Wisdom teeth removal-fear of anesthesia

[xKansan]

I'm a 17 year old male, and I'm getting mine out this Thursday.

Oh my, I am really dreading this. Not the actual teeth part of it, I'm tough as nails when it comes to traditional, physical pain, but the freaking anesthesia. I have a mild phobia (I will deal with it if I MUST, but not if there is literally any alternative) of it, and I've thankfully only had to experience it once before (tonsils), which was possibly one of the worst experiences of my life. I straight up cannot handle that sensation of floating away and losing control of myself. The actual mechanism behind anesthesia also greatly freaks me out- what exactly are they pumping into your brain to shut it down on demand?

Besides the generic fear of not waking up, I'm also horrified that I will lose my intelligence (I don't mean to brag or be arrogant, but I'm a very bright kid, I've scored in the 99th percentile on iq tests and the SAT and what have you, and I'm horribly anxious about losing it) due to the brain trauma or something from its being forcefully turned off through pharmacological means. I can't talk to anyone about that, because I'd sound ridiculous lol, so I'm stuck freaking out about it every night before I go to sleep. I really wish that I could find good information as to what the mechanism of anesthesia is and how it turns your brain off. I feel that if I wasn't so ignorant about what anesthesia really is, that I could be more rational about it. Because right now, I view anesthesia like prehistoric people viewed fire, lol. ANY reassurances that you guys have about anesthesia not having permanent effects would be enormously appreciated.

Somewhat fortuitously, it sounds like I won't be getting full-blast general anesthesia, but 'conscious sedation' instead, so I guess that I get to skip the blacking out part. And hopefully the drugs will be lighter than they are for general. But man, it almost sounds worse. I'll be semi-responsive during the surgery, but I won't remember anything. That REEEEALLY weirds me out- the idea that I'll be aware of something while it's happening and then completely forget. That's extremely unsettling when you think about it. Can anyone explain what conscious sedation is like, and how it differs from general?


I wish that they would just give me some whiskey and some Playboy to distract me, ha.

 

[Dianne]

Hi! I just had 21 teeth extracted last Tuesday and had IV sedation. It is wonderful! They say you are somewhat awake, I have absolutely no memory of anything. I was in the chair talking to the anesthesiologist and the next thing I knew they were taking me out of the dental chair and putting me into the wheelchair. I was really freaked out about it too, but don't be. It's nothing! Hope this helps a little!

 

[carole]

Hi xkansan do you have to have the sedation, could you have a word with your dentist and ask for the dums (wisdoms) so called because they serve no useful purpose, and just have been put in there to cause us grief, to be taken out with you just being numb. If you really don't want sedation you don't have to have it, you can decide how you have them removed.

I wish you good luck for Thursday, all will go okay whatever you decide

 

[carol999]

Its hard to describe something you dont remember. I remember sitting in the chair blubbing about being scared, the dentist takes your arm and says "just a little scratch" or words to that effect....and then I remember coming round and thinking I had been to a party and felt a little drunk for a short while. I have no recollection of drifting off or feeling drowsy. I dont think you can be that with it though because they wont do impressions for dentures under sedation because they cant get you to bite on the stuff they use. Saying all that I would concur with Carole, if you dont want it say so, explain to the dentist that you can cope without the sedation. I hope this helps. Personally I think sedation rocks!

 

[FearfulInMA]

I had to search for a while, but I finally found an oral surgeon who would take my wisdom teeth out with local anesthesia. Two were impacted. Even though it was a pretty awful experience (the oral surgeon was horribly mean), I'm still really glad that I was not sedated as I also have a huge fear of sedation -- although mine comes from wanting to be in control all the time... which I cannot be if I'm sedated.

 

[Sunshyne]

Hey there! Im a 20 year old female who just had all four of her wisom teeth out a few days ago so hopefully i can help! I was petrified to get this surgery done and at first it was getting the teeth out and the complications from that that scared me the most, then i realized that wasnt the issue, then i quickly became scared to be put under lol. I started thinking i was scared of the wrong thing! However on the day of my surgery (Wednesday the 20th) i sat in the big chair and could barely talk because i was so nervous. I usually talk and babble a lot when im nervous, so you know i must be REALLY scared if i dont talk at all! Anyways (my oral surgeon is seriously such a nice guy) he put the IV in and told me i might feel a bit funny in a second. And i did, then i all the sudden woke up and felt like i was coming off a drunken haze or something.I didnt even have to count backwards lol. It was the weirdest yet coolest thing at the same time and if i had to choose again i would go with the IV sedation. A lot easier and different than i thought it would be. You dont feel like your not in control, you literally just feel kinda funny then pass the hell out without even noticing! Then you wake up and feel fine and it feels like 2 seconds have passed! My point is, it was SO much easier and so much LESS scary than i thought it would be, and once you do it you'll know what i mean!