Scared of going to the dentist- please help

[Ethansmom]

So I take Cymbalta for anxiety (just started), and I need to go in for a filling next week. I'm scared the Cymbalta is going to react to the novacaine and i'm going to have a thumping/skipping heart, which will then turn into a full blown panic attack. How can I approach this rationally? Advice?

[Elen]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your problem.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Regards

Elen Admin

[Phuzella]

Explain your fears to the dentist. Tell them you're a nervous patient with anxiety. Dentists are very sympathetic these days :)

[Carys]

Hiyer, don't know if I'm allowed to 'advertise' another forum, but dental fears are quite specific and a whole area in their own right (it seems). There is a forum called 'dental fear central'.org, which you will find loads of answers on if you don't get replies here. There are detailed threads and lots of articles, including about the local anaesthetic fears you have.

---------- Post added at 16:21 ---------- Previous post was at 16:16 ----------

If it IS Novacaine that they use (there are other things used mostly nowadays, notably Lidocaine), then the 'skipping/thumping' heart you refer to is a reference to the TINY amount of adrenaline in the local anaesthetic. The amount is so small (and used to lengthen the time to local stays in the tissue it is injected into) that your body produces much much more adrenaline by being anxious about the filling :winks: Tell your dentist what medication you are on, but I very much doubt there is any issue with it at all.

[Ethansmom]

Thank you both for kindly responding. I will definitely tell him I have anxiety and that I am on medication . Sounds so simple when you talk it out loud. I can do this. I will be brave!

[Phuzella]

:)

[Ethansmom]

I went to the dentist and survived! No panic attack. I did have a friend in the waiting room so I felt a bit more at ease . I also had ear buds on me so that I could listen to my favorite music. Unfortunately, I still have anxiety . The 30 mg of cymbalta isn’t helping . I can’t tell if it’s just not working or if it’s makibg my anxiety worse. I think the target dose is supposed to be 60mg, but we are taking it slow and giving my body time to adjust . I still use klonopin daily which I hate because I am scared to stop taking it. I hat no problem stoping Xanax when I was taking Prozac before. Prozac took months to work and then just stopped working one day. I also gained 25 pounds in 6 months. I was always starving . I’m so sick of trying did different medications, hoping they’ll work and that one day I’ll wake up without feeling anxious. I just want to feel better. Yesterday was a good day. I went for a workout and felt better. My next goal is to give up coffee. I believe it’s a huge trigger and that I’m sensitive to it! I do love coffee though. Thanks for listening .

[Phuzella]

Well done for getting the dentist out of the way :). Onwards and upwards now :)

[Ethansmom]

Yes, Onwards and upwards!