As someone with health anxiety and a generally sensitive nervous system, I have pretty much always hated going to the dentist. But in the past several years, I have had some bad experiences that just made it worse for me. The past two or three times I had gone to get a filling, I ended up panicking and crying half way through the appointment. It was always quite embarrassing for me, but it was also frustrating because I couldn't puzzle out why this was such a trigger for me. That is, until recently!

Having had those bad experiences, I was nervous for my most recent appointment to get a filling. But I went, got the shot of anesthetic, and was just trying to calm myself down for the worst part (getting that stupid clamp and rubber dam thing put on). However, as it was getting put on, I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe and I started to panic a bit. I started to cry, so I sat up and took a breather. That's when I noticed that my hands felt super weak and shaky, and my heart was beating ultra fast. That is of course a normal sensation for anxiety, but it felt different than usual. It reminded me of taking my asthma puffer, which has a stimulant in it.

So, I asked my dentist if there are any stimulants in the shot they give you to freeze your mouth. And you know what he told me? THERE IS EPINEPHRINE IN THE SHOT!!! No wonder I feel so anxious when I'm getting fillings, they're pumping my body with adrenaline, causing me to have an anxious response! The dentist said they use it to stimulate blood flow, which makes the anesthetic work more quickly. Thankfully, the epinephrine can be removed from the shot, so the dentist has put it on my file not to use it for my shots. Hopefully that will solve my dentist problem!

I just wanted to share in case someone else has had a similar experience. Knowing things like this is helpful when it comes to advocating for ourselves!