Hello, I wonder if this is a common problem or just me?
I have no problem when my dentist uses shots, but last time I was administered general anesthetic
(nitric oxide?). From what I remember (being semi-consious the whole time), I had a full-blown panic
attack after having the strong feeling that I was losing the ability to breathe.
So I'll demand only shots from the dentist going forward. But this seems like a problem I can't dodge--
I guess I'm screwed when I ultimately undergo surgery someday (luckily so far, I haven't since
childbirth). Does anyone have advice to allay my seemingly irrational fears?
I'm anticipating it's likely that I'll have, say, either an appendectomy, tonsillectomy, or hernia
surgery (or other common procedure) in the next few years. Are these normally done with general
anesthetic or is 'local' a safe option? It seems that, for minor surgery, local is better than
general (why subdue your whole nervous system instead of the localized source of pain?), although I
get the feeling doctors are less comfortable having patients awake and chatting or scrutinizing
their every move.
Thanks for any advice on this.