Wisdom teeth extraction

[pythonblade]

After Christmas I went to the dentist and was told that one of my wisdom teeth needed removing. She said that there was two options for taking them out (at the hospital). She said that option 1 was to be awake when they do it or option 2 was to be sedated, which she explained was that I would be asleep and know nothing about it until I woke up. I told her about my emetophobia and panic attacks and she suggested sedation would be best and is preferred by the dentist/doctors anyway as it makes it easier for them to get to the tooth.

Strangely, I was actually looking forward to it. That was until I got a phone call from the clinic that is going to be doing to procedure. The lady on the phone said that I could either have a General or be sedated. I said sedation and she told me that I would still be awake when they do it but I will feel very drunk and drowsy. She also said that the effects could last all day and that I'm not allowed to eat anything for four hours prior to procedure.

I am now shitting myself! I really don't want to be awake when they do it or aware of them fiddling in my mouth. At the same time I don't want general anesthetic in case it makes me feel sick when I wake up! WHAT DO I DO! THE APPOINTMENT IS NEXT SATURDAY MORNING!!!

[Bunnyjess]

I have had my wisdom teeth out but luckliy I was knocked out because it was a big procedure (all 4 that hadn't come up yet). Maybe try and ask if you can get a sedation I'm sure they can't force you to have a procedure that you're uncomfortable with while you're awake. Even if its at a later date they should make you as comfortable as possible. If its not possible maybe find another dentist or take some anti-emetics with you on the day. Some hospitals or clinics will also give you an anti-emetic injection before the procedure by request but not all. The worst part is generally the anxiety before the procedure, but even if you are awake during the procedure, your mouth should be so numb you wouldnt feel a thing!

[blackrabbit]

After Christmas I went to the dentist and was told that one of my wisdom teeth needed removing. She said that there was two options for taking them out (at the hospital). She said that option 1 was to be awake when they do it or option 2 was to be sedated, which she explained was that I would be asleep and know nothing about it until I woke up. I told her about my emetophobia and panic attacks and she suggested sedation would be best and is preferred by the dentist/doctors anyway as it makes it easier for them to get to the tooth.

Strangely, I was actually looking forward to it. That was until I got a phone call from the clinic that is going to be doing to procedure. The lady on the phone said that I could either have a General or be sedated. I said sedation and she told me that I would still be awake when they do it but I will feel very drunk and drowsy. She also said that the effects could last all day and that I'm not allowed to eat anything for four hours prior to procedure.

I am now shitting myself! I really don't want to be awake when they do it or aware of them fiddling in my mouth. At the same time I don't want general anesthetic in case it makes me feel sick when I wake up! WHAT DO I DO! THE APPOINTMENT IS NEXT SATURDAY MORNING!!!

I have to get my top 2 out but I've been putting it off for a YEAR. Specifically because I don't want to be n* or v*. Anyway, isn't sedation the same thing as anesthesia???

[pythonblade]

I'm having it done tomorrow. In a letter I got they said that they would be using a drug called Midazolam. I'm going to tell the guys in there when I arrive that I have emetophobia and see what they recommend.

I'll keep you posted

[redastrid]

I think that sounds like a good idea.

[pythonblade]

I think that sounds like a good idea.

The worst and most uncomfortable part was not eating anything for 4 hours before procedure.

When I got there I had to fill out a form about medical history and in a box at the bottom I put 'panic attacks, emetophobia'

The receptionist took me off to check my weight and height, then I had an x ray done

In the room, there was the surgeon, anaesthetist and two nurses. The surgeon answered all of my questions and said that the drug will not give nausea side effects.

The Doctor wiped m arm and put the needle in. I'm okay with needles but I honestly didn't feel a thing.

After that I asked him how long it took for the drug to start kicking in. He said about 10 seconds. As he said this, my vision became slow.

The dentist started lowering the chair and they put a blue net over my face. He said that he was going to give me a shot of cocaine to numb the pain after the other drug kicked in but I didn't feel anything. For what felt like 3 minutes the surgeon was tugging my mouth. It felt like he was going to tear it. But no panic.

Then he said he was going to use some Vaseline to stop my mouth from cracking further.

I could hear what they were saying and felt a lot of tugging but I couldn't see anything or feel anything. V* never even crossed my mind.

Next thing I knew he said that we were all done. The Doctor took the drug out of my arm and I was given my glasses back. I didn't notice the effects until I stood up. I was wobbling all over the place.

The recovery nurse said to my mum that I should eat as soon As I get home but only eat soft things.

When we were walking to the car my mum said that she had been waiting for me to come out of surgery for at least half an hour. It only seemed like 3 minutes.

I'm now at home eating a bowl of wheatabix and about to take two paracetamols

[kthomas629]

My sister has had several procedures due to her Crohn's Disease, including surgery and colonoscopies, etc. She has had sedation through IV with majority of them, she swears by it. Says it makes you feel loopy, happy, drunk, but never sick. She said it's the gases with general anesthetic that make her sick. She's had the gas twice and made her sick as a dog afterwards. Now if she has to go through a procedure she insists on either locals or IV sedation because it never makes her ill.

[pythonblade]

It's been a few days now and I thought I'd make another update in case anyone else is going through the same thing. Today is day 5 after having the procedure. The drug given to me honestly makes you relax. I can't stress to you how relieved I was. I really thought I was going to freak out when it started to kick in and that I was going to start panicking but that didn't happen. You don't feel drowsy afterwards, it's just a bit difficult to walk in a straight line.

As for the gauze, I seem to remember having one in my mouth when I started coming round after the medicine, but I felt (I couldn't see very well as my glasses were off) one of the nurses take it out. I was given a pack with a clean one in but they said to only use it if necessary. They said that there would be a bit of blood in your spit for a while but if it starts shooting out then bite down on the clean gauze (or a teabag) for 20 minutes. Thankfully, it never came down to that.

The bleeding was my main cause for concern because I was worried about swallowing too much of it. I had heard many horror stories online of people who were s*ck after swallowing too much blood. The bleeding looks worse than it actually is because it is mixed with your saliva. When I woke up the following morning, there was still a bit of blood in my saliva but by midday it had stopped and I've not had any trouble with it since.

In terms of food, a blender is your best friend. Breakfast has been consisting of Weetabix, dinner was potato, broccoli and fish blended up, and at teatime I had some cold jelly and angel delight. As time passes, I was able to start moving on to more solid foods. Now I'm almost back to my usual food intake.

As for pain relief medication, they never gave me any. They simply told me to take usual paracetamol to stop the discomfort. I've been using the ones from Tesco without any problems. The pain always seems worse in the morning. It's really hard to swallow and I'm still not able to open my mouth very wide. The dentist also recommended rinsing my mouth with salt water 2-3 times a day from the second day until the end of the week.

Day five now, and the pain is slowly diminishing. The area where the tooth was extracted has healed and doesn't hurt. I am able to chew a little bit on that side. The worst part is not being able to open your mouth very wide and also the fact that the pain has now spread into the other lower teeth. I have a constant urge to bite down hard on them but I've been trying my hardest to resist.

I'll make another update soon.

[crd08]

When I had mine out I was fully sedated, like 100% passed out, can't tell you a thing. I wonder if it's because they did all 4 of mine and they were impacted. It seems like they do it so many different ways.
Mine went really well. No swelling/bruising, almost no discomfort, etc. I was pain free after like two/three days I think.

Glad you had a good experience. This topic comes up a lot on here and the more success stories we have to offer them, the better.