get some ice on the outside ASAP, a bag of frozen peas/corn from the freezer wrapped in a tea towel is perfect. Apply for a few minutes at a time then return to the freezer :)

Another update from me and a little question!
Well, the swelling was really something on Saturday ?. However, no pain at all. As the swelling has gone down I’ve had more ‘sensations’ although nothing painful. I had my stitches out this morning and the endodontist said the wound looks good, the post op X-ray was good and unless there are problems, all done until a check up in December.
Since the stitches came out, it does feel a bit sensitive in the teeth, more so UL4 (both UL4 & UL5 were done). Not quite a throb but a definite feeling that wasn’t there before. I don’t want to Google. Is this normal, do you think? Thank you.
 
Yes, it's fine, you've got a lot of healing going on in the area, so you're going to feel some weird stuff going on.
 
Yes, it's fine, you've got a lot of healing going on in the area, so you're going to feel some weird stuff going on.
Thanks again Gordon. Feels quite settled today and swelling 90% gone now.
 
Another quick update in case anyone in future is looking up apicectomy, as I did. Day 10 post op. All swelling gone now, pain free completely. Still don’t feel like I could eat normally on the teeth, but I am sure that’s fairly normal. I did have some minor pain on days 4/5/6 after my stitches were removed and swelling went down but nothing that needed painkillers. Brushing and cleaning as normal. All in all, I am really pleased with how things are progressing and keeping everything crossed I can have my crown fitting appointment in 4 weeks.
 
Thanks for the update @Lozboz. Glad that you're healing well! You should be really proud of yourself for managing the appointment without the benzos too!
 
@Gordon why do you say diazapam is a rubbish drug? Some people need something like that to go to dentist. I have taken a zanax before a procedure and told my oral surgeon I was taking it and I've done it with dentist. I have a zanax prescription from my psychiatrist. I take 1 to 5 pills per year. I don't agree that the dentist should have prescribing it. It was given to her by her g.p. I think it is better to get a little "help" if that's what it takes than avoid dental care.
 
I'm not sure what your point is here?

I said that Diazepam is a rubbish drug for dental sedation. I absolutely agree that people can have some help for getting through a dental appointment but they should take the most appropriate drug for the purpose. Which was why in the same paragraph I suggested a better alternative.

Your Xanax for example is a good choice, but then again, it's not Diazepam.
 
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