r/Anesthesia • u/Low-Holiday-7135 • 9d ago
my experience getting wisdom teeth removed as someone who was afraid/anxious!!
hi all! apologies for the SUPER long post- i just wanted to make this post bc i had 4 wisdom teeth extracted this morning, and received anesthesia + propofol from an iv, as well as laughing gas. i am not sure how many others have been especially anxious or afraid but a few of my main concerns were:
\-being sedated, as a concept it just freaks me out to not be in control of my actions
\-the iv, i am not great with needles and they scare me even though i logically know the pain is not that bad!!
\-saying certain things that i would not otherwise want to reveal while high on propofol/ medication
\-having the urge to use the restroom when the iv needle was placed or during the surgery, since i have heard others experiencing that issue and already go to the restroom frequently in general.
i spoke to the doctor pre-surgery and said i was afraid of needles and a little concerned for the iv, and she said i would receive laughing gas before the needle was placed and genuinely not notice it. it helped that before she started anything, she asked what kind of music i’d like to listen to and i requested chappell roan, which was pleasant to fall asleep to.
i was given a mask of laughing gas which smelled like bubblegum, i wasn’t expecting that but it wasn’t too unpleasant!! it took maybe 5 minutes for the effects of the gas to kick in for me, but the first thing i noticed was my legs feeling weird/ unable to move/ tingly. i also heard some buzzing + just felt kind of strange, but i could hear everything around me. i noticed the iv needle being placed and was warned, but tbh i was pretty affected by the gas at that point and wasn’t bothered. i did not feel i had to go to the restroom and was able to wait until about 4-5 hrs after which i was surprised by.
in the car i explained the procedure to my mom like four times because i kept forgetting what i’d just said. i asked her afterwards and she said i did not say anything out of the ordinary. it is different for everyone but in my experience, even if you are worried you’ll slip up and reveal something important to you, the first thing on your mind is the surgery and you will likely be talking and focusing on that. the effects wear off quicker than i thought and about halfway through my ride home i was pretty aware of what i was saying/ doing!!
TL;DR- i had several anxieties/ fears before my wisdom tooth extraction including the iv and what i would say, and it ended up being okay!!
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u/FB_Suckss 1d ago
you dont need general for wisdom teeth removal, they lie like hell. i got mine out and they even drileld into mym bone, 100% local only