T
tazey
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- Feb 2, 2018
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Good luck to both of you! Wish I could speed mine up (well in a way just to get it over with) if I can make it to your point it will be a miracle.
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Good luck to both of you! Wish I could speed mine up (well in a way just to get it over with) if I can make it to your point it will be a miracle.
A better start to the day after a restless night reading about dental implant procedures. What finally got me to relax and go to sleep was reading about the two types of implant procedures. This is a little graphic maybe so proceed with caution. One is the traditional and somewhat outdated method where the dentist makes an incision in the gum, makes two distinct flaps and opens them up to drill the implant into the jaw. The second type is where the dentist or surgeon uses the CT Scan to make stents before the actual procedure based on the exact anatomy of the patients jaw and has the exact angle that the implants will go in already marked so there doesn’t need to be any incision beforehand, the implant is drilled immediately and directly through the gum tissue at the precise angle and depth needed to achieve optimal results. I am extremely relieved to say that I recall my Prosthodontist talking to me about how he’s making the stents and would need a few weeks between my last appointment and the surgery to do so. Stents are less invasive less uncomfortable for the patient and take less time to install. Can I get an amen and hallelujah? I know it won’t be a walk in the park but I like the sound of that better than scalpel and invasion and more stitches involved. It was just nice to read something like that to put me at ease. Today I’m relaxing and enjoying my day.
There will be time for nerves on Tuesday at which point I see my therapist and hope to gain some techniques to calm me a bit so I don’t have to put myself through a bad night before. I’m determined to keep a level head, here’s hoping!
Hey, if nothing else I certainly don’t want to let any of you down. We can get through our challenges together. Until later friends, see you on the flip side! ??
Hi Sweetheart! Thanks for letting us know how you are doing. I feel so badly for you that you have been suffering so much. You are so right-it does not matter one bit what others THINK-YOU have to go through the pain and discomfort and the soft diet and it's HARD. The reason I think you feel more apprehensive this time is at least partly because you know what to expect. You know, like when you are expecting your second child. People try and tell you that you'll have no worries this time around as you've already done it before. That's true but you also know about the pain and discomfort etc. It's completely normal for you to feel as you do. You are a very logical person and an extremely courageous one, and you will have that appointment when you are truly ready and probably sooner than you think right now. I too would want to find our more about what is likely to happen with your treatment plan. I think your therapist is correct though, by saying you need to be flexible with that. It could be truly that he can't say for definate what needs to happen until you are in the procedure. It seems like you have a really good dentist and a great dental team and if when you talk to him, you feel satisfied he is being honest with you; give him the control and go with it. And that might take time with your therapist for you to get to that point but I believe you will get there because you want to get there. Take some time to reflect and rest but don't feel badly about this missed appointment. You did the right thing for you at this time and this is just a delay in your journey-not the end.
Here if you want to talk some more
Your caring and support are appreciated as always. You are 100% correct that it’s worse when you know what to expect the second go around. It’s like when I went into labor with my second and burst into tears when I was admitted. The nurse was a snot and asked “did you not think this was going to happen eventually?” I snapped and said yes as a matter of fact I did know, and my first baby was almost 10 pounds and I had a hell of a time and almost bled out so I’m scared it’s going to be that bad again, is that okay with you?!” But un-like labor I do have a choice as to when I go through with this next phase of surgery which is both good and not so good at once. As long as I take a breather but not a hiatus from my care plan I will be okay. I’ll talk to my therapist about delving less into my childhood crap which isn’t going anywhere and dealing more with this flexibility and trust issue I have. Luckily I see him weekly rather than bi-weekly. I’m actually looking forward to working through this with him. I know you’re over your anxiety now with flying colors but I hope you’ll stay in touch.?
Dear Anxious76,
thank you so much for sharing this and being so open and honest about it, I can imagine that it wasn't easy. I was quite mad at the lady you had on the phone in the first moment, from your post it sounds like she really messed up by her way to reply to your question and you were very brave not to cancel right away!
There is this balance in dental anxiety.. you have one voice in you that wants you to keep pushing yourself behind your limits to make progress and go through things that were planned and then there is the other voice that tries to make you take care of yourself and respect your limits. It is very difficult to find the harmony between the both but I would say that you absolutely did the right thing, because self-respect and self-care goes above anything else. It's your body and your psyche and you are suppose to take a good care of them. You wouldn't push your best friend through the procedure if you saw them being in a state like you were today. So why pushing yourself. I sometimes feel that if we all were able to take care of ourselves and respect our limits and emotional state in the first place, there would be no dental anxiety because we would just leave any treatment that doesn't feel right. Dental phobia has in my view a lot to do with setting boarders and consciously deciding what to allow and what now. Happy to hear that your dental team was fine and gave you the reassurance you needed and I can imagine how relieved you must have been after that.
I admire your courage and your strength it took to cancel, no matter what your husband says and no matter what you felt you were supposed to do. This must have been a really hard decision and the fact that your story is here on the forum probably didn't make it much easier. Writing about it here openly is also very brave.
So.. it might not have ended like you have planned, but a huge congrats and well done anyway because you recognized what you are ready for and what not, you refused to do what was expected from you and just followed your intuition and that's always the best thing to do.
All the best wishes, keep on going and I know you will make it sooner or later.
Look forward to read how your story continues
Exactly! What a 'helpful' nurse hey?! You know what? I was only thinking to myself yesterday about your upcoming appointment and I thought-that girl is tough-she is so strong and I could never go through all that! How you're feeling is completely rational, and unless people have been through the stuff we've been through; how can they judge you now? That's why the dental office staff were so kind, they get it. And they get it because you're not alone, others feel as you do. You're doing the best you can, and I honestly believe you will get to where you need to be when you've had time to regroup and feel it's right for you.
I'm not going anywhere, and I intend to stay in touch
Enjoy your day friend!
Anxious76!!! I'm sitting here on the other side of the world, trying to work out the time difference as to when you would be up and about telling me how wonderful your new chompers are!! And then I saw your other post about you cancelling your appointment!
This setback is so sad to hear! I was hoping to read some good news after all the hard work you've put in so far to get where you are! So what's the plan of attack from here? Don't have one? You NEED to formulate a plan and get yourself back on track!
I don't blame you for cancelling, I wouldn't want to have to go through the same procedure twice if they couldn't get it done properly the first time. What a lot of readers and others with a less severe phobia than you have (I'm talking about those that just have "trouble getting into the chair" but can deal with getting work done once they're in the chair - level of phobia here) might not realise, is that yes, popping a few Valium and getting the IV sedation will get the procedure done, but the aftermath is not so easy to deal with as you detailed in your post... and unless you've been there then you really can't understand just how daunting, depressing and frightening that can be for a person!
Chin up honey... you'll get back on the horse when you're ready to tackle this. I know how much of a struggle you've gone through to get to where you're at... and your sooooooo close to getting to the finish line! I'm here for support and to help you through the hard times!
Spanky xo
Hi Spanky, good to hear from you! I can understand how surprised you must have been, I was surprised too believe me. I think we both know I’ll be up on that horse again but I need to get myself in a place where I can mentally accept that things may not always go as planned and I may need to have another major procedure. And also a way to look at this next procedure as something brand new rather than letting the haunts of my difficult recovery frighten me from finishing. The game plan is to discuss this with my therapist and work out a strategy to get myself ready. I’m setting no timeline or deadline for myself but I don’t want this next part to carry on into the summer months so I suppose that’s at least the start of one. Spring is a time of renewal and growth so I’ll take that to heart and let it help me. It’s taken me the better part of two days just to get to a place where I no longer feel threatened, but I’m okay now.
You’re right, I was better off when I was naive about the recovery and all it entailed, and how slow it was for going to be for me to even get to this point of limited options chewing wise. I know that it will all will be worth it and that’s why I chose this course, but I have to do things at my own pace and not the pace the dentist has outlined in his mind. It’s a hell of a lot different for the one sitting in the chair. Dentists have a more scientific outlook rather than personal and that is fantastic for what they have to do, but for the nervous patient it doesn’t get more personal. To think I used to get nervous for a root canal....I would give anything to be back in the place of routine cleanings and even the more difficult maintenance. I hope I’m at least a cautionary tale to anyone who is afraid to go and and have those routine things done...you’re facing so much more if you don’t take care now.
It was nice to ready you’re getting on better. Thank you very much for your support.
You'll get there!! And what you said is right... you can't move forward thinking that the next procedure is going to have such an impact to you during the recovery and healing phase! And if there is a issue and you have to go for round 2, you know you're strong enough to get through it! You never know, you might be fine and have a good recovery compared to previous experiences!! Positive thinking hon!!
Spanky xo