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Wisdom teeth out tomorrow fear of numbness upon waking!!!

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Bluebell321

Junior member
Joined
Aug 25, 2015
Messages
10
Any input would be appreciated. I'm 24 and I have never had any dental work. Not even a cavity. I have had panic attacks since I was 7 all related to my tongue being numb. My dentist tried to put a numbing gel on my gums once for a deep cleaning and I immediately made him rinse it off and begun having a panic attack. Tomorrow I'm getting my wisdom teeth out and I'm dreading waking up and feeling the numb sensation. I will be put under iv sedation. I have heard from different people different things. Some say you don't care about anything when you wake up and others say they came around quickly. I'm terrified of waking up and feeling that out of control feeling. I've searched and searched and I can't find any information on this. How do I cope upon waking? I know about hot water bottles and how they can help speed it along. Also he is giving me Valium. Is it better than xanax? HELP!!
 
Hi Bluebell,

Firstly I just want to say how brave you are. Having panic attacks from an early age and booking yourself in for this removal despite the worry and anxiety is the battle won, trust me, even if it doesn't feel like it today.

So here is what I know from my own wisdom teeth removal (4 out under general anesthetic) - I woke up so incredibly happy. The relief was like nothing id ever felt or have felt since. Like you I was very anxious going into it. I'd lost so much weight, couldn't sleep etc. My worry was that I would wake up in horrific pain with loads of swelling. That did not happen. Nothing happened in fact, except for sweet relief.

I promise you that IF you tongue it isn't dangerous and the worst you'll feel is high anxiety. But that's ok because anxiety is created by us, which means we have control over it. Whatever you feel when you wake up, it will pass. Though I'm 99.99% sure you'll feel nothing but relief, maybe a little groggy, that's it. Sleepy and happy.

Valium btw is a bit different to Xanax. I recommend taking whichever you've had before. In the event you haven't taken either, take what is recommended by your doctor. I personally take Valium but my brother prefers Xanax so it's really an individual preference.

i have my own dentist appointment in the morning but I'm going to send you positive vibes - you'll be in my thoughts and I know you can do this. Write back with an update and let us know how you got on.
 
Thank you for replaying. My oral surgeon prescribed me a 5mg Valium for the morning. My operation is at 10:20 tomorrow morning. Hopefully when I wake up I won't care. I honestly can't find any information about waking up and freaking out from the numbness so hopefully I will he too out of it to care. If not well.. I guess its time to conquer a fear. Positive vibes to you as well on your appointment. I will let you know how this all turns out!
 
I hate to go all "mum" on you but...I hope you're not Googling? If so, stop. Nobody will have your experience. You're in good hands with your surgeon and if the worst does happen (it won't, I promise) then they can give you some more Valium to make you feel comfortable.

You know, as you're coming to I don't think it's even possible to feel panic because you still have the sedation in your system.

Focus us on your own strength and the simple fact that all feelings pass.

I had my filling done this morning and that's exactly how I got myself in that chair. I'll look forward to checking back in and hearing about how well you've gone
 
I hate to go all "mum" on you but...I hope you're not Googling? If so, stop. Nobody will have your experience. You're in good hands with your surgeon and if the worst does happen (it won't, I promise) then they can give you some more Valium to make you feel comfortable.

You know, as you're coming to I don't think it's even possible to feel panic because you still have the sedation in your system.

Focus us on your own strength and the simple fact that all feelings pass.

I had my filling done this morning and that's exactly how I got myself in that chair. I'll look forward to checking back in and hearing about how well you've gone
Thank you so much :) I leave here in 30 minutes. I'm not scared at all to go in. I will take this Valium in a few minutes. The waking up part was the worst fear I had but I think you are right. I probably won't realize was going on. And when I do hopefully I also realize I am fine and can calm myself quickly. We will see! I quit googling at 2am and went to bed because you are right.. It wasn't helping haha. I'll check back in later on. :)
 
Hello there.

just a quick post to say good luck, hope it all goes smoothly and painlessly as I am Certain it will :)

kind Regards
 
Thank you spike for the good wishes. And thank you Shakey!!! So I woke up and showered this morning. Threw on yoga pants and a T-shirt. I took a 5mg Valium at 945 this morning. Then went to the office. My father took me and was the one to took care of me all day. (He is a saint). Now i know i actually prefer xanax to Valium, but it did have a calming effect. It was funny because the only other lady in there waiting in the waiting room was a mother of an ex boyfriend of mine from 5 years back. He and I are still friends. I asked her how she was and she said good, she was waiting on her daughter (his little sister who is my age and we are still friends). How crazy is that! Someone from my home town, who I have not seen in years, getting hers out on sept 11th right before me!? (Oh and the office was only doing half the normal amount of surgeries that day because nobody wanted to do it on sept 11th) I commuted for this surgery because I live in a college town 3 hours away. I didn't like any of the oral surgeons I met and my dad suggested I come home for the weekend and go to the oral surgeon our childhood dentist always suggests. The nurse popped her head out and said my friend did great. The mom said "wow! She went back at 10 and it was 10:30" so that made me feel better knowing she had just got all 4 teeth out which were impacted just like mine. Anyhow they call my name. I walk back and they talk about aftercare and hand my dad a paper. I really liked the Lady who took the time to answer all my questions about the aftercare so I did a sigh of relief when i said bye to dad and she took me around the corner to the operating room, where she started putting on gloves and scrubs. The guy was very nice too who was helping. I sat down and she made me take my hair put of my pony tail (I was reluctant because its so frizzy/curly I would look insane ) but she promised to help me put it up before I left. So I took it out and she put my hair in a blue net,but not before feeling it cause she said she loved my hair lol. I put on my socks and they covered me with a blanket. The guy placed little sticky things to my side and chest, took off my glasses, and put something on my ankel. Then the woman put something on my finger. They did this all while making small talk. Once they strapped that heart monitor on I laughed cause it was racing. They laughed and said it was normal. Before the surgen came in I warned her about my fear and she was surpised I had never had novacaine. She promised somebody would be there to help me get through it when i awoke. I know she meant well in telling me some people feel like they are suffocating once they get home cause the back of their throat is numb, but not to be alarmed. I just went ahead and blocked that out lol. They put oxygen in my nose with the little tubes and that made me a bit more nervous but I blocked it out. I didn't get laughing gas but that wasn't a big deal. I remember getting it one time and I felt like I couldn't breath. I was really little though so had they put it on me today I think I could have dealt with it. Then the oral surgen came in. He is a big jolly guy. Reminds me of Santa. He asked me how I was doing. I told him "nervous but I'm sure you get that a lot." He said he did and then I apologized for having to call him after hours last night because the Valium script wasn't sent. He laughed and said no big deal. I also commented on the fact how it was funny he just operated on my friend. He said she did great just like I would do. Then he wheeled around and sprayed my arm with numbing spray. And that numbing spray really works! Its so cold it stings but it was for sure numb. Out of the side of my eye I saw him stick in the needle but didn't feel it at all. I was surprised its the doctor and not the assistant who sticks the needle in. (All these random things like that were going through my head to distract me.) Then I saw him grab a the tube of medication. At that moment all I thought was "well here it comes...I'm glad they didn't put anything in my mouth to hold it open like I read in some peoples stories online" then he injected it. Within 5 seconds I felt a warm and cool sensation, all at once, rush up my chest and to my head. I said "whoa I feel that. Well good luck guys." That's the last thing I remember. I don't remember shutting my eyes or a countdown or a warning that I would feel funny haha. Next thing I remember is somebody getting me into a wheelchair. I know that nice lady probably did try to help me put my hair up but had to move on to the next patient because apperently I was very stubborn in the waking up process. Took 20 minutes haha. She got me in the wheel chair and I remember putting up my hair myself. I asked what was around my head (an icepack) and if I could have water. That is when I realized my mouth was numb. She told me in a bit but she was wheeling me to the car so I knew she was lying. I had just a few seconds of slight anxiety not wanting to move my mouth. Luckily I had left a water bottle in the front seat incase of that happening. As soon as I got in I poured it in my mouth. Swallowed. Realized I could still tell my tounge was there. It was numb but not the numb I was expecting. I thought everything would be so numb that i couldnt feel the lower half of my face at all. But I realized if I lightly bit my tongue I could feel it. My chin was numb and my lower lip felt huge but i looked in the mirror to confirm it was okay. Happiness overcame me! I actually thought of your post, shakey, how you said it was relief like you had never felt. Thats how it was for me too! Luckily I wore a black shirt cause once i chugged the water the padding in my mouth started dripping with the combo of blood and water lol. I remember my father stopping at the drugstore to pick up a script. While he was in there I snapped a pick of myself looking insane with my gauze pads hanging out of my mouth and icepack around my head. I proceeded to send that to my little sister, best friend, and to my horror a few coworkers! Lol. I didn't regret that til much later when I woke up and read their "HAHAHA's"... Then at home my father made me drink some shake and take all the pills. He kept laughing cause I'd stick my tongue out and the pill would still be there. So that was a bit of a pain. The bleeding took about 5 hours to stop. I was in and out all day til 7 when I finally woke up not groggy. The only thing that was left numb was my bottom lip that took an extra hour to go away. I have no pain except a tiny bit on the lower left. The other side (which was the the reason i had to get the surgery..both my upper right and lower right were bothering me and were coming in) doesn't hurt at at all now. It is much better than before the surgery. Like i cant even tell anyone touched that side. Maybe the side that hurts now is because they had to go deeper cause they were not coming in? Who knows. I take an oxycodone every 4 hours and just before I take it I feel a bit of pressure on my teeth. My friend, on the other hand, contacted me on Facebook saying she was in severe pain. I told her to ask to get the pain meds upped. Guess he wouldn't do it but told her to add 3 ibuprofen. It is almost 2am and I'm about to pass out but I wanted to share the story. The doctor really makes the difference I think. He used his cell phone to call me after hours last night when I didn't receive the anti anxiety meds. He took my info, called it in, and had it rushed. Then today he calls me at 6 (2 hours after his office is closed) just to check on me! The instructions said they wanted me to eat 1800 calories today. Even though I was in no pain I think that's impossible. I'm a vegan #1 so 1800 is actually about what I eat on a normal day. I had 1/2 a protein shake when I got home, then the other half 2 hours later. Then half a can of soup with the next round of pills, finally around 7 when I could keep my eyes open I had the other half a can of tomato soup and a couple bites of mashed potato's. Right before bed I sipped some more protein shake so I didn't take the pain meds on an empty stomach. Giving me a grand total of 1100. Now that i know what to expect i would say the worst part is just overthinking it. And the other worst worst part was not being able to drink water past midnight last night. I kept getting up and swishing with water. The rinse they gave me today to swish before bed with is pretty minty so its not a huge deal I couldn't brush... Although I still can't wait for the morning when I can. I still havnt been brave enough to stick my tongue up and feel the holes. Grosses me out. I'm sure I'll have to in a couple days when I clean it with the syringe. Thank you so much for your input! It made me feel better. I reread your responses before I left for surgery today lol. Sorry for the lengthy story but i figured I'd share it all incase somebody saw the title and had the same fear as me...since i couldn't find it anywhere!! Lol. I hope your dentist apt went well this morning. I'm sure ya'll are on this site because you have a fear of something to do with the dentist so I hope you conquer it too! Namaste!! -Madison
 
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Well Done you, that's fantastic to hear :welldone:

I had 3 of mine out under General Anaesthetic many moons ago (they decided to leave the last one in due to its position and it was very unlikely to ever go anywhere, I'm actually glad that they did).

i can remember being wheeled out and my Wisdom teeth in a pot placed into my hand, I was asked how I felt and responde "I can't answer that because it would be swearing" lol.

really pleased for you, hoping your healing goes well, it sounds like you are on top of things.:)
 
Yaaaaaay!!!! I'm so happy to hear it went well :) It sounds like you were super brave and you should be so proud of yourself. I literally have a big smile on my face after reading this. YOU DID IT!! How great is that feeling of relief. The other day I wanted to give you a crystal ball so you could see what it would be like. It's really no big deal and the worst part is definitely the anticipatory anxiety.

My cracked molar is all fixed, no pain and I'm feeling great too.

I hope you heal swiftly and smoothly xx
 
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