how to deal with going to the dentist

so i need to go to the dentist within a week or so because i am having tooth pain...  my problem is i have the agoraphobia and i do not do well at all with waiting in offices or pre booking an appointments i think i may be able to get around the pre booking appointment part hopefully but i am still really scared about the whole  thing i just want it done fast so i can get it over with and go home i am worried i will have an episode and want to leave really bad or end up leaving  anyone have any advice .... a friend suggested i take an extra benzo with me to help but my benzos keep me even kill they stopped working for anxiety and panic attacks years ago  that's why i believe i have the agoraphobia  also my options are very limited unless my mom pays for the dentist because i have medicaid and the reviews at these places are horrible  i will not subject myself to that  knowing it is a waste of my time i can not sit in a waiting room for 2 hours or  be  at the dentist for a total of 3 to 4 hours  i just cant do that id end up just walking out

Maybe you can call ahead and discuss this with them. They may be able to see you right away and get you out of there as soon as possible. Or they could schedule you at the end of the day,that way you know you will not be there for hours.

 

PG

talk to the office  they can schedule me in before lunch so if i cancel its not a big deal  or at the end of the day friday  at 130pm  my problem with both of those is the anticipation anxiety  i get that really bad  and then on top of that its about a 15 to 20 min car ride  i am honestly thinking i should just drink a beer and ill be fine  i gave up drinking over 4 years ago because it as a crutch i had to have a beer with me every where i went  i only drank it in an emergency but it always worked for me every time

I also have anticipatory anxiety but I find that once I get to where I am going I am fine. I feel a sense of accomplishment after I am done. You are going to be fine and that will be one less thing you have to worry about. If they have to numb your mouth, tell them to use carbocaine because it has nothing in it to rev up your symptoms. i have used it several times at the dentist with no side effects.

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

PG

wait preacher girl  Novocain will rev up my  system ??

This seems like a good place to also ask:  does anyone know if nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is ok for us who are now benzo-sensitive?

 

I have an appointment coming in a few months that will be involved and I won't be taking a benzo!

jumpman, I had quite a bit of dental work done during my taper. The dentist used novocaine and it was fine. It certainly didn't affect my taper. However, you can ask him for something else if it will make you less anxious.

 

Listen, the most important thing here imo is that you TALK to you dentist and tell him about your anxiety. I frankly discussed mine with my dentist and he was extremely sympathetic and accommodating. He told me he wished more of his patients would talk to him. At one point in a root canal I told him we had to stop and he just went into another office and did paperwork until I felt ready to resume. No problem. Of course, I could have left at that time, but I wanted the procedure over. I just needed to chill. The assistant turned down the lights, put on some soft music, and in about 15 minutes I was calmed down and ready for the rest of the procedure.

 

You can do this, jumpman.

 

Best,

 

Katz

gage not sure if nitous is safe or not however for me i do not like the feeling of being high or out of it so that is out of the question for me ....

 

katz thank you so much for the advice i have know my dentist my entire life but have not seen him in 10 years i will explain my whole situation to him once i am able to go... a big part for me will be conquering the car ride there because it will be about 15  to 20 mins and once i am there if i am having a good day i should be ok.. i wont be there long because its only x rays and a exam  i will however have to go back but once i am able to do it once i find going back is a little easier depending on the car ride i just do not like traveling away from home...  i have been dealing with the agoroaphobia for 3 years now it has gotten alot better for me in all aspect but the driving  and going more then a few mins from my house still really bother me anxiety and panic wise

jumpman, can you get someone to drive you to the dentist? Or take Uber, or a cab? That would reduce some of your anxiety. I know how you feel . . . brother, do I ever. After back surgery(during my taper!!) I had to go for PT, a 45 minute drive from my home. I was doing okay with a 5 minute drive to the Post Office, and a 10 minute drive elsewhere in my little town, but for PT I had to drive clear to the next town, beside the ocean, on a cliff . . . and that was very hard . . . at least at first. Once I'd done it a few times, it got a lot easier. The drive may well get easier for you, too. And you know what? When my 12 weeks of PT were over, I could drive to that distant town whenever I wanted. So what I dreaded turned out to be a blessing. Hope things go like that for you.

 

Best to you,

 

Katz

glad to hear the katz  yes i do have someone to drive me to the dentist because i would not be able to do it at this time ...  but even when someone else drives me i still get the anxiety pretty bad its like my brain has this invisible bubble and when i go outside of the bubble i get anxiety or panic attacks its like a trigger....  dont get me wrong i still get them at home  then anxiety more then the panic i get anxiety on different levels of degrees everyday but i feel safe here  and its none triggering ..

 

 

Sounds like you did very well for yourself pushing past it and doing what you need to ... like exposure therapy  and once you got use to it you were able to do it with ease i wish i could push myself to do that

i wish i could push myself to do that

 

You can, jumpman.

 

Here's a funny not-so-funny story about the OCD I developed on my taper. Everything was threatening and anxiety-producing to me. Finally, my anxiety centered itself on my car. I was sure I had left the lights on every time I came home and parked in the garage. I talked to my therapist abut this and she suggested I read "Mindsight" by psychiatrist Daniel Segal. He treats patients without using drugs. Anyhow, he had a story in his book about a kid with OCD. She compulsively tapped 11 times on everything. It was a ritual that somehow made her feel safe but distressed her because she knew other people considered her a nut job. So instead of telling her to knock off that loony behavior, he "bargained" with her. Go ahead and tap . . . but maybe tap 10 times. Then next week, 9. And so on. Eventually she stopped tapping! I took this to heart and let myself go out to the garage as many times as I needed to to check the lights (at my worst I went out 8 times). Then I reduced my trips to 7 . . . then 6 and so on. It was dicey when I got to checking only once . . . but I persevered.

 

My takeaway from this is that we can use our minds (left brains) to overcome loony anxieties (they come from our disordered right brains, or messed-up feelings).

 

So . . . don't know if this can help you or not.

 

Oh, how about listening to music to distract you on the way to the dentist? Heck, my dentist actually gave me headphones to listen to music during my procedure.(I brought my favorite soothing CD).  He was/is such an understanding guy.

 

Hope things work out for you, jumpman. But I believe you can do it!

 

Best,

 

Katz

i am honestly thinking of using a beer if need be i used to carry a 22 ounce with me all the time very rarely did i ever need to drink it  but i stopped drinking completely 4 years ago..  i never drank that much to begin with maybe once a month if that but the beer in emergency situations always worked 

I talked to my therapist abut this and she suggested I read "Mindsight" by psychiatrist Daniel Segal. He treats patients without using drugs.

 

Thanks for the tip on the book, katz! I am interested in reading that.

There was a time decades ago that I had bad agoraphobia and panic attacks. One feed off the other in a vicious circle. I knew that I had to get rid of my agoraphobia if I ever wanted to live again. What I decided to do was the most frightening thing I could think off. I decided from that point on I would try to be out of my comfort zone at least once a day and then work my way up to many times a day, on purpose. It is called exposure therapy. I figured I would start the whole thing off with going to a Lisa Lampanelli comedy concert. I was deathly scared of not just going out, but crowds of people and an obnoxious comedians! I was a Deadman. I had panic attacks in the crowd. I felt trapped. I could not breathe. It was gloriously awful. I was petrified. That was the point. I keep doing stuff like this everyday until I was not afraid anymore. I must have had 50 panic attacks and uncountable levels of anxiety but my body and mind eventually adapted and by sheer force of exposure I beat agoraphobia. Learn some breathing methods and get out there. It is not easy but eventually with enough exposure you will break! That is when the healing happens. I hope you try it. A pill is never the answer. The answer lies in reprogramming your mind and your response to stimuli. This is one way to do it that worked for me. Good Luck! 

Wakingknowledge

 

thank you for the advice  in the back of my mind i know this is what i must due to beat the agoraphobia  i have been thinking about it more and more to start pushing back to regain my independence again ...  i really need to try this everyday and push .....