I Hate Dialysis Message Board

Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: KICKSTART on June 18, 2007, 08:21:21 AM

Title: Dentist help !!!
Post by: KICKSTART on June 18, 2007, 08:21:21 AM
I have just got back from the hospital dentist ( i have to go ther because i am a renal patient) and was told i need some extractions . But they WONT  give me any sedation , i have never had any work done without sedation as i am terrified , have big panick attacks etc etc and my BP  is sky high to start with. HOW  can i get in the chair and let them work on me without sedation ? I am terrified of dentists !
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: st789 on June 18, 2007, 08:30:47 AM
I always have sedation.  So, sorry no advice but just becareful with BP.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: okarol on June 18, 2007, 09:04:14 AM
I always have sedation.  So, sorry no advice but just becareful with BP.

Why won't they sedate you?
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: Maggi on June 18, 2007, 09:27:19 AM
   Ask for a tranqulizer pack and take them like they say and you will be so out of it you won't care if he trims your tonails. Maggi
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: Sara on June 18, 2007, 11:34:57 AM
Oh my gosh, I am terrified of dentists also.  They should at least be able to give you an anti-anxiety med to help a little.   :cuddle;
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: KICKSTART on June 18, 2007, 12:52:29 PM
I always have sedation.  So, sorry no advice but just becareful with BP.

Why won't they sedate you?


I have been sedated in the past , pre-dialysis her 'excuse ' was  a) you will not be recovered in time to do your next dialysis , but seeing i have had it before i can confirm that within an hour maximum i am fit and ready to go home, but she told me i was wrong ! (er hello)
b) That sedation would affect my dialysis , so heaven help me if i chop my arm off or something , no sedation for me !  ;D

She seemed to only be interested in the easiest way to deal with me , eg; straight forward extraction, but i thought the whole point in going to the hospital was so i could have the sedation etc , otherwise i could walk into a dentist off the street , so to speak! Anyway i should hopefully be going to a renal appointment before my next dentist visit , so i am going to ask my doctor about it all, a few more things i wasnt happy with need sorting!
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: stauffenberg on June 18, 2007, 01:33:45 PM
They should be able to give you Versed (also known as Medazolam), which is not a traditional anesthetic but which keeps you pain-free, simply because you are so relaxed that nothing bothers you.  In fact, having had that drug twice, I would recommend that they put it in the drinking water so the entire human race can just be happy all the time, regardless of what goes wrong.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: jbeany on June 18, 2007, 03:55:28 PM
Okay, that's just crazy.  At most, you would need to arrange someone to drive you home from the dentist, and drive you to your next dialysis session.  And how the heck does sedation affect dialysis - other than possibly making you sleep through it?  If it affects your blood pressure, and they don't manage to get the usual amount of fluid off - well, so what?  So you have to be extra careful with fluids for the next day, and then take the excess fluid off at the next session.  I had sedation with my last fistulagram and went straight from there to dialysis.  I slept thru the session and the only problem I had was needing a bit of tylenol since the dialysis stripped the painkillers out of my system.  Dialysis patients go thru all kinds of medical procedures that require sedation, so I don't see why a dental extraction should be so different that you can't get some pain relief during yours.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: Sara on June 18, 2007, 06:39:30 PM
I just thought of something else too - when Joe goes into outpatient surgery to get his fistula un-clogged (several times now  :thumbdown;) they always ask him if he wants to be knocked out, and since he loves his drugs, he always is.  There has to be SOMETHING they can do for you.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: angela515 on June 18, 2007, 07:05:15 PM
I'm sorry, I think they are full of sh*t and you need to seek another opinion. I have had sedation for any procedure I have done and asked for it due to being scared of any pain. I have also been completely knocked out fortons of things, i.e surgery's and so on, and still had dialysis, as being put under or just getting sedation doesn't affect your dialysis... I hope you get the answers your looking for soon, I would let your dialysis doctors know and demand they talk to the dentist or get you another one.

Good luck!
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: KICKSTART on June 19, 2007, 03:29:58 AM
I would just like to point out i do CAPD , so could easily be sedated. I can juggle the times on that day and even miss one exchange if need be , without much side effect. I took my mum for an endoscopy last week and she was sedated for it , total time including procedure AND recovery 1 hour ! She then walked out of the hospital fine and recovered. So i dont see the problem with me having it ! I am going to have a chat with my doctor about it before i go back to the dentist. I think the stress put on my body (panic, increase in already sky high BP is going to be more harmfull then a bit of sedation)
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: Sluff on June 19, 2007, 03:42:35 AM
I hate dentists. Sedate me or I'm not going.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: goofynina on June 20, 2007, 01:25:56 AM
Take some shots of tequila, you may not be sedated but you will probably be singing (or trying to sing) while they are doing the procedure ;)   Whatever you do, Good luck and please let us know what they decide to do, i need to go to the dentist too but i have been putting it off  ::)
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: aharris2 on June 20, 2007, 04:18:00 AM
(alene writing)

Kickstart, can your nephrologist intercede on your behalf?
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: livecam on June 20, 2007, 07:48:34 AM
Dental sedation is a dangerous animal that most patients might not be fully aware of.  Most dentists are not qualified anesthesiologists nor do they employ one.  If something goes wrong with a sedated patient in a dental setting it can go very wrong. 

Patients have died or suffered brain damage at the hands of dentists who used too much, didn't provide oxygen, didn't know the patient was in trouble, and didn't have the equipment on hand or experience to revive a patient who might have gotten into trouble.

It is just better to grin and bear whatever the dentist is doing with local anesthetic but anything more like sedation or twilight sleep should be avoided at all costs.

You read about these cases in the papers from time to time.  Often they involve children who either suffer brain damage or die. 

Dental sedation and anesthesia is dangerous.  If you can avoid it, don't do it.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: bdpoe on June 20, 2007, 09:10:34 AM
While I generally agree with livecam about this and all types of anesthesia, one would tend to think that
getting an extraction done in a hospital by a dental surgeon would hopefully be safer than having it done
at a general dentist's office. Definitely discuss this with your Neph and ask him to talk to your dentist/surgeon.

Would Novacain dramatically increase your BP? If not how about a combination of some anti anxiety medication
and Novacain? Perhaps sedating you would be preferable. What kind of sedation would be best for you?
You might want to compose a list of questions and
your complaint and send them to the Neph, the dentist, your primary care doc and social or case worker.
At the bottom write Copies sent to with the names of all.

I have taken two people in the past to oral surgeons for multiple extractions who were knocked out
In less than an hour they walked out into the waiting room ready for a ride home. They did not have ESRD.

But I can tell you when you are an ESRD patient you are considered a higher risk and some medical providers
act a little reluctant. Getting your Neph and the provider on the same page helps in protecting you.

Good Luck and keep us posted. I need two teeth pulled myself and would prefer to have it done by
an oral surgeon under sedation.
...bd



Dental sedation is a dangerous animal that most patients might not be fully aware of.  Most dentists are not qualified anesthesiologists nor do they employ one.  If something goes wrong with a sedated patient in a dental setting it can go very wrong. 

Patients have died or suffered brain damage at the hands of dentists who used too much, didn't provide oxygen, didn't know the patient was in trouble, and didn't have the equipment on hand or experience to revive a patient who might have gotten into trouble.

It is just better to grin and bear whatever the dentist is doing with local anesthetic but anything more like sedation or twilight sleep should be avoided at all costs.

You read about these cases in the papers from time to time.  Often they involve children who either suffer brain damage or die. 

Dental sedation and anesthesia is dangerous.  If you can avoid it, don't do it.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: kitkatz on June 20, 2007, 01:59:56 PM
An oral surgeon may be a better choice that a regular dentist.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: thegrammalady on June 20, 2007, 02:05:03 PM
ask about versed. it won't put you out but you will probably be able to relax and sleep. the nicest thing about it is you won't remember a single thing.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: angela515 on June 20, 2007, 10:13:23 PM
Dental sedation is a dangerous animal that most patients might not be fully aware of.  Most dentists are not qualified anesthesiologists nor do they employ one.  If something goes wrong with a sedated patient in a dental setting it can go very wrong. 

Patients have died or suffered brain damage at the hands of dentists who used too much, didn't provide oxygen, didn't know the patient was in trouble, and didn't have the equipment on hand or experience to revive a patient who might have gotten into trouble.

It is just better to grin and bear whatever the dentist is doing with local anesthetic but anything more like sedation or twilight sleep should be avoided at all costs.

You read about these cases in the papers from time to time.  Often they involve children who either suffer brain damage or die. 

Dental sedation and anesthesia is dangerous.  If you can avoid it, don't do it.

When a dentist sedates a renal patient it is usually done at the hospital so an anesthesiologist can do it. At least in NV and Iowa.
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: tweetykiss on June 20, 2007, 10:31:40 PM
Come on now....they cannot do it to you........I don't even let the hygenists clean without putting nitrous in me...sorry no one is sticking hands in my mouth without me being relaxed on nitrous........and it better be a high dosage too and some there think I am stupid and I let them know they better turn the knob up all the way or I won't pay for the nitrous.....

Good Luck    :grouphug;
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: KICKSTART on June 21, 2007, 03:54:41 AM
Hi guys read your replies with interest . Firstly i am in the UK  so not sure about Versed ?  Secondly  ALL this work will be taking place at the hospital , i am told i cant attend a regular dentist because of renal failure. It is an oral surgeon dealing with me , tbh i just think she couldnt be bothered with putting herself out. She had already decided she wasnt going to sedate me .APART from anything else , her best and most used reason was , 'I wouldnt be recovered in time for my next dialysis (capd) Thats rubbish , i dont know anyone who has sat in a dentists chair recovering for 4 hours ! I have had sedation before and an hour tops is needed!
Title: Re: Dentist help !!!
Post by: muddled on June 21, 2007, 10:45:33 AM
Hi kickstart,i am another wimp at the dentist :(

although i never had an extraction before but i do have to have the magic gel (what they use for children) on my gums for about 10 minutes before they give me an injection to numb the area before drilling the tooth for fillings.I wear my mp3 so i cant hear the drill ,shut my eyes and the dentist gives me a nudge when hes done.

i climb out of the chair and i never felt a thing,works for me although i think its more the pain im frightened of rather than the dentist.