Conquering my fear of needles

[Betty Bat]

Today I went to the dentist and got three metal fillings replaced. This was very significant for me because I have a really extreme fear of needles which translated into a fear of dentists. I hadn't been to a dentist in about 10 (!) years before I started on my braces adventure.

I was able to get my novocaine shots (2 of them) - boy, that topical anesthetic he put on before the injections really did a good job!

I worried about this much more than I did about my braces. In fact, I told my ortho in the beginning that anything he did was OK as long as he didn't give me a shot.

So, now I'll go sit down and start breathing normally again while I let the novocaine wear off.

[Miss Smiley]

I don't know why dentists would give shots without topical for those who are scared and sensitive to pain. I for one don't mind if I have topical or not, I've trained myself not to shed a tear or fear the dentist since I was little. My dentist was my uncle for goodness sakes, can't be scared of him. But glad that your experience has gotten better!!! If you feel any soreness, you can always take a pain med!

[joney]

Well done Betty

You should be really proud of yourself. It is very hard to face something that we really fear and we usually find out that the anticipation is by far worse than the reality. Glad to hear it went well.

Regards
Joney

[platinum]

If you are scared of needless have the fillings without novacaine.
It feels quite akward, but is doable. When I was a kid we were not given any anesthesia. Just drilling It was afwul but one knew that drilling lasts only a while.
My sister still gets her fillings done without novacaine.

[Clairey Fairey]

Yey well done for conquering your fear

Is a topical the spray they use before the injection??

My old dentist always used that....my new one doesn't!! I requested it when I had a filling and he gave me it even though he said he only uses it on kids!!

But when I went for the extraction, and he could see I was freaking out about the whole thing, I didn't get it. He said that it wouldn't work where he had to do the injection(s), but on the plus side the injection pain wasn't as bad as I thought, wasn't nice, but not to bad!!

The thought of the extraction still made me faint though!!

...I'm hoping that the more times I go, the braver I'll be, and no longer scared of the dentist!!
I'm not scared of the ortho, just the dentist coz they have the needles!!!

[Betty Bat]

Thanks to all of you for your support and kind words.

I just figured that I had to overcome my fears, before something serious happened and I needed to get shots. So, I've had lipomas removed from my arm, a mole removed from my back, an IV for a CT scan, a tetanus shot (aren't they the worst!) and now the dentist.

As they say, just put on your big girl panties and do it! Don't know what the equivalent for men would be.

But, the same goes for all of the fears and concerns that we have with our braces and attendant ortho issues. In most cases, we know what is right, we know what the answer to the question is, but we just have step up and do the right things. And, then, come to the board and talk about it, of course.

[lionfish]

As to tetanus shots - OUCH! My arm ached for a few hours after that one.

Tetanus is a real beauty. I had that one and a few others thrown in for good measure a few weeks ago because I'm travelling to Indonesia next week. They jabbed both arms to spread the load. But the good news is that many of these shots now last for a lot longer than they used to so.

[cowlypso]

I used to be absolutely terrified of needles. They would have to chase me around the exam room, I ran out on a couple of phlebotomists, and I always had to have my dad hold my hand. My freshman year of college I went to get a flu shot and took my roommate to hold my hand.

The thing that did it for me was getting allergy shots. It's a tiny needle, and you start off with a very small amount being injected. Then you work up. So after getting two shots twice a week for months, I was pretty much over my fear.

Now I donate blood and spam spam, have gotten IVs, and get blood drawn and shots. All by myself.

I agree that the tetanus shot is no fun. My last one made me kind of sick. I went in to work in the lab afterwards and started feeling feverish, so I decided to go home. I just got the hepatitis A shot last week. I didn't feel sick at all from it, but my arm was sore the next two days. But now I'm ready to go to Costa Rica!