Has anyone taken Halcion before dental work?

[JennaGraf]

Again, a very smart thing to do. Many dentists will do sedation or nitrous without an actual anesthesia provder (nurse anestethetist or and MD). Mine won't touch either gas or sedation as he does not think it's safe to do without an expert on hand.

Thanks, and much agreed. There are 3 dentists who do IV sedation here locally, only one of which is board certified (mine). How they get away with it, I dont know. Terrifying.

 

[klmall]

DH needed a root canal (his first) and when the dentist tried to place him in the chair he couldn't get comfortable due to his severe back problems (scoliosis). He sent him home with a prescription for Halcion to take at night and one more in the AM before arriving at the dentist. It worked perfectly both that time and at the repeat visit a month later.

 

[ooohjaime]

wow, was doing research on Halcion and came across this thread. I went to endodontist in 2013 that prescribed Halcion for my re treatment of root canal. Did some research and ended up opting out of the halcion and the procedure altogether, 8 yrs later, here I am going back to same endo dontist and he Rx me Halcion again. My cousin is a pharmacist and she described the drug to me. Halcion is Rx for dental procedures bc they like the 'half life' of the drug- it wears off quickly and doesnt give you a 'hangover' or feeling loopy afterwards. She said more than likely Ill be 'awake' but just very relaxed. It also has an amnesia effect that you wont remember the procedure. I just need to convince myself this is what I want to do. Ill have to secure a ride, but I live alone and worried about being alone after I take it.... also I saw alot of talk about the 'deep cleaning' and I had it done a few yrs ago. See , the thing is, everyone's body is different. So what I experience may not be what YOU would experience. My boss had a deep cleaning and he said it was horrible and was in pain for a few days afterwards. So, naturally it caused me some anxiety. I was supposed to go to 2 different appointments. Turned out, the procedure didn't bother me at all. I said go ahead and finish it all today! They numbed my gums with a topical gel that lasted about 15 min, and if I needed more, she would apply. I had it all done and had only VERY MINOR discomfort over just 1 tooth, the next day, that she really had to get down to. Other than that, I had zero discomfort . Id rather have that done than a regular cleaning !
As far as the shot to numb you for a major procedure, there are many different nerves in the mouth and obv your dentist knows where to give you the shot to numb a particular tooth. For example if you are having work done on a tooth on the bottom, the shot they give you, that nerve is pretty much the whole bottom of your mouth, ie all the 7-8 teeth on the left side, lets say. It will even numb your tongue and your lip on that side. The top of the mouth is different. If you noticed that you got a shot on the top, towards the back, your whole mouth wont necessarily go numb, the Dr knows where to give the shot.

 

[Jjustjess]

OOooopps - so sorry. It is Haldol that is being so frequently used now by the "oral conscious sedation" dentists. Halcion is a different drug. Sorry OP -the information I was referring to was for Haldol, I am really not familiar with Halcion.

No I’m sure you were right the first time, Haldol is an antipsychotic. Halcyon is a benzodiazepine which is for anxiety and nerves. My dental phobia has prevented me from going in over 15 years. Now that I don’t have any choice, I went to a dentist in Fort Collins and was offered lead sedation. 1 Valium the night before procedure. In the morning, an hour before my appointment I took 1 Halcyon as instructed. Upon arrival I had my blood pressure, pulse and breathing monitored, was given 2 More Halcyon and 2 Hydroxyzine (similar to Benadryl) 20 minutes later I was still awake and somewhat relaxed. He was surprised that I was awake. Prior I told him I seem to have a high tolerance for things so when I was awake, he agreed and gave me 2 more Halcyon and was back in 10 minutes.
For the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE my experience was amazing. The last time I had a tooth pulled I was in a full fledged panic attack and it took 42 minutes for 1 extraction. My fear and anxiety isn’t about pain at all. As soon as I feel the pressure from the truth being pulled through the tight bone I totally freak out!!! I mean hysterical crying. This appointment was a life changer for me. I remember telling him that I changed my mind About the three extractions that I was there for and just wanted to do the fillings. He started laughing and told me that the teeth were already pulled. I was shocked! I felt NOTHING. I left so happy and loopy. For me, it lasted all day. I fell asleep by 6pm, slept through the night and woke up my normal self with a small amount of pain. I have a lot more work to be done and now live three hours away from that dentist so I will not go to another dentist unless they are willing to give me the same regimen but if not it looks like I will be taking a trip to Fort Collins. I can finally get my teeth done thank God

 

[Jjustjess]

I have used the halcion 3 times and loved it. I am absolutely terrified of the dentist(I can deal with needles anywhere but my mouth and around my eyes) and when I began to hear of sedation dentistry I took full advantage of it.
The office called in the prescription for me the night before, and I would pick it up the morning of my appt., to take it about an hour before. i was told to have someone drive me there and back. Within about 20 minutes of taking it, I was feeling pretty fine...it is sort of like being drunk, as another poster mentioned. The first time, I was worried because I was told I'd know what was going on but wouldn't remember it. This scared me...I didn't want to feel anything or know anything while it was happening! Well, I believe it worked on me as it was intended to. I was very sleepy when I sat in the chair and I beleive I ended up being half asleep thru every procedure. I do have slight memories of being worked on and even once of a being given a shot...the funny thing is it didn't matter and I don't remember it really hurting. After my appt., I went home and slept it off and I'd say I was back to normal within about 3-4 hours of leaving the office. I now have no problems having anything done because this stuff is great! My teeth would probably fall out if it weren't for this stuff.

I agree 100%. It was a game changer for me. In the last 15 years I had had one tooth pulled and it took 42 minutes, I was hysterical crying and in a full-fledged panic attack. A year ago I got three teeth polled while on Halcyon and had no idea that

 

[Dan Murphy]

Welcome to the dis, Jess.

 

[Scaredtodeath]

I have used the halcion 3 times and loved it. I am absolutely terrified of the dentist(I can deal with needles anywhere but my mouth and around my eyes) and when I began to hear of sedation dentistry I took full advantage of it.
The office called in the prescription for me the night before, and I would pick it up the morning of my appt., to take it about an hour before. i was told to have someone drive me there and back. Within about 20 minutes of taking it, I was feeling pretty fine...it is sort of like being drunk, as another poster mentioned. The first time, I was worried because I was told I'd know what was going on but wouldn't remember it. This scared me...I didn't want to feel anything or know anything while it was happening! Well, I believe it worked on me as it was intended to. I was very sleepy when I sat in the chair and I beleive I ended up being half asleep thru every procedure. I do have slight memories of being worked on and even once of a being given a shot...the funny thing is it didn't matter and I don't remember it really hurting. After my appt., I went home and slept it off and I'd say I was back to normal within about 3-4 hours of leaving the office. I now have no problems having anything done because this stuff is great! My teeth would probably fall out if it weren't for this stuff.

Thank you after reading your post it made me feel a little better. My dentist prescribed triazolam for me, I go next Thursday ... I swear I have PTSD from dentist, I can't even make the appoint my husband has to !

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thank you after reading your post it made me feel a little better. My dentist prescribed triazolam for me, I go next Thursday ... I swear I have PTSD from dentist, I can't even make the appoint my husband has to !

Welcome to the dis, Std.

 

[fairyflutters]

I am extremely dental phobic as well. My dentist from birth through college would immediately bring to mind Steve Martin's character in Little Shop of Horrors . I have had very sensitive teeth this I was little and that has only increased with age. My original dentist filled my cavities but didn't get all the decay, so by the time I was in my early 20's and got a new dentist, all of the decay had gone further into the teeth, necessitating huge fillings in 11 teeth . That dentist did good work but totally couldn't understand my dental phobia and I would be so sick to my stomach starting the night before every appointment.

Flash forward to one of my brothers graduating from dental school and joining a practice near my parent's home. He does great work and totally gets just how scared I am. He gave me Xanax to start but the lowest dose didn't do anything to relax me, so we moved on to Halcion. I've taken a pill an hour before each appointment since then and it does help to relax me, but I think we need to up the dose a little. It doesn't help that I have a lot of tooth pain and even just a cleaning is very painful due to root issues. I am pretty much aware of what's going on and able to hold a conversation, though I look pretty out of it. Even with the Halcion I am still nervous (which is why I need a higher dose) which cause the steptocaine(?) they use to wear off very quickly. I always need at least one, sometimes 2 boosters of steptocaine during a procedure or I can feel everything. It also helps that one of my brother's dental hygenists had the same dentist I did and also has a dental phobia as a result. My brother always assigns her to me if she is working when I am there because he knows she has a calming effect on me.

When I went in for my root canal I used the Halcion and listened to an iPod through one earphone (so I could hear any instructions from the endodontist with the other ear), but the music at least covered up some of the dental noises and distracted me somewhat.

I am always exhausted after an appointment, but part of that is probably because I don't sleep at all the night before an appointment. Definitely get someone else to drive you to/from the appointment and plan on sleeping afterwards.

I'm so glad i read what you wrote about listening to headphone in one ear to help not hear the drilling and help to distract. I've never tried that but i will next time. Ive been reading a lot of comments throughout this thread from a lot of snarky full of themselves know it alls and it's really sad at the attitudes towards folks like me and others who not only have high anxiety about going to the dentist but that they also are not able to get numbed enough with any numbing due to neurological issues or high sensitivity issues with exposed nerves and roots or tachycardia problems and thus the dentists have to use 1% novacaine and not 3% novacaine and the 1% barely lasts if works at all or simply some people cant get numb with any type of caine injections or ointments... and some people cant have gas due to seizure tremor conditions and the gas can cause the brain to think it is getting massively too hot and cause massive panic in the brain. and to the person and persons who told the person you wont feel pain with numbing injections ...this is not true for all people my dentist gives me the valium route the night before and then hour before and i mostly still feel pain but i get almost quietly tearful combined with almost sassy cocky and sort of dont care and dont even realize it went quickly but i still feel the pain but i dont feel zapped like a lightning bolt to the skull and ceiling and i think it is bearable. he did refer me to a different dentist to get iv sedation when i needed a bridge because he knew it would be better and it was wonderful but the iv sedation was out of pocket cost. and no to the snarky folks saying the people with high anxiety need therapy , good grief , no they don't. and to the dental workers saying youve never heard of this phobia before and it's highly unusual....no it isn't...in fact as my dentist and the iv sedation dentist i used said it was very common ...so stop with the holier than though know it all attitude to people with true issue with pain and phobias and maybe learn something new . and yes it might be the dentist causing you unnecessary pain but it might also be simply your gums and nerves just won't get numb no matter the delicate or needle angle and anyone with years of knowledge and skill will know that gas can cause body heat issues and panic to try and cool down and possibly trigger seizures. i was thrilled to read on here that i was not alone but even though those two dentists told me the anxiety and pain phobia and real pain issues are very very common, you still think you are alone because most people just go in to the dentist like ordering driv thru fast food with no problems and no worries.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I'm so glad i read what you wrote about listening to headphone in one ear to help not hear the drilling and help to distract. I've never tried that but i will next time. Ive been reading a lot of comments throughout this thread from a lot of snarky full of themselves know it alls and it's really sad at the attitudes towards folks like me and others who not only have high anxiety about going to the dentist but that they also are not able to get numbed enough with any numbing due to neurological issues or high sensitivity issues with exposed nerves and roots or tachycardia problems and thus the dentists have to use 1% novacaine and not 3% novacaine and the 1% barely lasts if works at all or simply some people cant get numb with any type of caine injections or ointments... and some people cant have gas due to seizure tremor conditions and the gas can cause the brain to think it is getting massively too hot and cause massive panic in the brain. and to the person and persons who told the person you wont feel pain with numbing injections ...this is not true for all people my dentist gives me the valium route the night before and then hour before and i mostly still feel pain but i get almost quietly tearful combined with almost sassy cocky and sort of dont care and dont even realize it went quickly but i still feel the pain but i dont feel zapped like a lightning bolt to the skull and ceiling and i think it is bearable. he did refer me to a different dentist to get iv sedation when i needed a bridge because he knew it would be better and it was wonderful but the iv sedation was out of pocket cost. and no to the snarky folks saying the people with high anxiety need therapy , good grief , no they don't. and to the dental workers saying youve never heard of this phobia before and it's highly unusual....no it isn't...in fact as my dentist and the iv sedation dentist i used said it was very common ...so stop with the holier than though know it all attitude to people with true issue with pain and phobias and maybe learn something new . and yes it might be the dentist causing you unnecessary pain but it might also be simply your gums and nerves just won't get numb no matter the delicate or needle angle and anyone with years of knowledge and skill will know that gas can cause body heat issues and panic to try and cool down and possibly trigger seizures. i was thrilled to read on here that i was not alone but even though those two dentists told me the anxiety and pain phobia and real pain issues are very very common, you still think you are alone because most people just go in to the dentist like ordering driv thru fast food with no problems and no worries.

Welcome to the dis, ff.

Hope your future dental experiences go well. And hope you come back to visit, hang out a bit here.

 

[pahoben]

When one of my daughters was three or four she had a couple cavities and she was a real fighter in the dental chair. It was a pediatric dental practice and the dentist advised anesthesia and grind many of her baby teeth down and cap them and thus take care of any baby teeth problems in one go (also some talk about strapping her to a board immobilizing her and doing work without sedation).. The anesthesia would be done in the office by an anesthesia technician that provided the service to multiple dental practices. I was hesitant to subject my daughter to anesthesia and so contacted the technician and received a recipe for the surprisingly multiple ingredient IV cocktail. I read through some pubmed papers concerning childhood anesthesia and concluded no way will I subject my daughters developing brain to this stuff unless absolutely necessary. I also was worried that the other option of immobilizing her would provide a basis for a life long phobia of dentists.

We switched dentists and extremely fortunate that the new dentist had good rapport with my daughter and was able to maintain in her a calm state of mind and do the dental work with no fighting or other problems. So so glad we switched dentists and were lucky to find one that could manage my daughter so well.