Tess22

Hi everyone! Im home now ... and yes I did go through with it. Well one of the two teeth. We were only planned at 1 but he said he could have done 2 (and I would have let him) had I of not taken the Ativan. Apparently I have to sign the procedure documents when I’m not under the influence of any drugs. Anyhow the Ativan didn’t really seem to work. It did... a bit, but I was still panicking with a high heartbeat but this time I was able to sit in the chair. I think I took about 1.5mg in total but I kept taking half pills spread half an hour apart till I got there. He said that didn’t work because Ativan doesn’t last long and I should have took it in a single dose. He then suggested to give me 15mg of Valium on the spot. There was no way I was going to allow him to give me that much Valium after taking so much Ativan (especially since I’m scared of taking meds in the first place). So I opted to take 1 extra full 0.5 of Ativan remembering @Bobnnat stating 0.5 was a low dose anyways. So Then he froze me and the procedure began! i had my headphones on like @Ethansmom suggested. I did feel some twisting and pulling but no pain and the tooth was out in less that 5 minutes. In fact he was so good I didn’t hear any cracking or popping and when he actually pulled it out I thought the grippers had slipped off my tooth and he was going to go back in. But he then faced me and said “that’s it” couldn’t believe it! He packed some extra stuff in my wound as apparently I’m at great risk for dry socket (really hope I don’t get it) and now I’m at home with ice on my face waiting for the freezing to come out. I really really want to thank EVERYONE who posted about their experiences, tips, and advice, on here I’ve read every single post more than once (yes even the first ones) and really feel it gave me what I needed to push through today. @Holls, @PennyPanic. And @Iugrad91 I appreciate you well wishes today more than you can imagine! Thank you so very much! Now here’s to hoping I get through the recovery period! ??

Today’s the big day ???? Thanks so much @Holls @Ethansmom great idea, im planning on bringing my ear buds and maybe something to put over my eyes so I don’t see him at all. @Bobnnat I’ll likely try .75, I was thinking .25 a couple hours before then a full .5 about 40 minutes before. I want to make sure it’s fully kicked in by my procedure time and it’s in full effect. I find it wears off incredibly fast but maybe that’s because I wasn’t taking the full .5 before.

Thanks @PennyPanic I’m going to try and power through it on Thursday. @Bobnnat I read somewhere that 0.5 was the starting dose ...The bottle says 1 under tongue as needed so I’m not sure what to make of that. I’m sure there is some upper limit. But I was thinking of maybe trying a whole pill tomorrow and a pill and a half on Thursday, procedure day. I’m going to need to feel some sort of large relief on extraction day otherwise I will likely run out again and that’s the last thing I want.

So I finally made another appointment for these teeth this Thursday at noon. My anxiety has been so bad the last couple of days I haven’t even been able to go to work I really hope it works out this time. I was prescribed Ativan but I’ve been fearful of taking that. Especially since I’ll be on antibiotics again and be getting whatever drug he’s going to use to numb my mouth, it seems like a lot of stuff to be on at once.... However yesterday I took half a 0.5 pill. I’m hoping I have enough nerve to take a full .5 the day of. I’m not used to these Benzos as I never usually take them. Also I think I had a weird reaction later in the night as I couldn’t sleep and had heart palpitations. I thought Ativan prevented that ?.

Hey Holls, He told me he had to break the tooth and was going to use his “drill” and it was going to vibrate more than what they use for a filling so I know that’s coming for sure.

Hi PennyPannic, Thanks for your reply. I think I’m scared of the Valium, gas, and proceedure. Actually the needle too. Not so much the actual act of getting a needle, But the fact they are injecting me with a foreign substance. My anxiety makes me believe that putting things like these meds in my body is going kill me or make me have a reaction and get some of the negative symptoms due to some undiagnosed medical problem I may have (that they haven’t found yet) I feel my throats going to close up, or have my heart rate and blood pressure slow down too far. This is why I don’t take clearly needed SSRI’s either. The thought of him using a drill to break my teeth in 2 pieces and ply it out makes me get heightened as well. He told me the drill will vibrate my head worse than getting a filling. I wonder what that will fell like? What it will taste like? .. I have a horrible image in my head of him holding my jaw with one hand and “yanking” the tooth out with the grippers in his other.

I actually had my bf with me but he doesn’t understand the anxiety at all. He tries to be patient but just doesn’t get it. The dentist wouldn’t give me the gas because he said I was way too worked up and it wouldn’t have worked on me. Only Valium. That scares me because I always think I have some undiagnosed medical condition that is a “contradiction” to taking the meds. I really have to figure something out because now I’m so scared about infection and sepsis... here we go again in this never ending circle. To be honest I don’t even think the amoxicillin has killed it completely. I really appreciate your comments and advice though this Holls, I can’t thank you enough. I was actually reading everyone’s messages in the waiting room hoping it would put some rational thoughts in my head.

Thanks Holls. It was a nightmare. I got there and completed freaked out. I cried so bad they put me in a room right away as the people in the waiting room were staring at me. I calmed down for a minute but then the Dentist came in and My anxiety hit the roof. Needless to say I started crying again and hyperventilating. He said he can’t give me the gas because I’m so worked up “it won’t touch me”, and suggested Valium at 10mg I’m assuming as he said he was going to give me more than 5 (no way!) ...That scared me more I said I don’t want anything then. He actually left the room to give me time to process and get ready for the freezing as I asked. He came back in about 10 minutes later and I had my coat on ready to leave. I couldn’t do it. I was such a mess. Leaving relieved my anxiety in the moment but now I feel so sad and upset with myself that I wasn’t able to do it. I’m also now worried that I’m going to get another infection and be resistant to the antibiotics and get really sick this time! (Ugh health Anxiety at its worst, always so fearful).

Hi AnxiousKat I do love the fact that I’ve been hearing the recovery from the gas is fast, as my fear is some serious medical reaction or a panic attack. Thank you very much for sharing, it’s truly helpful to hear about others experiences!

Thanks so much Holls!

Thanks so much for the additional information, very helpful... and you’re right, a chance to relax would be so welcomed especially after the past few weeks of extreme anxiety regarding tomorrow. So far I’m not going to cancel and I think I’ll try the gas, I figure if I become too anxious with it they can turn it Off (hopefully). I’m going to try and refrain from Doctor Google for the rest of the night too!

Hey Holls! Hope you don’t mind, but I just had a quick question for you, as your comments and all the others on my post were quite helpful... thanks to everyone! I’ve been reading them again to try and keep positive. As you know my procedure is coming up tomorrow and after many nights of research, coupled with you telling me positive things about your experience I’m actually considering the laughing gas instead of Valium as it seems the most safe. I know everyone can react differently to different things, but when you had the gas how did it initially make you feel? My main concern is that I start feeling “weird” and that makes me scared and I have a panic attack. Sometimes I find it helpful to know ahead of time what I’ll feel like so I don’t get as anxious about the strange feelings. Also did you hear any sounds when/if they cracked your tooth or when they were actually pulling it out????

I’ve actually never had the gas before, it’s the mere thought of it that makes me anxious. I’m having similar issues as you had. They keep getting infected off and on and the latest infection was really hard to treat (they had to up the dose of amoxicillin). It was affecting my jaw and neck a bit (the neck thing might have been my anxiety about health concerns as the dentist and specialist didn’t seem worried about that part). I haven’t even agreed to let them take them both, I told them only one at a time so I’m only scheduled for the one bottom wisdom tooth this time. My appointment is this Tuesday the 16th if I make it there. I keep thinking I want to cancel, but I know that just feeds the anxiety so I’m trying to avoid canceling.

Hi Holls, Thanks for the reply, very glad to hear your procedure went well. The laughing gas does make me very anxious. Any form of medication does unfortunately.. it’s such a hard spot because my anxiety is so bad, but I’m also way to scared/anxious to try these medications that may help me for fear of death or adverse reactions. I know my dentist was saying that most people just want to be sedated or under general anesthetic when they are very anxious, but I can’t even imagine doing that.

I have very bad health anxiety, to the point I refuse to take any medication (including common ones like Tylenol). When I have to have something as common as a round of antibiotics it’s like torture and I spend hours reading up on the medication and it’s side effects before I agree to take it (sometimes I don’t, or sometimes I ask to change the prescription to one I approve of). Needless to say I refuse to take any of the antidepressants or medications to help with my anxiety or panic attacks, fearing sudden death or the development of an illness related to the medication. This coming Tuesday I have an appointment to get one of my wisdom teeth out ( which I have been prolonging for years) and it’s imperative as it keeps getting infected. I know they are going to have to use freezing which scares me tremendously, as I feel I’m going to instantly die, have some major reaction, or not be relieved of the numb feeling. I’ve obviously had a consultation with this surgeon upon booking the appointment (I cried the entire time). However as the date approaches I’m feeling so anxious I can’t stand it. Today I begged the receptionist to let me speak to the Surgeon again to ask more questions. When I arrived, and was hysterically crying again, he told me I was “the poster child for someone needing to take a Valium before the procedure”. However this makes me so nervous as it’s another drug, and I’m worried as to how I’m going to react. Also I have difficulty taking one medication at a time. This would put me in the position of still being on amoxicillin, taking the Valium the day of, and then getting the freezing right after. I have never taken a Valium in my life and am very worried about taking it and what I will feel like but don’t know how I’m going to make it through this procedure. I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice, or has been through something like this in the past and come out ok. I really don’t want to cancel the appointment as I’ve been told I must get this tooth out, but my anxiety is so high I don’t know if I can do it.