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Anesthesia, wisdom teeth, and low heart rate (Read 130 times)

MadisonMandy


Refurbished Hip

    I just had surgery in March.  When the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me beforehand, I just warned her that it was not uncommon for my heart rate to be in the low 40s.  Not a problem.  They later told me it got down to 42 during surgery.  You should be fine.

    Running is dumb.

    SillyC


      Hey Silly- any decent healthcare professional will take into account the fact that you are athletic.  Personally, when I am administering conscious sedation, a low HR in an endurance athlete would not concern me at all, as long as the blood pressure was normal.  A low HR in a sedentary person would prompt me to ask for a 12 lead EKG before proceeding with any kind of anesthesia.  If the 12 lead and blood pressure was normal (aside from the low HR, that is), I would still likely proceed, but would be sure to monitor the EKG tracing and blood pressure by closely during the procedure.  So... a low HR alone should not prevent you from having a bit of sedation.  Just make sure they know your medical and athletic history in advance, and monitor you throughout.  Good luck!

       

      Okay!  Thanks!

       

      Let's hope for the best then.

      SillyC


        Thought I'd update this as the extraction was yesterday.....

         

        Anyhow, took me back at 10:05 AM to prep me.  I had three nurses and the doctor attending to me, and I told them that I had a really low heart rate because of running.  The doctor's wife runs marathons, but since I've been running trail ultras we haven't run any of the same races.  My heart rate was 72 when I was sitting there in the chair - I was really anxious!

         

        They put the nitrous mask on me and wanna know what happened?

         

        I was listening to my ipod, and then, WOW all of a sudden I was at this party back in college, with my friend Shellie.  20 years ago!  At this cooperative house.  Not the cooperative house I lived in.  Not the cooperative house Shellie lived in, but a third cooperative house, known for parties.  It was an awesome party.  A second song came on my ipod.  They had a dentist chair in the living room at this co operative house, you can guess what it was used for, but I didn't use it because the chair had someone else in it and that person was kind of passed out. It  was a great night - when the cops arrived Shellie and I after we left that party and went back to her place and that's where I met my husband.  For real.  Someone was yanking on my head.  And I thought, I need to tell Shellie about this because I'm seeing her in two weeks!  How lucky am I to have gone to this crazy party 20 years ago, and now my husband was waiting for me just like 20 years ago and Shellie was coming to visit in two weeks!

         

        Then they pulled the mask off and I was like, WTH?  I only got to listen to two songs on my iPod.  Then I thought, well, it must have been longer than that.

         

        But nope.  10:18 AM.  And the dentist was asking me if I ever saw a bear when I was out running.

         

        Recovery seems to be going okay.  I'm not in too much pain but I'm pretty hangry right now.

         

        Thanks folks!

        LedLincoln


        not bad for mile 25

          Man, I want some of that N2O!

          beat


          Break on through

            When I had my wisdom teeth removed, they gave me nitrous oxide and intravenous anesthesia.  As they were starting, the surgeon said my heart rate was pretty low - 42.  I said that I'm a runner, and everyone had this moment of recognition - "Ah... of course!", the idea being that it was pretty normal for a runner to have this heart rate.  I don't remember anything much after that until they were finished with the surgery.

            I used prescription pain killers for a couple of days, and I cut way back on running for a week.  It took about 3 weeks to eat normally again with things like raw carrots.  So it was definitely more than a routine dentist visit, but not too bad overall.

            "Not to touch the Earth, not to see the Sun, nothing left to do but run, run, run..."

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