Partially effective anesthetic

[superbendy]

Hi, as my user name suggests I have a condition which makes me very flexible, sometimes known as being double jointed. I have a condition called Ehlers Danlos syndrome. Unluckily for me this can cause a resistance to local anesthetic.
So I was only diagnosed with this 5 years ago but it will have been present all my life (I'm 37).
So anyway every experience I've had of dental treatment has been a bad one! As a child/teen I had cavities filled and the dentist never believed me when I told them I could still feel pain when they drilled. All the signs were there that the anesthetic had worked, numb face, lips, gums everything. As soon as the drill started so did the awful nerve pain. It's like the pain when the dentist prods a decayed tooth with the metal thing, only instead if it being gone in a second it stays they whole time they drill.
So I have always dreaded the dentist. As I've got older I began to think they must be right in saying that I'm imagining it or its just pressure I'm feeling. They have always given me numerous injections then explained it's impossible to still feel pain after so many doses of anesthetic.
I had to have a filling a few years ago and explained my anxiety to my husband who told me the pain I was experiencing is not normal
So I had the same happen again and told the dentist numerous times I could still feel pain. In the end he said if the last shot didn't work I would have to come back and try again another day. Having experienced the same thing over and over again i knew next time would be the same so I lied and told him it had worked and just got through it somehow again.
I didn't go again for years but my daughter has to have some very significant orthodontic treatment so I have to be a good role model! I had a check up and need a filling. This is a new dentist now who seems very nice but I was so anxious during the check up that I couldn't wait to get out so I didn't discuss it with him.
I was due to go in January but cancelled and was supposed to go this Tuesday just gone. I had to cancel because I have a virus and am annoyed that I couldn't go to just get it over with, now I have to wait another month.
For the past few years I've suffered from premature ectopic beats of the heart which I'm waiting to find out whether it's connected to the eds or not. At the moment I'm not on any medication for them but I have them everyday.
So I'm on a forum for eds sufferers and many of them also have problems with local anesthetic. A couple if them have recommended adrenaline free lidocaine and others have recommended articaine (sorry if spellings aren't correct!) . There is a dental nurse on there who said that articaine works best for her but because of the heart thing I have they may recommend adrenaline free anesthetic.
So at the moment I'm feeling that I can't go through with this. I've had so many bad experiences that it's difficult to believe that it can ever be different.
I had a tooth removed once which was fine, I only felt pulling etc but my jaw felt like it was breaking because it was moving around too much. In the end myself and the nurse had to hold it in place.
I had sedation and local for a wisdom tooth removal but had a panic attack as they started putting the injection in. However they didn't believe it was a panic attack and put it down to some kind of reaction to the sedation and local together and said I should not have that again!
So I'd be really grateful if anyone could advise me on this. Obviously the filling needs doing but at the moment the sensitivity is no where near as bad as having the treatment with partial anesthesia!

 

[Tink]

Hi -

Can't advise about specifics (not a dentist!) but I just wanted to say that I feel your pain

I could guess immediately just from your username and the subject line what you were going to say!

The cause of my own local anaesthetic problems is something different, but I've certainly had similar experiences. It's horrible, isn't it? You feel like you are going mad or just a wimp or something, and so many dentists just end up baffled when they keep putting in more and more local and it just doesn't work!

What I will say is don't give up - many people do find the drug/combination that works for them in the end. It really can be different. Since you had that one extraction that was fine, it sounds like it *is* possible for you - would it be possible to get hold of your notes from that time, find out what it was that they did then that worked?

Hang in there, I hope you find the answer.

 

[superbendy]

Thank you for replying. The dentist I used to go to has closed down now so I don't think I can get my notes. I think (though I'm not 100% sure) that the extraction was okay because the jaw pain was so bad that it detracted from the tooth pain but also that the gum and everything goes numb, so the teeth feel 'dull' when touched but the nerve remains, well, zingy!!
I'm thinking of calling the practice in advance to ask if they have different types of anesthetic to try if their regular one doesn't work. I don't want to seem neurotic before I even step into the surgery for the treatment though!!!!
Thank you again for your reply. I hope you have managed to find a way of experiencing comfortable treatment.

 

[Tink]

I did, thank you - after many years of searching I found a dentist who was prepared to try things until we found the answer - which in my case was a different type of injection (he used an intraosseous injection).

I know *exactly* what you mean about the tooth feeling dull but the nerve remaining 'zingy', that's how mine behave too!

Yes, do call the practise in advance, that's a great idea. Ask them if they can try different types of anaesthetic, but also ask about more advanced local anaesthetic techniques - not all dentist are trained in this, but some are, and one of those should be able to help you.

If the dentist can't do it and you can't find one who can, it may be worth trying to get a referral to your local dental hospital, they will often have people with the necessary equipment and skills.

Good luck, I hope it works out well for you!

 

[Tink]

PS - Don't worry about seeming neurotic, it helps them to know what your needs are if they are going to be treating you! Chances are the dentist will appreciate the heads up. Also, they're dentists, they'll have seen a lot of different responses in their time!