Posted 10/21/2006 4:56 AM (GMT 0)
Hey everyone,
It's been so long since I have posted, but that's because so much has been going on. It's been rocky at times, but I have somehow managed to keep my anxiety in check for over a year now. I wanted to see if anyone has had this happen to them at the dentist. Basically, yesterday I went to the dentist to have a filling put in (first one in 8 years) The dentist gave me the full shot of lidocaine at one time, and about 30 seconds later my eyes were blurry and I felt really dizzy I told the assistant to the dentist, and no sooner than I let her know I remember just closing my eyes and sliding down the chair. The next thing I remember is her and I think someone else sliding me back up the chair, and I remember seeing the doctor come in the room. my whole body was basically in one big tremor, almost like I was convulsing. I asked him what happened to me, and when I was trying to talk I noticed that my throat was really numb and I could hardly swallow. It became increasingly hard to breathe, but I remember thinking to myself, "this doesn't feel like a panic attack" At first I was able to breathe through my mouth and then it just kept getting worse and worse. They started putting oxygen on me, and by the time they did that I could barely breathe through my nose, and that is when my panic set in. I remember feeling it, because at first I just kind of tried to rationalize that my throat was numb from the medicine. But as it got increasingly worse, I started to panic, I mean who wouldn't. Long story short, the EMS showed up and the main guy basically passed it off as anxiety. He said it couldn't have been an allergic reaction. I really wasn't thinking it was an allergic reaction to begin with, but the dentist seemed to think so since I broke out in hives.
My panic attacks normally start with the rapid heart beat and then I start to feel dizzy, but the dizziness is almost like a headrush. I don't usually have a hard time breathing and certainly never experienced the sensation I felt. I have had a lot go on the past few months, my grandfather passed away, I was in a car wreck that nearly killed me among other things. Never once did I go into having a panic attack. I wasn't nervous at all going to the dentist. I called my pharmacist and he said that sometimes this can happen if too much is given at one time to a patient, especially if they are sensetive. I am just really confused about what happend. Ironically enough, I was fine within 15 minutes, because i did have to calm myself down, but I was able to drive home, I was able to carry on with the rest of my day. If I had a true panic attack, I couldn't have done that at all. I am normally on edge for a few hours at least when I get a full blown attack. I am just confused, and curious if anyone has had experiences with dentists like this. The dentist I saw hadn't been in practice very long, which I found out after the fact. Thanks for listening, in some ways I'm kind of venting here. This site has been so helpful to me in the past, and I appreciate all it has done for me from the support that you receive here. Thanks again