First post; dentist/medical anxiety

Avatar for goestrogen
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
First post; dentist/medical anxiety
9
Sun, 12-11-2005 - 10:16pm

Hi all,

I'm basically a normal person with very few "issues". No depression, no generalized anxiety, very social. Great at coping with stress and even emergency situations. But when I get in a medical situation, particularly with dentists, I am a different person.

I have nightmares for sometimes days before the appointment. Then I drag myself to the appointment. As soon as I enter the office and smell that "dentist office" smell I start to get nauseated, and I feel my pulse race and I get sweaty. I'm particularly sensitive to injections. So when I have to get numbed up at the dentist, I cope by grabbing my arm so tightly I get bruises or scratch marks. I'm shakey and nearly hyperventilating.

Though my anxiety is definitely focused on dentists, my last two trips to the optometrist I also had near-fainting episodes, and I've previously fainted when given injections or blood draws. (I've now learned a method of coping with blood draws with very little to no anxiety - just lay down with my legs up!)

I don't think this has *anything* to do with pain. I have great pain tolerance and can cope just fine with pain. At this point, it is a completely irrational anxiety, and I can't seem to intellectually make it any better.

So, here's my current situation. I went in for a root canal on Friday (only cried twice - how embarassing for someone in late-20s). The root canal was unsuccessful (don't get me started on how angry I am about that!!!) and I am going in to the oral surgeon on Tuesday to have the tooth extracted. The oral surgeon's office is very nice and they want to sedate me completely for the procedure. The IV for sedation completely freaks me out, but they said they use a numbing lotion so you don't even feel the IV.

I'm just completely frustrated because all the "treatment" offered for my anxiety is focused on reducing the pain for the procedure. But what can I do about the nightmares between now and then? Or about my complete inability to concentrate on anything because I am so afraid about Tuesday? What about the depression and self-pity that sets in during the recovery period?

I've never been to a psychologist/psychiatrist. Not sure if this is worthy of that or if I should just grow up and get over it. I'm not so bad that I won't go to the dentist, I'll just be completely miserable for the next few days and then probably make a fool of myself when I'm there. Ugh.

BTW - I found this survey on the Internet and thought it was interesting.
http://www.dentalfear.net/phobia/quest.html

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 12:31am

Hi goestrogen, nice to meet you and welcome to our community.

Judy

cl-ivhjude

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 6:38am

Hi! It's great to have you here. You are NOT alone. Others have this same fear & can relate to how you're feeling. I get anxious @ the dentist & once had a panic attack while in the chair. As you may know, once that happens you don't ever want to return to that situation. But, I have learned through belly breathing & meditation, as Judy suggested to deal with my individual fears. My dentist is aware of the situation & in the past, I was given a sedative to take before my appointment. I had to have someone drive me to & from, but it worked out ok. Also, I always schedule first appointment of the day. Research indicates we can cope better with anxiety & pain then.


What you're experiencing *may* require treatment. It all depends on what you are looking for to deal with this problem. I'm not an expert, just another person with anxiety, but we have had people that were able to overcome fears such as driving by hypnosis. Also, there's desensitization therapy out there. Finding these treatments & licensed providers

 

 


 



iVillage Member
Registered: 11-22-2005
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 9:44am

Hi and welcome! You are definitely NOT alone!
I used to be so brave at the dentist I had most of my fillings done with NO novacaine (I know, what was I thinking!). I had a high tolerance for paid and had no problems. Then one day I had some drilling done sans novocaine and had a really bad experience. The dentist said to wave my arm if I needed him to stop. I was flailing around and he DIDN'T. By the time I left my legs were shaking and I was wreck. It took about 8 hours to calm down.

Since then I've needed several root canals. The first two were fine. Then all of sudden on the third one I freaked out and convinved myself I couldn't breathe. I scared the daylights out of the surgeon and he wanted to stop. I told him no way was I coming back again so we had to finish somehow. He made me sit for 15 minutes to calm down and I was so embarrassed for making such a scene. The rest of the procedure didn't go much better and I vowed never to show my face there again.

What I've learned from all this is that I need to take a klonopin before going now. I'm not sure what triggers me but it keeps happening. It's nothing to be ashamed of because it happens to lots of people and the doctors see this all the time. Hang in there!

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 10:17am

I completely understand and I would guess that a lot of us have serious medical realted anxiety. I had my worst panic attack in years last week on my way to the oral surgeon's office. It's not the pain for me either, it's the knowledge of all of the things that could go wrong and just the general idea that my body is not 100% healthy. I actually had to put off my extraction for a month because I can't get in to see the psychiatrist until January 3rd and I need to see her first after what happened last week. Unfortunately for me, I also have anxiety about general anesthetic so I need to balance which scares me more - the thought of going under or the thought of being awake while he does unspeakable things to my jaw with a saw.

I think that it is definitely worth seeing a doctor for. This problem will likely get worse if not addressed. I have thought in the past that it was just a little anxiety and I could deal with it and ended up having a bad enough panic attack that I was forced to face it.

Know that you are not alone and you should not be embarassed by it. It's something that happens to a lot of us. Good luck with everything and keep us posted.

Jules

Avatar for goestrogen
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 12:54pm

Wow, when Jules said "Unfortunately for me, I also have anxiety about general anesthetic so I need to balance which scares me more - the thought of going under or the thought of being awake while he does unspeakable things to my jaw with a saw." that is COMPLETELY how I feel!!!!!!!!!

They did give me some pill (not sure what it is, some kind of relaxant) which I am to take an hour before the procedure. I don't have much faith in the pill because when I had my wisdom teeth out (10 years ago) they also gave me a pill - I think it was valium. It did absolutely nothing for me and I was a crying hysterical mess before the procedure, which was absolutely HORRIBLE (even though I was under general) and had a HORRIBLE recovery period.

I'm still not sure what I should do. Part of me wants to not have the general anesthetic (since I am VERY anxious about that) and just grit my teeth and go through it with the local. Get the damn thing over with in the most "normal" way possible.

The other part of me wants to baby myself and push off the appointment until I can see a shrink and figure out my issues.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 1:01pm

Try not to think of it as babying yourself. If you are really unsure of what would be better, then talking it through with a therapist or psychiatrist is taking care of youself, not babying yourself. My oral surgery was supposed to be on 12/22 but I rescheduled for 1/18 because I could not get in to see the psychiatrist until 1/3 and I really need to do that before I undergo the procedure. I don't think that I would be able to go through with it at all if I had another panic attack.

Take care of yourself and don't feel badly about doing it. You are not being a baby or being unreasonable. Don't beat yourself up so much - you can't help the anxiety. You can, however, take care of yourself by treating it whatever way ends up being best for you.

Avatar for goestrogen
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 1:29pm
Sounds good. How do you go about finding a psychiatrist?
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 2:56pm
I had one before that I did not like very much so, after I had my attack last week, I went online and looked. My health insurance has a website with preferred providers (I have a PPO). I then googled their names and found one who is close to work and home and specializes in panic disorders and women's health issues. She is current on her board certifications and is on staff at a very good local hospital. I also discovered online that she works at some clinics. All in all I was impressed with her credentials. I called her and spoke with her briefly and got a really good impression of her so I made an appt. for the earliest I could which was the first week in January.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2003
Mon, 12-12-2005 - 4:47pm

I, too have a phobia of dentists. I have found a dentist that goes out of his way to help people with anxiety to the point that he actually had to prescribe me valium to get my teeth cleaned. My oral surgeon routinely gives 2 xanax to anyone needed procedures, so you are not alone. For me it is the claustophobia I feel when I am in that chair, laying back with someone hovering over me & working in my mouth. I feel so trapped. I wish I could offer you more advice, but medication seems to be the only alternative. Being put to sleep probably isn't a bad idea, although I know how you feel, I get so scared at the thought of having to be put to sleep. I remember as a kid having laughing gas & the smell was horrid. Good luck.

Sheri Ann

Sheri Ann