Scared witless about tomorrow!

[rocklover]

You are a new Mum, you need your teeth for life....presumably you only went NHS because it is cheaper i.e. free when you are pregnant and just after. It's like anything else....it's worth borrowing (not from a loan shark lol) to fund it...bank personal loan? Borrow from parent/relative? Stick it on a credit card? You will earn it back at a later stage...silly to lose a tooth....you are not talking thousands of dollars in cosmetic dentistry...just fixing a couple of teeth optimally which in the long run will end up costing you less probably.
It sounds to me like you have suffered enough...as a dental phobic you would have done well to go straight to your partner's recommended dentist...all dentists are not the same but many many people either don't know this or don't mind getting poor service. I suppose if you have perfect teeth it doesn't matter so much lol.

Yes I only went with the NHS because it is free and as I explained we are really not terribly well off, however I do realise that my teeth are extremely important and it's worth spending the money on. I wouldn't risk sending my children to the cheapest childminder, I'd research and visit to establish who can offer the best service for me. It makes sense to do the same with my teeth as they are just as important as my children.

My dad (who lives 200 miles away from me) is lucky to have a great NHS dentist and he seems to get treated the same as a private patient, so I know some NHS practices are good, however there are no other dental surgeries in my town who are taking on NHS patients.

I doubt I could borrow any money at the moment as I am not earning, however, my partner has a credit card and I wonder if he would pay the initial fee and then I could pay him back by getting a small part time job in the evenings.

I really do want my teeth fixed because I am still hoping they aren't in as bad a condition as I fear, my front teeth (including pre molars) look very good, but I could do with a polish and scale for the back molars. Once my left top wisdom tooth is filled and this RCT is finished I would have 7 filled teeth (excluding what might need doing on the right) and I'm beginning to realise that this maybe isn't too bad for my age of 36? I just hope my pregnancy diet hasn't done as much damage as i'm worried it has.

 

[vicki]

Hi

I'm a bit late chipping in on this, but I just wanted to say that I think you're doing the right thing by looking into going to see another dentist.

I had similar problems to yours last year and after trying filling the tooth to ease the pain, my (very nice) NHS dentist said he thought that a root canal would really be the only option (other than losing the tooth) to solve the problem. Anyway, I had the tooth dressed and was told to book an appointment in one or two weeks (to give the tooth time to settle down) and then I would have the RCT done. He also explained what it would involve, including showing me a rubber dam and telling me that the tooth would need a crown afterwards.

When I went to book the appointment for the RCT, I was told that my dentist was leaving and that his replacement didn't start for another five weeks and so the appointment would be with the new dentist, five weeks later (I was gutted because, despite being terrified, I felt OK with this dentist and he was very patient).

I went to the RCT appointment five weeks later, with the new dentist (who was also very nice) and my tooth wouldn't go numb, so I felt quite a lot of what he was doing. No rubber dam was used (or mentioned) and at the end of it, I had an amalgam filling in the tooth (no mentioned of the crown that the previous one had talked about). I wasn't sure how long it would be before the pain settled down afterwards, so I decided to leave it for a couple of weeks.

Three weeks later, I was still in pain and so ended up with an urgent appointment to see the dentist, where he looked at the tooth (no xray) and then prescribed Amoxicillin for one week (however there was no mention of it being infected). This was in the week before Christmas.

The pain didn't go, so I called the dentist on Christmas Eve morning to get an urgent appointment, to find that they were closed. I ended up going through NHS Direct to get an out of hours appointment with an emergency dentist on Boxing Day who looked at the tooth, prodded the gum and said it was infected. She prescribed Metronidazole for five days and told me the options were either have the tooth out (which she could do) or go back to my dentist to re-do the RCT.

I then went back to my dentist between Christmas and New Year (and gave him the letter from the emergency dentist), so he drilled out all the previous filling and placed a dressing and temporary filling and then told me to go back in a week.

I went back a week later and he took an xray which showed that some of the roots had not been filled fully and so this was causing the pain. I was then told to book another appointment for the following week to get the RCT re-done, which I did, but the tooth continued to hurt even after it was re-done.

Anyway, I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. I am sure there are some very nice NHS dentists out there who will do a great job (and I'm fairly certain that the previous dentist who left would have done a great job), but if your gut instinct is telling you that something is wrong, I would trust it.

As for antibiotics, I also have IBS and acid reflux, so I made sure that I always had something to eat before each dose so that I wasn't taking it on an empty stomach and it was fine.

 

[rocklover]

Right, looking at the price list there's no way I can afford private, absolutely no way and now I have just entered a whole nightmare of terror. My partner has said that I must go back to the NHS dentist no matter how scared I am and let her do whatever it is she's going to do.

I don't know how I am even going to get there, I have never been so scared in my whole life and I will probably have to take my baby with me who'll just bloody cry the whole time. I'll need medication just to get me through the flipping door, can I get something from the dr without telling the dentist, or will it conflict with the anaesthetic?

The thing is I don't even know what she is going to do, she just gave me a leaflet about root canals. I'm pretty sure she won't be doing anything like using a rubber dam, but what I'm most scared of is that she won't be able to get me numb again, what the hell do I do then???

 

[letsconnect]

So sorry to hear that . Of course, all dentists are trained to do root canal treatment (obviously a specialist would be trained to an even higher level, but most dentists should be able to obtain a reasonable result unless it's a particularly complex root arrangement, in which case you may be entitled to a referral on the NHS to a specialist. In theory, anyway - according to NHS Choices!).

My feel is that you can reasonably insist on a rubber dam and magnifying loupes being used, and that the tooth be crowned (following successful treatment - once you are certain that the tooth has settled down). All these would constitute the standard of care, and you could complain to your PCT/NHS trust or the General Dental Council if the correct procedure wasn't followed.

For all we know, this is what she is planning to do in any event - I just mentioned it because I have come across a few cases where NHS dentists have taken shortcuts, but that certainly doesn't mean that ALL NHS dentists take shortcuts!

If your dentist fails to get you numb, you should definitely not "tough it out" - maybe you could ask for a referral to a specialist endodontist (one never knows one's luck!), or else you may need another course of antibiotics - though it should be fairly obvious whether the infection is active or not . If the current course gets rid of the active infection, then it's much more likely that your dentist will be able to numb you. Though if the problem lies purely with her technique, maybe it's time to kick up a bit of a fuss

 

[rocklover]

Ok, so I'm trying to calm myself down a little and I'm figuring out a plan of attack. I can afford a check-up with the private dentist and on their web-page it says they offer check-ups at short notice so i should be able to get seen next week.

What I need to know is does getting a check-up with a different dentist cause any problems with your regular dentist? I know having work does, but just wondering about having the check-up. Depending on how much work I need done (apart from what I already know) the dentist would be able to let me know if they could offer me a payment plan and considering already know I need a root filling, a normal filling and possibly a crown at some point for the RC tooth, that would take me to at least £1000. Surely even fairly comfortably off people would struggle to find that amount of cash up front, so hopefully they would consider allowing me to pay per month/in installments?

I will feel much better having a plan b, but looking at these private dental prices, it seems that decent dental care is reserved for extremely well off these days .

 

[vicki]

Going to see another dentist for a checkup is a bit like going for a second opinion - your dentist doesn't need to know unless you tell them. Also, if it's a 'new patient' consultation, if you've paid for the appointment, there shouldn't be any obligation to go back there if you find it's not for you. If you choose to change dentists permanently, then the new practice will need to contact your current dentist to get your records, but again, it shouldn't be a problem.

Unless they've won the lottery, I think very few people actually pay for treatment in full up front, unless it's something small like a checkup or a simple filling. There are a few different ways to pay for your dental treatment and some practices offer either interest free credit or low interest rate repayments. Also, there are a number of dental insurance schemes and healthcare cash plans which either contribute towards the cost or pay in full (subject to treatment and annual limits in the policy). I have a Boots dental insurance plan which costs about £20 a month and pays out 100% of the bills up to set maximum amounts per treatment (for example, the maximum for a root canal is £160, so if the root canal cost £400, I would pay the full amount, send Boots the receipt and then they'd send me a cheque for £160). The only downside to it is that there's a three month waiting period after signing up before you can claim and they won't pay out for anything that was known about before you took out the insurance.

Another option is a healthcare cash plan (like Simply Health/HSA) where you pay a monthly amount and then send the receipts for your treatment and they pay you cash (anywhere between 50-100% of the cost) up to the maximum in a year. Unlike dental insurance, they cover all sorts of stuff like glasses and physiotherapy.

There is also Denplan which many practices accept. The only snag with this is that it's based on an assessment of your mouth by your dentist and you're supposed to be 'dentally fit' before you join. The monthly fee is dependent on your mouth. Once you've signed up though, it covers the cost of checkups and xrays along with less complex treatments like fillings. Other more expensive treatments are paid for but you sometimes get a discount.

There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get your root canal done on the NHS - they have a duty of care to patients and that includes following correct procedures. It's true that some do cut corners, but equally, most don't and will do a good job. If you go with your NHS dentist, don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to. Whilst they may be pressed for time, they still have an obligation to do a competent job - that's what your local PCT (and you) pay them for.

If you find that it isn't numb enough, tell them and don't let them carry on until you're satisfied that it's numb. I wasn't completely numb during my root canal and so he gave me extra anaesthetic, but it still wasn't completely numb. However I *chose* to carry on because I could handle the discomfort and I wanted it over with. You shouldn't feel any pain during a root canal although you might feel some sensations of slight pressure whilst it's being done, but it's not pain and is nothing to worry about.

 

[De8934]

This 'you can come down and wait thing' is very NHS - they used to say that in the 1970s at an NHS practice I went to...it epitomises the lack of customer focus which really shouldn't still be there in the 21st Century lol. What my private dentist does to see registered patients in pain, is works his lunch hour to see you at a set time or even rearranges other non-urgent patients - you don't mind this as you know he would do the same for you. Noone has a wasted journey and everyone gets seen.....but of course he has lower demand because you have to pay a lot for the service....the demand in NHS is theoretically unlimited...as the costs are so subsidised by taxes the only disincentive is dental phobia maybe.
They manage this (since they have enough patients and don't want anymore nor do they care if you go elsewhere) by keeping you away with cheap no frills service whereas private dentists tend to want to provide a more tailored service to patients who will pay to attend regularly and need to have certain USPs such as painless injections (takes longer), pleasant relaxing environment etc etc

Out of courtesy when I left that same NHS practice I mentioned after almost 20 years as a patient of their long neverending stream of changing associate dentists (finally got fed up), I sent them a letter thanking them for the care over the years and .....I didn't even get an acknowledgement.

Hi Brit, I was abit shocked at their attitude really. They didnt seem to care if she got ill or anything. I explained it would be difficult but they didnt offer an appointment for the next day. I said I will get her to have salt mouth washes and hope she is ok over the weekend and that I will contact the "out of hours" dentist if things get worse or maybe contact the surgery again next week. They said yes do that, good bye.

He wisdom tooth gums are feeling better with the salt mouth washes and the left side of her face is less swollen now, the pain killers helped too, so maybe it wasn't anything to worry about it was probably a mouth ulcer. She's a good girl and dosnt complain about pain and things so I know that her gum was hurting her. I will have to take time off work if it comes back but hopefully it wont trouble her again.

I have been thinking about private dentists for a bit now and it may be something to consider especially if our daughters gums start to hurt again. We all deserve to be treated with respect.


Thanks for your help on this.

 

[rocklover]

Thanks Vicki, I guess I haven't got much choice but to use my NHS dentist until all my problems are sorted as I am not "dentally fit" so I probably wouldn't qualify for any payment plans.

I would love to be brave and go on with the treatment if the dentist can't numb me next time, but I am just not as brave as you. I had to have epidurals with both my kids as I am such a wuss about pain .

I have a dr's appt next week in the hope that they will give me something to calm me down before I go to the dentist on the 16th, I just really hope she can get me numb so that I can get this sorted. Will she refer me if she is unable to do the work, or will I have to hunt around for another dentist myself?

 

[brit]

Rocklover
Just an unhelpful thought but if your partner is himself needle phobic and goes to a private dentist for comfortable care (maybe as old NHS patient I don't know) - why does he insist you 'tough it out on NHS? You are not working because you are staying home to look after his baby - you deserve a bit of consideration here.

Dentists don't need to request your records btw - they often just do their own so you could see someone else without jeopardising your right to see the NHS dentist.
I'm with you on the epidurals lol....managed to get 2 painfree (more or less) births on NHS but I am much more assertive with medics.

 

[rocklover]

Rocklover
Just an unhelpful thought but if your partner is himself needle phobic and goes to a private dentist for comfortable care (maybe as old NHS patient I don't know) - why does he insist you 'tough it out on NHS? You are not working because you are staying home to look after his baby - you deserve a bit of consideration here.

Dentists don't need to request your records btw - they often just do their own so you could see someone else without jeopardising your right to see the NHS dentist.
I'm with you on the epidurals lol....managed to get 2 painfree (more or less) births on NHS but I am much more assertive with medics.

He is an old NHS patient with them so he is lucky, but he got me a price list and it's just too expensive. It's £395 for a root filling, £400 for a crown if I need one and a filling will cost over £100, so thats me up to £1000 already without knowing what I need on my right side, with no way to pay.

The thing is my partner is needle phobic, afraid of flying and won't learn to drive as he is afraid of that too (I'm the only driver in the relationship) and he has suffered from anxiety himself in the past so he is giving me lots of emotional support.

However he doesn't understand why I am so freaked out by this treatment I need (I guess I don't either because I have not really been a dental phobic in the past, just a little nervous until now). I have been pretty difficult to live with lately as I am totally obsessed with my teeth and I keep bursting into tears all the time, in fact I am pretty embarrassed that I am so highly strung so I am grateful that he is so patient.

I am due to start taking Citalopram again soon for my anxiety, but I am holding off until after the anti-biotics as I can only handle one set of side effects at once . Basically I'm a mess at the moment and this bloody tooth has tipped me over the edge.

Epidurals are great aren't they? Except the one I had with my son in Feb didn't quite work well enough so I when I ended up with a c-section I could still feel pain in my bladder and bottom whilst the op was going on and that was horrid !! I toughed it out though because I didn't want a GA, so if I can deal with that why the hell does dental treatment terrify me so much?

 

[brit]

He is an old NHS patient with them so he is lucky, but he got me a price list and it's just too expensive. It's £395 for a root filling, £400 for a crown if I need one and a filling will cost over £100, so thats me up to £1000 already without knowing what I need on my right side, with no way to pay.

The thing is my partner is needle phobic, afraid of flying and won't learn to drive as he is afraid of that too (I'm the only driver in the relationship) and he has suffered from anxiety himself in the past so he is giving me lots of emotional support.

However he doesn't understand why I am so freaked out by this treatment I need (I guess I don't either because I have not really been a dental phobic in the past, just a little nervous until now). I have been pretty difficult to live with lately as I am totally obsessed with my teeth and I keep bursting into tears all the time, in fact I am pretty embarrassed that I am so highly strung so I am grateful that he is so patient.

I am due to start taking Citalopram again soon for my anxiety, but I am holding off until after the anti-biotics as I can only handle one set of side effects at once . Basically I'm a mess at the moment and this bloody tooth has tipped me over the edge.

Epidurals are great aren't they? Except the one I had with my son in Feb didn't quite work well enough so I when I ended up with a c-section I could still feel pain in my bladder and bottom whilst the op was going on and that was horrid !! I toughed it out though because I didn't want a GA, so if I can deal with that why the hell does dental treatment terrify me so much?

You don't need the crown straightaway - they can take the tooth 'out of bite' and it can survive years....my first rct(a private UK cock up) was never crowned and it survived 18 years before it finally got a proper rct from an endodontist.
As to your C Section - you should not have toughed that out....I had a spinal for my C Section and felt zilch not even pressure. Had there been an issue I would have gone GA no question. Your current anxiety is probably caused by the bad experience you had....major abdominal surgery with inadequate anaesthesia...you should not be doing that to yourself and I am shocked they carried on tbh. What the hell is the NHS coming to?

 

[vicki]

I would love to be brave and go on with the treatment if the dentist can't numb me next time, but I am just not as brave as you. I had to have epidurals with both my kids as I am such a wuss about pain .

I have a dr's appt next week in the hope that they will give me something to calm me down before I go to the dentist on the 16th, I just really hope she can get me numb so that I can get this sorted. Will she refer me if she is unable to do the work, or will I have to hunt around for another dentist myself?

If your dentist can't get you numb, then don't let them carry on with treatment. The whole point of local anaesthetic is to make the area numb. You're not a wuss about pain - most people would do anything to avoid it (and I'm the first in the queue for painkillers if I've got pain ).

If your dentist can't get your tooth numb, then they should be able to refer you to someone who can, perhaps another dentist at the same practice or your local Community Dental Service (sometimes called Salaried Dental Service).

If you tell your doctor about the problems you've been experiencing with your teeth, I'm sure they'll be able to do something for you. You might also start to feel a bit better once the Citalopram begins to work when you come off the antibiotics. I asked my GP for something to help me through dental appointments and he prescribed beta blockers to reduce the adrenaline rush (I used to take them for panic attacks a few years ago anyway) and they do seem to take the edge off it. There are plenty of different options available when it comes to drugs, so I'm sure your doctor will be able to come up with something

 

[rocklover]

Thanks again Brit and Vicki for your advice and kindness, with the c-section I was told I could have a GA, but I decided not to, was a horrid experience though.

I'm trying to be calm and keep my mind off things, but I am still anxious when I eat, the teeth on my right side have started aching a little and I am totally petrified that there is a major problem there as well. Saying that, they weren't hurting before I went to the dentist on Thursday so maybe it's pyschosymatic (not sure if i spelt that right). I am still not eating any sugar at all, I've even managed to find sugar free breakfast cereal and pasta sauce, I'm stupidly obsessed with it.

I've started on the anti-biotics and so far ity's not too bad, just have a little nausea and a horrid headache, but i can deal with that as long as they clear the infection. I just wish I wasn't so scared all the time.

 

[vicki]

If you're not eating properly because of your tooth problems, that could be contributing to the nausea and headache, along with the anxiety. It is difficult to eat when all you can think about it your mouth and the pain in your teeth, but if you try and eat smaller amounts more regularly, that might help. It doesn't have to be anything fancy; over the Christmas period, I survived for about five or six weeks mainly on mashed potato, soups, soft bread (with the crusts cut off, so just the middle bit) and lukewarm milky tea (anything too hot or cold was out of the question!). I also found it helped to eat something because the antibiotics made me feel sick.

Saying that, they weren't hurting before I went to the dentist on Thursday so maybe it's pyschosymatic (not sure if i spelt that right). I am still not eating any sugar at all, I've even managed to find sugar free breakfast cereal and pasta sauce, I'm stupidly obsessed with it.

It might be psychosomatic or it might not. But the more you concentrate on pain, the more it tends to hurt. That's why pain is quite often a bit worse at night because you've got nothing else to focus on. Either way, if you let your dentist know at your next appointment, they'll be able to check it out.

Maybe it might help if you were to write down a list of the things you're worried about or need answers to and take that with you to your next appointment, then you can go through it with your dentist and they can answer your questions.

Even though it's NHS (if you stay with your current dentist), try not to let the time constraints thing worry or distract you. They still have a duty of care to their patients and that means a) doing a competent job (including making sure that you're numb for treatment) and b) making sure that you're fully informed of all the options (this includes explaining things and answering questions). If it takes them longer than the time they've allotted to your treatment, tough, they'll just have to over-run a bit. Even though you may be exempt from the NHS charges at the moment, you've still paid into the system through taxes, so it's time to get your money's worth. After all, most people wouldn't stand for poor service in a shop or car garage...

I was made to feel as though I was taking up too much time by a previous dentist a few years ago, just because I spend most of the appointment shaking like a leaf (he used to make rude comments when I steamed the safety specs up through panic). When I told my current dentist about it, he said "You're joking? You should've dealt with him!

 

[rocklover]

If you're not eating properly because of your tooth problems, that could be contributing to the nausea and headache, along with the anxiety. It is difficult to eat when all you can think about it your mouth and the pain in your teeth, but if you try and eat smaller amounts more regularly, that might help. It doesn't have to be anything fancy; over the Christmas period, I survived for about five or six weeks mainly on mashed potato, soups, soft bread (with the crusts cut off, so just the middle bit) and lukewarm milky tea (anything too hot or cold was out of the question!). I also found it helped to eat something because the antibiotics made me feel sick.

It might be psychosomatic or it might not. But the more you concentrate on pain, the more it tends to hurt. That's why pain is quite often a bit worse at night because you've got nothing else to focus on. Either way, if you let your dentist know at your next appointment, they'll be able to check it out.

Maybe it might help if you were to write down a list of the things you're worried about or need answers to and take that with you to your next appointment, then you can go through it with your dentist and they can answer your questions.

Even though it's NHS (if you stay with your current dentist), try not to let the time constraints thing worry or distract you. They still have a duty of care to their patients and that means a) doing a competent job (including making sure that you're numb for treatment) and b) making sure that you're fully informed of all the options (this includes explaining things and answering questions). If it takes them longer than the time they've allotted to your treatment, tough, they'll just have to over-run a bit. Even though you may be exempt from the NHS charges at the moment, you've still paid into the system through taxes, so it's time to get your money's worth. After all, most people wouldn't stand for poor service in a shop or car garage...

I was made to feel as though I was taking up too much time by a previous dentist a few years ago, just because I spend most of the appointment shaking like a leaf (he used to make rude comments when I steamed the safety specs up through panic). When I told my current dentist about it, he said "You're joking? You should've dealt with him!

Thanks Vicki, funnily enough I feel better at night for some reason and don't tend to notice the pain as much, it's possibly because I go out like a light ready for my son to wake up for food in the night lol. Saying that about pain though I am fairly lucky that at the moment the infected tooth doesn't hurt unless I chew with it or get it cold, I am hoping it will stay this way until my appt.

I will try and ask questions and see how she responds, she was a bit vague and "we'll talk about next time" was the stock response. But this time I will try and be a bit more assertive, but it depends on how much my nerves get the better of me on the day I suppose. I am just really worried about not being able to get numb again, that's the main thing that's causing the panic.

What I want answered is:

How many appts will it take to complete the RCT?

How long do you expect it to last? (If it's something like 2-5 years she can get lost)

Will I need a crown?

When will I get any other work (the wisdom tooth filling) done?


I have made up my mind though, when all this work is done I'm off to find a dental plan and I'm going private to get a level of service that I feel confident with.

 

[brit]

Thanks again Brit and Vicki for your advice and kindness, with the c-section I was told I could have a GA, but I decided not to, was a horrid experience though.

I don't know exactly what happened here and whether or not you actively shared your distress with the team treating you but for the sake of others who may be pregnant and find your account scary, I just want to say that when I had my elective c-section under local (spinal) anaesthesia it was made clear to me that were I not numb enough at any point, they would immediately administer a general anaesthetic. The person doing the local is also the person who can do a GA so this is a straightforward plan B.
I knew this as I had asked, how did they know I was numb etc etc and was told they spray cold water on and see if I react and also check with pins for any reaction before making the incision. My husband was present alongside me with the anaesthetist and I can honestly say it is probably the safest you can feel in an operating theatre fully awake.
Sorry for the hijack and very sorry about your traumatic experience but medicine should not be like dentistry....your airway is usually free during medical procedures and people can and should complain loudly if they are experiencing pain when there should be none.

Your dentist may have just been having a bad day and may be much nicer (as previously) when you return, the tooth will probably numb fine after the antibiotics. Ask her to take the tooth out of bite and then you can put off a crown for ages potentially, the statistic they sometimes trot out is that 50% of root canalled teeth will break within 5 years if not crowned ..so still quite a margin. If it did break, it could also then maybe be fixed with a crown potentially.

You should need at least 2 appts but sometimes and this may be the NHS approach because of time constraints they may do more shorter appts especially if waiting to see if the tooth has settles. They may just remove the nerve and the medicate and monitor. Even if they missed some canals/nerves it is possible it would take months/years before it gave you a problem so it is worth trying to save the tooth even on NHS rather than just extracting which leaves you with the immediate problem of a gap.
Maybe view it as 'buying you extra time' before you can get better care. It is good that it is not hurting at present.
A final thought maybe the reason she is stalling on the right hand side of your mouth is because she is so busy she is trying to stage the work which also gets you into another 'NHS fee period' although you are exempt as pregnant anyway - maybe it gets her an extra payment even though you don't need to pay.
I suspect they should not be doing this though and she is probably under a duty of care to identify all necessary work, inform you of it and treatment plan for it at the first check up. I can't imagine a private dentist refusing to look at your right hand side. It is most odd. The sooner the NHS funding for dentistry in England and Wales is changed the better...there are some pilot schemes going on apparently as it has now been recognised that the supposed improved system was incentivising supervised neglect and extraction rather than repair.

 

[rocklover]

Sorry if I may have inadvertently distressed any first time pregnant mums on here, I didn't mean to. Can I make it absolutely clear that although I could feel some pain in my bladder etc, at no time did I feel any of the actual operation.

I made it clear that I was in a bit of pain and they gave me extra drugs, but it didn't work and they surmised that the epidural (which I had put in way before I had to have the section) was just slightly too high up which is why I could still feel some discomfort "down below". They offered me a GA but I refused as I am emetophobic and did not want to risk the GA making me sick. My previous c-section was completely straight forward and free of pain, so with my son I was just unlucky and it will NOT happen as a matter of course to other women. I hope this puts people's minds at rest .

I am just going to go back to my dentist and hope for the best, although every person I have spoken to (bar my partner) have said I shouldn't go back, but find a different dentist. Unless I drive to adjacent towns to try other NHS dentists I really have no choice but to visit this lady again and to be frank, it scares me.

I spoke to my sister last night who told me that her husband had RCT and was booked in for two 1 hour long appts so that the dentist had time to explain the procedure and after care to him as well as carrying out the work. As you can guess this was at a private dentist who cared about his comfort and it is blatantly obvious that my dentist hasn't got time to care about mine. It seems that not having money means you don't deserve the same treatment that the well off do.

 

[rocklover]

I'm having a difficult day today, even though my appt isn't until Monday I have that horrible scared feeling. To make things worse my anti-biotics are making me feel poorly (upset tummy and nausea) and the infection doesn't seem to be going either, I have no pain (hardly had any with it) but I still have a funny taste in my mouth. I only have todays tablets left to take.

I'm off to the dr's tomorrow to see if I can get something to calm me down before the appt, should I mention the fact that I don't think the infection has gone? I'm so worried that I won't be able to make it to the dentist on Monday because of stress making me ill, in fact I think I am more worried about being ill from fear than the actual appt in a way!

How do other people cope when waiting to have work done?

 

[ilytandk]

Probiotics helped me when the antibiotics made me feel queasy

My dentist also has me turning up 30 mins early for an appointment so I can have a Valium

 

[rocklover]

I'm going to the dr today to see if he can give me something to calm my nerves on the day, if I don't get anything I'm not quite sure how I'm going to cope.