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I have a question that is related to a situation I have, but it is not seeking medical advice as there is no medical situation I have. It's just a hypothetical situation I have often wondered about.
Again, I am not seeking medical advice.
When I was 14 or 15 I was put on 2 mg Ativan daily. Since then I have come to be on 4 mg Ativan daily and am now 30 years old.
In the time that I've been on Ativan, it's become apparent to me that some doctors don't know how powerful benzodiazepines are and how drastically they change a person's brain chemistry. Some doctors have told me for example that I could withdraw completely from my Ativan within the course of a week.
My concern today is about general anesthesia. I have never had nor have I ever needed general anesthesia. But with my sister who had an appendectomy recently, I've become extremely concerned about a case in which I would need general anesthesia, which is why I am writing here. I don't know of a way to consult with an anesthesiologist if you have no reason to have surgery.
Although I haven't had general anesthesia, my dentist tried using IV sedation in me three times, and an oral surgeon tried using it on me 1 time. In all four cases, I never fell asleep, in spite of the dentist telling me he had given me 5X a normal dosage of the medication. I know that he used Versed along with Fentanyl and I believe Phenergan.
I had a paradoxical reaction each time to the sedation. The more sedation he gave me, the more anxious I became fighting the feeling of being out of control. He ultimately found that just giving me Versed at a smaller dose and not the other drugs made me less anxious than the other ones combined.
When I went to the oral surgeon, I described my three previous experiences. I was not allowed to see the oral surgeon at the consultation or before I was anesthetized at the actual appointment. I had told the person I saw at the consultation that just using Versed would be better if they insisted on using sedation (I wanted to do it local).
On the day of the procedure I was told that the doctor would not see patients until they were already prepped. I was told that I was being given the standard cocktail of drugs (not sure what that was). I was hooked up to a lot of machines, and they told me not to worry that there was nothing I could do not to fall asleep. My dad was not allowed in the room with me after they started the IV.
I argued that I wanted to see the doctor because I was told they could just use Versed, but eventually the staff and my dad convinced me to just go along with it, and I thought that in spite of how anxious I was I would be brave and I would just "turn off" no matter the anxiety.
Well, as soon as it started hitting me, I freaked out. I can't remember the course of events, but I know they were all screaming that my blood pressure was 200 something.
The doctor ran out to get my dad, and my dad ran in. The doctor was furious and said he couldn't work on me, and we just left and I could barely even stand up and walk out. I eventually got the teeth pulled with local which caused me no problems or anxiety.
My other experience I can relate to this phenomena is when I first took Seroquel. I remember the first few nights, and I called them my "Seroquel nights." I remember being terrified. Something about me needs to go sleep my own way. I was on 50 mg Seroquel. And it made me feel totally out of control. It felt like a prison. I had no trouble sleeping before that, the Seroquel was given for Tourette's, and they said to take it at night so it wouldn't make me tired in the day.
I remember being tortured. I fought so hard against the medication and became totally panicked. I was drinking a big 2 liter bottle of Coke because I was both insatiably hungry and trying to fight sleep. I became panicked in order to fight the turning off of my brain and be able to stay awake and go to sleep under my own control. When I've taken Seroquel at night I eventually sort of turn off like a burnt out light bulb with almost a seizure type sensation and involuntary yelling.
So my concern is two fold:
1) I have taken drugs for 15 years that I am completely tolerant to (Ativan) that have changed the way my brain responds to agents that work on GABA receptors. I'm not sure that I can be put to sleep. Even if they induced me into what looked like sleep, wouldn't I be at very high risk for awareness?
2) When I go to sleep, I feel like it never works unless I can go to sleep my own way, meaning I need to be relaxed and in control.
If I ever needed emergency surgery, I would not necessarily be able to tell the doctor all of this. The other problem is that I don't believe many doctors understand what long-term Ativan use does to a person's brain even if I could explain it. And I don't know if anesthesiologists take Ativan and other psych drug use into account when putting someone out.
So my question is, if it were necessary, could I be put out? What would happen if they started trying to anesthetize me and I just got more and more anxious but the surgery were necessary?
Can you take someone from anxious to unconscious and ready for surgery even if they normally only can turn off when they are in control and relaxed?
The reason I am suspicious is that when I told the oral surgeon's office about my previous problems, they acted like there was a huge difference between a dentist's office and their office and they were so sure of themselves that sedation worked invariably and that I would be aware of nothing.
I'd honestly rather be awake during most procedures. I'd prefer to be awake during a colonoscopy once I need one of those. I'd prefer to be awake during an endoscopy (which I've already had to defer because my PCP said no doctor would do it without sedation).
But the main concern is life emergencies, heart surgery, appendectomy, etc., where you need to be generally anesthetized?
What happens to people like me whose receptors are just to tolerant to the effects of GABA and who need to feel in control?
Thank you very much.
Again, I am not seeking medical advice.
When I was 14 or 15 I was put on 2 mg Ativan daily. Since then I have come to be on 4 mg Ativan daily and am now 30 years old.
In the time that I've been on Ativan, it's become apparent to me that some doctors don't know how powerful benzodiazepines are and how drastically they change a person's brain chemistry. Some doctors have told me for example that I could withdraw completely from my Ativan within the course of a week.
My concern today is about general anesthesia. I have never had nor have I ever needed general anesthesia. But with my sister who had an appendectomy recently, I've become extremely concerned about a case in which I would need general anesthesia, which is why I am writing here. I don't know of a way to consult with an anesthesiologist if you have no reason to have surgery.
Although I haven't had general anesthesia, my dentist tried using IV sedation in me three times, and an oral surgeon tried using it on me 1 time. In all four cases, I never fell asleep, in spite of the dentist telling me he had given me 5X a normal dosage of the medication. I know that he used Versed along with Fentanyl and I believe Phenergan.
I had a paradoxical reaction each time to the sedation. The more sedation he gave me, the more anxious I became fighting the feeling of being out of control. He ultimately found that just giving me Versed at a smaller dose and not the other drugs made me less anxious than the other ones combined.
When I went to the oral surgeon, I described my three previous experiences. I was not allowed to see the oral surgeon at the consultation or before I was anesthetized at the actual appointment. I had told the person I saw at the consultation that just using Versed would be better if they insisted on using sedation (I wanted to do it local).
On the day of the procedure I was told that the doctor would not see patients until they were already prepped. I was told that I was being given the standard cocktail of drugs (not sure what that was). I was hooked up to a lot of machines, and they told me not to worry that there was nothing I could do not to fall asleep. My dad was not allowed in the room with me after they started the IV.
I argued that I wanted to see the doctor because I was told they could just use Versed, but eventually the staff and my dad convinced me to just go along with it, and I thought that in spite of how anxious I was I would be brave and I would just "turn off" no matter the anxiety.
Well, as soon as it started hitting me, I freaked out. I can't remember the course of events, but I know they were all screaming that my blood pressure was 200 something.
The doctor ran out to get my dad, and my dad ran in. The doctor was furious and said he couldn't work on me, and we just left and I could barely even stand up and walk out. I eventually got the teeth pulled with local which caused me no problems or anxiety.
My other experience I can relate to this phenomena is when I first took Seroquel. I remember the first few nights, and I called them my "Seroquel nights." I remember being terrified. Something about me needs to go sleep my own way. I was on 50 mg Seroquel. And it made me feel totally out of control. It felt like a prison. I had no trouble sleeping before that, the Seroquel was given for Tourette's, and they said to take it at night so it wouldn't make me tired in the day.
I remember being tortured. I fought so hard against the medication and became totally panicked. I was drinking a big 2 liter bottle of Coke because I was both insatiably hungry and trying to fight sleep. I became panicked in order to fight the turning off of my brain and be able to stay awake and go to sleep under my own control. When I've taken Seroquel at night I eventually sort of turn off like a burnt out light bulb with almost a seizure type sensation and involuntary yelling.
So my concern is two fold:
1) I have taken drugs for 15 years that I am completely tolerant to (Ativan) that have changed the way my brain responds to agents that work on GABA receptors. I'm not sure that I can be put to sleep. Even if they induced me into what looked like sleep, wouldn't I be at very high risk for awareness?
2) When I go to sleep, I feel like it never works unless I can go to sleep my own way, meaning I need to be relaxed and in control.
If I ever needed emergency surgery, I would not necessarily be able to tell the doctor all of this. The other problem is that I don't believe many doctors understand what long-term Ativan use does to a person's brain even if I could explain it. And I don't know if anesthesiologists take Ativan and other psych drug use into account when putting someone out.
So my question is, if it were necessary, could I be put out? What would happen if they started trying to anesthetize me and I just got more and more anxious but the surgery were necessary?
Can you take someone from anxious to unconscious and ready for surgery even if they normally only can turn off when they are in control and relaxed?
The reason I am suspicious is that when I told the oral surgeon's office about my previous problems, they acted like there was a huge difference between a dentist's office and their office and they were so sure of themselves that sedation worked invariably and that I would be aware of nothing.
I'd honestly rather be awake during most procedures. I'd prefer to be awake during a colonoscopy once I need one of those. I'd prefer to be awake during an endoscopy (which I've already had to defer because my PCP said no doctor would do it without sedation).
But the main concern is life emergencies, heart surgery, appendectomy, etc., where you need to be generally anesthetized?
What happens to people like me whose receptors are just to tolerant to the effects of GABA and who need to feel in control?
Thank you very much.
