I am not a 'real' redhead, in that my hair is naturally some shade of brown and I dye it red, but on the other hand, I have extremely fair skin, freckles and I never, ever tan, only burn and I have green eyes. I have no tolerance for any kind of pain medication/anesthesia/numbing. If I take the recommended dose of pain medication, I hallucinate and have the creeping heebie-geebies. Give me a 'normal' dose of Novocaine and I don't have feeling for five or six hours. Give me a big dose and I am numb for over twelve. No one believes me. Dental visits are horrifying to me, because no one believes me. I have had several cavities filled without numbing because I just can't stand to have my jaw/face/mouth numb for so long. I can stand a couple minutes of drilling. I can't stand chewing on the inside of my cheek for hours afterward. The last couple of days I have had tooth and jaw pain. Not a good sign. I keep hoping if I wish hard enough, water pik hard enough, and floss hard enough, it will all just ~go away~. The last time I had a procedure done, I was down for the count for almost 6 hours after, and I didn't get feeling back on that side of my face until late in the night. I just wanted to express my sympathies for having such an awful experience with the procedure. I hope you are able to rest and heal this weekend.

I would be pissed as all get go if I was sedated but woke up to that experience. I would definitely complain. Even though it won't help you, it might help the next redhead that sits in his chair.

I have been blessed to have a family dentist that believes in complete pain-free and positive dental experiences. He is a gem. Too bad I have to drive 2 hours to see him, but whenever I need a major procedure, that is exactly where I am going.

Your picture looks so beat up. I feel so much for you -- I just hope your life calms down for a while. Sending you much peace and love to get you through these trying times.

Carrie, I am also a HUGE dentist phobe. I feel for you and I hope you start feeling better soon. I m sorry you had to go through that.

Something similar happened to me -- though it's not actually "waking up", since IV sedation doesn't make you sleep! (That's the reason it's used in Dr.'s offices for oral surgery, "sleeping"/general sedation would require a tube down the throat since it suppresses reflexes like coughing or swallowing to clear the airway.)

Anyway, it is traumatic when it happens and I'm sorry they weren't better able to keep you in the "twilight". In my case, it only happened once which was understandable (to me) since I've heard that balancing the right amount of anesthesia for conscious sedation can be tricky. They couldn't have known beforehand that you and I would require more anesthesia, but once it's obvious adjustments should be made and it shouldn't happen again, period.

My mom and I can attest to the redheads and anesthesia statement. And docs tend to ignore it too, which is rough. At least you figured this out now though?

You may want to TELL your dentists that you were conscious during the procedure, and that you remember it now. They may not know. (Hard to believe, huh? But the IV drug they used may have been one of the ones that's supposed to prevent you REMEMBERING the procedure, which is why they weren't surprised that you were moving around and stuff.) They may think now that it was a successful procedure and not realize that you were really and truly under-drugged!

Oh God. I *SO* hope you start feeling better soon.

Oh, poor Carrie--

So sorry you are having such a hard time!

Poor baby :-( Rest and heal!
One of my sister's doesn't do anesthesia well either, some awful experiences.

I guess I was fortunate to be conked out completely - though I too was severly (sp) impacted - teeny mouth. For braces - i had to have my palate broken, too old for it to move on it's own - I awoke slightly during that surgery. Something I work to forget-lol, but will never forget ;-)

Sincerest hugs!

Carrie, if you're in that much pain, have someone call your surgeon and get him to call in a better (AKA stronger) prescription for you. There is no reason for you to suffer! *hugs*

Yes, I too woke up during my wisdom teeth removal and I removed the thingy on my finger that tells them my pulse. Once removed it flat lined me! ha ha!
The pain will eventually go away, I promise.

Oh Carrie, I'm sorry. *hugs* Thoughts and prayers, of course. Take care.

{{{Carrie}}} Arnica montana!

How horrible for you. I cannot imagine what you are going through, but you are stronger than this and you will get better. I just hope that it is real soon!
hugs and stuff comin' your way

omg, how horrible. I had mine out as a teenager and had no problems at all. I hope you're able to get plenty of rest and that you feel lots better tomorrow. ((((hugs))))

I didnt comment before, because I didnt want to worry you needlessly especially since everyone else's experiences seem to be so positive, but having my wisdom teeth out 2 years ago was singly the worst experience of my life. Actually, having them out wasnt a problem. They had not come through the gums as they were horribly impacted - my top ones were way up in my sinus cavities and my bottoms were completely sideways - so I was done under IV sedation and I dont remember a thing, so I guess I didnt wake up. However, the recovery was absolutely miserable for 2 solid weeks. For the first week, I couldnt open my mouth a single bit. My surgeon told me it was because my mouth is so small that he had to really overextend it to get to those teeth and thus had bruised my muscles. Both my cheeks and jaw were black and blue. Needless to say, I had a horrible experience and I hope you will recover much quicker. Get some rest! *sending feel better vibes your way*

Hope you feel better soon.

The old midwives' tale is more than just a tale. It's been scientifically documented that redheads need approximately 20% more anesthesia than people with other hair colors, according to a 2002 study done at the University of Louisville. Check out this link, http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/52/49991.htm for more information.

By the way, Carrie, I hope you feel better soon.

Wow. That doesn't sound good at all. :(

When I was 16, I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed as well as a bicuspid I needed removed. I don't know about anything that may or may not have happened during surgery, but I do recal waking up crying hysterically. It's like I must have been crying while asleep, but the second I opened my eyes I was crying. The nurses kept telling me to be quiet. I was out of school for a week.

Drs will say this isn't scientifically proven but an old "midwives tale" is that redheads don't take anesthesia well. This has been my experience as well. It doesn't make it more pleasant but in the future at least you will know the "reason" for it. sorry it was so rough, wishing you well........