Anesthesia for Wisdom teeth removal?

[Evie]

Hi everyone

I need to get my wisdom teeth out but i am chicken. I am worried about the anesthesia effecting my body and for it to take months for me to recover. I was just wondering about other peoples experiences and any advice you may have?

I have put it off for over a year now. I figured i am use to putting up with pain so i can handle my jaw hurting, then i thought that maybe i would actually feel better from having them removed and it could be beneficial for me. (i know that sounds really obvious... but the fear of making my OI worse usually overrides jaw pain).

I went on the pill a few years back and after three weeks i could not walk. My body is really sensitive to medications. I do realise the pill is very different to anesthetic, yet the fear remains.

I am seeing my specialist on wednesday so i will ask her about it. However she isnt a specialist on OI so much (she is a endocrynologist) so was trying to work out the right questions to ask.

Thanks

[Guest Finrussak]

I can only tell you my experience last Jan...they put me under for a root canal and TMR ( total mouth restoration...fancy for fill all cavities)...they had to do this IN the hospital outpt section as I was told aneasthesia for OI pts is too dangerous office based...again this is waht I was told for ME..Plus my OI was so bad my DDs couldtn do any work on me in his office...any pain or drilling (even with nocacaine) would set off bad episodes and the shakes made it hard for him to work..and the root canal was OUT without being "under" so we thought we may as well do it all while I slept. and at same time I wanted ALL mercury fillings replaced...but the specialist was so late that I only ended up after the ordeal to have about 1/3 replaced (not happy)

Anyway I went to the medical journals on aneasthesia for dysautonomics and found several articles saying certian drugs arent good...like the combo of propofyl and fentanyl...and that fluids MUST be montored etc etc...

well, I discussed this with the dental specialists and the aneasthesia dept...then a week later arrived to pre-op...and while waiting to be put under the anesthesia nurse reviews my chart and says how the guy scheduled to do me was still busy with an emergency pt and another guy is filling in. He walks over and hands me a nasal spray ( I wasnt told that mouth work requires a NASAL tube to breath but as I am deathly afraid of a tracheal/throat breathing tube I said OK) anyway turns out the spray had epinephrine in it and my HR ZOOMED...I was not happy, jittery etc...the new guy thinks its "nerves" and injects some versed to "take the edge off". by then I was dopey...and the nurse is telling him about my dysauto stuff and he says he is going to use the above drugs...and the last thing I hear before he turns up the drip and makes me go fully out is the nurse asking him " ARE YOU SURE DOCTOR, THIS PT HAS DYSAUTONOMIA" he answers her "THOSE ARE THE DRUGS i LIKE TO USE" ...and whoosh the next thing I know is Im in recovery being told I was hard to wake up...the procedure shouldve been 2.5 hrs ( they had agreed the least time under the better) but the endodontist was late...and I eneded up under nearly 5 hrs!!! yikes...then I was supposed to wake up within 20 min after that but it took over 2 HOURS...they were quite worried my system couldtn clear all those meds...then I started retching badly which made me nearly faint...so they injected Zofran which helped nausea but drove my heart NUTS up/down skips etc...due to the overload of previous drugs...later found out not only did the jerk use the wrong combo for me, but at the "usual" dose...and here I was at 5'1" an underweight 89 lbs!!!! and very drug sensitive. it took 3 WEEKS to get over it...I wont scare you with the symptoms it left me with that I didnt have before!!!

SO bottom line??

Do your HW...ask what will be used and WHY and HOW MUCH. INSIST your chart is written with words " drug sensitive...Dysautonomia:DO NOT USE..."

then make sure YOU and your Dr talk to the actual aneasthesiology people...make sure your fluid situation is well understood...and be prepared for a rocky recovery and go with the flow..

and If it were me, Id have it done under very close monitoring...in a hospital!!! and do NOT let them send you home until VERY stable!!!

good luck and let me know how it goes...

[Evie]

Wow ... yes thats what i am worried about heh. how horirble for you!

See our dentist is a family friend ... i know he is alot more gentle than other dentists ..... he doesnt hurt much when doing fillings etc (ive had some horrible experiences as most people have) so i was liking the idea of him doing it as i know he wont just madly drill and break my jaw as i hear they can do at hospitals with the whole quick in and out mentality.

However im worried my dentist doesnt understand my whole dysautonomia things (well previously i told him i had CFS ... so maybe he will understand a bit more about dysutonomia) ... it would be done in a small practice with anethetists and nurses etc then there is a major hospital a block away if needed (however all my specialists are at another private hosipital)

I guess i will just have to ask my specialist if she can advise on anyone who knows about dysautonomia .. is it commonly understood by anethatists?

sorry about spelling heh.

also drips etc scare me .... my veins are really fragile and hurt (also prone to not accepting drips so sometimes they want to use veins in my legs eeek)

fluids would involve drips wouldnt they?

darn why do our bodies need to complicate things so much heh

[Guest Finrussak]

fluids are IV...drips as you say

If youre veins are so bad, even more of a reason to go outpatient...see of your dentist has priveleges in hospital...some do...in some areas only DMDs do ( dentist thru med school, rather than DDS thru dental school)

and most anesthetists know NOTHING about Lyme and anesthesiologists (DRS) also know little...its a matter of not having many of us to have practised on...plus many regular drs know so little why should these be differnt.

Id be very careful about the procedure...do it the safest way possible....

and gentle or not will be a non issue ...anesthesia will numb you or even put you under

Plus I was told by TWO anesthesiologists after my adventure that partial sedation ( like in DDS office where youre not fully out) is MORE dangerous than full for dysautonomics...full lets them be in control ...ask your doctors what they think!!!

[worththewords]

I just skimmed over what everyone else wrote so I apologize if I repeat anything.

I had the same concerns when it came time for my wisdom teeth to come out. I saw an oral surgeon who removed my wisdom teeth in an outpatient center that was tied into a local hospital - in case of any emergencies. My cardiologist faxed him some suggestions on making my experience easier. I made sure that the annesthesiologist stayed present the entire time. I stayed in the recovery room for an extra two hours to receive IV fluids. I felt back to normal, whatever that is, within a couple days.

[JaneEyre9]

Hi Evie!

I had a very good experience with my wisdom teeth removal.

For one thing, i went to an oral surgeon who was experienced in dental surgery and all kinds of complex cases. I think he could have removed teeth in his sleep without a hitch. Experience is important with this kind of thing. It helped put me at ease emotionally and more importantly...made the mouth-trauma minimal.

Second, I knew from an endoscopy previously that i didn't like the effect anesthesia had on my system so i decided to go with only "laughing gas" (nitrous oxide) and novocaine--no IV or drips. I had no problems afterwards because the nitrous wears off quickly. I was able to walk out about 20 minutes later.

(Be sure to ask about your post-operation pain meds...I took one prescription pain pill which didn't agree with me, but after that, i stuck with tylenol and was fine)

For you, I think a lot depends on your specific case... for instance if you have impacted wisdom teeth...how impacted are they...do you have any infections...etc. Sometimes more complicated cases are better done when you are completely knocked out. I think if you are really concerned about how your body will act, it's good to be near a hospital setting. Also i think it's a good point to go over the procedure very thoroughly with your doctor beforehand...ask all kinds of questions and ultimately, go with what makes YOU most comfortable. If you are overly stressed about your procedure, then it will probably make your recovery harder.

Hope things go well for you! Keep us updated on what you do!

Kristen

[Aprilmarie52]

I didnt have any problems when I had my wisdom teeth out. I had it done in the office and there were no complications. I remember them sticking the needle in my arm and the next thing I knew I was looking around wondering when I was going to fall asleep, but the procedure was already done. Aside frome the pain and not being able to eat what I wanted for a few days, I was ok. I hope that everything goes well for you!

[PattiL]

Hi Evie,

Chrissy just had her wisdom teeth out this summer. The oral surgeon WOULD NOT do any work whatsoever without talking to her cardiologist, who is Dr. Grubb. She had a saline IV, and I don't have her records with me right now, but they double checked everything according to Dr. Grubb's recommendations. She had all four wisdom teeth removed. She was pretty much out of it for most of the day, i.e., sleeping alot. It took her about a week to recover. Her twin brother had his removed a few months later and it took him only 3 days to feel pretty normal. (he doesn't have POTS). You should be fine. But, I would definitely say to have whoever your cardiologist is, or whoever takes care of your dysautonomia to have them contact your surgeon prior to any work being done. We felt so much better knowing Dr. Grubb had a part in her surgery.

Patti

[Jenn202]

I opted not to have anestisia and instead went with Versed which is a relaxant , as well as novacain. I would so glad I didnt end up with the anestisia b/c it was such a QUICK procedure.... I was done in less than 10 minutes from the time I entered the room....! I had 5 teeth removed in all. 4 badly impacted.... The whole thing went vert smoothly.

[OCsunshine]

I just had my wisdom teeth out last Christmas (all 4 removed- 3 were impacted badly and 1 had not even come in yet so they went wayyyy up in the sinus to pull it out).

I did fine with the anesthesia. I went to a very good oral surgeon and he gave me extra IV fluids and watched my BP constantly throughout the procedure. They gave me a bit of laughing gas first and I wasn't sure why they did that, but it made the "IV needle going in" experience very pleasant and almost non-existent. Next thing I knew, my sweatshirt was back on and I was sitting up in a chair and my husband was trying to pick me up to carry me out to the truck.

The recovery was painful because the surgery was pretty deep, but I got through it. Think ahead about the pain relievers, because you will need strong ones to cope afterwards. I spent the first 24 hours after surgery on vicodin, which has no effect on me... so I was dealing with straight, pure pain for the first night and day, which was miserable. But once they switched me to percocet things went much better and the mouth was recovering after about 1-2 weeks.

Just thought I would share my experience. These things ARE scary, but we DO get through them. Take the precautions that you and your doctor feel are necessary and make sure you have a caregiver after the surgery is over, you'll need help recovering (changing ice packs, making applesauce to eat, etc..).

Let us know how it goes!

[morgan617]

My wisdom teeth were incredibly impacted, but I just had a local and did fine. I had a tooth extracted 2 weeks ago, because when I fainted, I hit my head really hard and clanked my teeth together and broke one all the way through, so they couldn't fix it. I went to an oral surgeon and they gave me a block and I did fine. No extra meds or anything. I just told them no epi in the meds. morgan

[Evie]

Thanks for your replies!

Its good to know that most people recoverd fairly quickly and had no complications

My specialist advised that i have it in hospital (like most of you did) so i will have to bug my dentist about that next week when i see him. I dont want to get it done till december as that will mean i will have at least 2 months to recover before i have classes again (i am trying full time next year so need to be as healthy as possible)

I suppose wisdom teeth removal is unpleasnt for everyone ... i hear so many scary stories from friends who dont have health problems ... then i thought that maybe the fact that we are use to pain can actually make us stronger than my friends who may not have experienced long term pain. (i hope thats the way it is anyway hehe)

[Sunfish]

hi evie -

sorry i'm so late with chiming in, but thought i'd still add my two cents:-)

b/c of the potential for issues with anesthesia, i actually opted to get my wisdom teeth pulled sans any anesthesia (other than the local shots). it definitely hurt but my only anesthesia experience prior to that was for an endoscopy & it had totally knocked me for a loop (pre-diagnosis) so i opted for the short-term pain over the longer-term potential anesthesia knock-out. since i've had good & bad experiences with surgeries/anesthesia, but other than the short-lived pain (i did have impacted teeth so it definitely didn't feel good...the oral surgeon thought i was nuts!) the worst part was getting sick afterward from the pain meds. i didn't take them again...again just dealt with the pain & did the tylenol thing.

all in all the wisdom teeth coming out was one of my least eventful medical experiences over the years....i had a NCS diagnosis & was quite controlled symptom-wise at the time, but i was back to what was my normal self at the time within a week or so, to a large degree within several days.

good luck!

melissa

[Evie]

I am about to go to the dentist now actually! I think i will get a local and some fillings today, i have this week off class so i thought it would be a good chance to see how i went with a local. Gosh I could not imagine having my wisdom teeth out with just a local, im glad it worked for you! ... i have suggested it to my dentist but he advised against it .. i will bug him again today heh.

Last time i saw him i had CFS diagnosis so now that i have OI it may change things in his mind. I have printed out the what to avoid part of this website to show my dentist in regards to the anesthesia.

Its good to know that pretty much all of you were back to yourselves in a week. Thanks guys i am not so scared now

[Evie]

I had a local a week ago and i was fine the following day but after that my CFS/NCS has been playing up. Its a tad depressing after being on such a nice recovery for the past few months. Thats life i suppose Yesteday i had one of those times where my muscles all go to sleep and its tough to move ... i dont know what its called however i assume its a common POTS type symptom.

Have any of you found that local anesthtics (sp?) have messed with your system a bit?

[faithinspires]

My daughter needed a root canal and the anesthetic did cause her blood pressure to drop and they had to stop the procedure. She later ended up having to have the tooth removed in the hospital and be put under and monitored instead. This all worked out fine in the end. But either way, do be sure to make them aware of your condition and medications. Best wishes with your wisdom teeth removal.

[Evie]

I just got two out

It was ok, i think the dentist was pretty freaked though.

I am confused to if my response is pure anxiety or panic or if its that my system is really sensitive to any pain and just reacts in a crazy way. The anasthetic (local) went in my heart starts pumping and my body starts shaking and i feel like passing out, so i start to cry. I always cry when my body goes a bit haywire, its embarrasing. The top tooth came out no trouble, but the bottom was a bit painful. I get pins and needles and usually its a sign im going to faint. My hands get pins and needles but its a strange form ... its like they are kind of under a heater or something, burning but not burning.

The dentist meant well and was saying how i was making it worse and i needed to calm down. I hate how people think that you intend or are choosing to react in such a way. He put the chair down so my head was down towards the ground and said it was impossible for people to faint in that position (he was trying to calm me down.. he said it in a nice way). In my head i kind of laughed as i knew i had fainted even with my head towards the ground before. Well at least i had one of those fit like shake faints with my head towards the ground.

Does my response to pain sound common to you guys? or should i put it down to anxiety.