Hi, can you tell me nice things about Halcion and hydroxyzine?
October 7, 2016 4:32 PM Subscribe
I'm getting oral conscious sedation (not IV sedation) tomorrow for wisdom tooth removal and am feeling nervous about it. I don't like feeling high or out of control, and it doesn't seem these drugs do that, but what else do they do? Specific questions in the [more inside]
--How long should I expect they will take to kick in? What will that feel like?
--I respond to Ativan beautifully (thanks in no small part to a similar AskMe question I asked about it a few years ago): I just lose the anxiety and feel a little warm. Are these medications kind of the same?
--What should I expect to feel during and after they take effect?
Please help me get through this! I've looked at so many other AskMes that speak to variations on this theme, but think this combo is unique from the others that have been asked about. This Ask is basically my exact circumstance : "I have some problems in general with anxiety, which partly stem from some bad experiences with psychedelic drugs back in the ol' misspent youth (that is, a couple years ago). As a result, the idea of being awake but not really aware of what I'm saying or doing, and not remembering, really scares me."
I have a friend picking me up, I have many days off to recover, I have soup, I have insurance coverage, I have anxiety. I do not want to use nitrous, but am psyching myself up to take these sedatives (hoping they'll resolve the anxiety I've been feeling for a few weeks). Please hope me.
--How long should I expect they will take to kick in? What will that feel like?
--I respond to Ativan beautifully (thanks in no small part to a similar AskMe question I asked about it a few years ago): I just lose the anxiety and feel a little warm. Are these medications kind of the same?
--What should I expect to feel during and after they take effect?
Please help me get through this! I've looked at so many other AskMes that speak to variations on this theme, but think this combo is unique from the others that have been asked about. This Ask is basically my exact circumstance : "I have some problems in general with anxiety, which partly stem from some bad experiences with psychedelic drugs back in the ol' misspent youth (that is, a couple years ago). As a result, the idea of being awake but not really aware of what I'm saying or doing, and not remembering, really scares me."
I have a friend picking me up, I have many days off to recover, I have soup, I have insurance coverage, I have anxiety. I do not want to use nitrous, but am psyching myself up to take these sedatives (hoping they'll resolve the anxiety I've been feeling for a few weeks). Please hope me.
Best answer: I take hydroxyzine for itching. It makes me very slightly sleepy, and the itching stops (the sensation goes away, rather than me feeling it but not caring.) I also stop ruminating on the idea of itching or trying to anticipate the resumption of itching.
Unlike benadryl or Dramamine, I do not get a "hangover" afterwards. It's the antihistamine I like the best, actually, because the sedation is the only side effect I notice and it doesn't feel "chemical" to me the way that most of them do.
posted by SMPA at 4:46 PM on October 7, 2016
Unlike benadryl or Dramamine, I do not get a "hangover" afterwards. It's the antihistamine I like the best, actually, because the sedation is the only side effect I notice and it doesn't feel "chemical" to me the way that most of them do.
posted by SMPA at 4:46 PM on October 7, 2016
Best answer: I can't speak to Halcion but my husband is a recovering addict with ten years sobriety and he regularly takes hydroxyzine to help him sleep, prescribed by a physician who knows his medical history. It doesn't have any psychoactive affect. It just helps him sleep.
posted by something something at 5:15 PM on October 7, 2016
posted by something something at 5:15 PM on October 7, 2016
Best answer: I am so with you on hating feeling high or out of control, and on general anesthesia (big surgeries) I have always awoken upset and sad and crying. So like you I was very anxious about the wisdom tooth anesthesia. The doc reassured me and it worked out exactly like he said -- it is much, much lighter than the general anesthesia. It kicks in very quickly but without a bad, out of control feeling -- just a general "Oh, I'm feeling it" and then the next thing I knew the procedure was finishing. The doc and nurse were gently saying "BlahLaLa your procedure is over."
I did not feel in any way high or out of control, and came out of it just fine -- feeling a little worn out and tired, but not at all upset, shaky, etc. Was sleepy when my friend drove me home, and slept for a few hours. After that, totally fine. No hangover, no lingering "I'm still coming out of it" effects at all. No anxiety of any kind.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:17 PM on October 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
I did not feel in any way high or out of control, and came out of it just fine -- feeling a little worn out and tired, but not at all upset, shaky, etc. Was sleepy when my friend drove me home, and slept for a few hours. After that, totally fine. No hangover, no lingering "I'm still coming out of it" effects at all. No anxiety of any kind.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:17 PM on October 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I found that ativan made me feel pretty giddy/goofy. Light sedation for me had no giddiness.
I've been under light sedation for a colonoscopy (I'm in my 20's, so this was for a [now fine] health scare and not a routine) , but I'm sorry that I cannot remember if I was ever told the name of the drug. They used a local anesthetic so I wasn't terribly aware of the actual procedure, but I didn't feel giddy at all, just tired. I remember there was a TV monitor that the doctor, tech, and I were all facing, but it felt like so much effort to lift my eyes high enough to see it. I just felt tired and pretty neutral, but nothing anxiety-inducing or hallucinogenic. I had been pretty fussy from being hungry and worried, but during the procedure I had no worries. Time passed quickly, and later I had trouble remembering everything (similar to rophypnol's effects on short-term memory, I think.) I remembered remembering more, if that makes sense. After the procedure, I felt a little sleepy/drunk, but not at all as messed up as the full sedation I had after my wisdom teeth extraction.
As far as actually going under the effects of sedation, it was a gradual feeling of not GAF what the doctor was asking me (just chitchat to check for lucidity). Like you, I have near zero tolerance for hallucinogens, but I think you will be ok :) modern drugs are the friggin' best.
posted by Drosera at 5:22 PM on October 7, 2016
I've been under light sedation for a colonoscopy (I'm in my 20's, so this was for a [now fine] health scare and not a routine) , but I'm sorry that I cannot remember if I was ever told the name of the drug. They used a local anesthetic so I wasn't terribly aware of the actual procedure, but I didn't feel giddy at all, just tired. I remember there was a TV monitor that the doctor, tech, and I were all facing, but it felt like so much effort to lift my eyes high enough to see it. I just felt tired and pretty neutral, but nothing anxiety-inducing or hallucinogenic. I had been pretty fussy from being hungry and worried, but during the procedure I had no worries. Time passed quickly, and later I had trouble remembering everything (similar to rophypnol's effects on short-term memory, I think.) I remembered remembering more, if that makes sense. After the procedure, I felt a little sleepy/drunk, but not at all as messed up as the full sedation I had after my wisdom teeth extraction.
As far as actually going under the effects of sedation, it was a gradual feeling of not GAF what the doctor was asking me (just chitchat to check for lucidity). Like you, I have near zero tolerance for hallucinogens, but I think you will be ok :) modern drugs are the friggin' best.
posted by Drosera at 5:22 PM on October 7, 2016
Best answer: I had Halcion for a root canal earlier this year and I felt it as a sort of distance from what was happening. I knew that I was having work done, but the hunched-shoulders, armrest-gripping "I hate this so much" feelings I had during previous procedures were absent. My husband drove me home and I rested. I had IV sedation with Versed for wisdom teeth extraction many years ago and was much chattier and also forgetful, which led to me asking the same set of questions a whole bunch of times. Fingers crossed that I won't need any major work done for a long time, but if I do, I wouldn't hesitate to use Halcion again for the anxiety.
posted by danielleh at 5:39 PM on October 7, 2016
posted by danielleh at 5:39 PM on October 7, 2016
Best answer: I wrote the following, then reread your question and noticed "I do not want to use nitrous". You didn't mention your reasons for ruling out nitrous, so I'll post this anyway, in case it might be useful.
If nitrous oxide is an option, I would go with that. I hate the dopiness I get with other benzos, so I would avoid Halcion. (Don't know anything about hydroxyzine.) The only after-effect I've noticed with nitrous is that I leave the appointment in an unusually good mood for someone who just left the dentist's office—but not anything approaching "high".
That said, I had sodium pentothal when I had my wisdom teeth removed (40 years ago) and considering what my friends reported at the time, I believe that being "out" for the procedure was the best option for me. If you haven't already, ask your doctor to explain the procedure in detail so you aren't surprised during the process.
posted by she's not there at 6:32 PM on October 7, 2016
If nitrous oxide is an option, I would go with that. I hate the dopiness I get with other benzos, so I would avoid Halcion. (Don't know anything about hydroxyzine.) The only after-effect I've noticed with nitrous is that I leave the appointment in an unusually good mood for someone who just left the dentist's office—but not anything approaching "high".
That said, I had sodium pentothal when I had my wisdom teeth removed (40 years ago) and considering what my friends reported at the time, I believe that being "out" for the procedure was the best option for me. If you haven't already, ask your doctor to explain the procedure in detail so you aren't surprised during the process.
posted by she's not there at 6:32 PM on October 7, 2016
Best answer: Oh hey, I posted the question you mentioned, AND I have experienced having dental stuff done under Halcion!
Halcion was a BLAST. I could hear the dentist drilling into my tooth, and I remember dreamily thinking, "wow, that's so wonderful." They had some sort of adult contemporary station on, and I remember thinking that whatever song it was, which was the absolute opposite of what I usually like, was absolutely, sincerely, the most breathtakingly beautiful music I had ever heard in my life. It didn't make me feel out of control, I was just an even more goofy and earnest version of myself.
posted by ITheCosmos at 7:17 PM on October 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
Halcion was a BLAST. I could hear the dentist drilling into my tooth, and I remember dreamily thinking, "wow, that's so wonderful." They had some sort of adult contemporary station on, and I remember thinking that whatever song it was, which was the absolute opposite of what I usually like, was absolutely, sincerely, the most breathtakingly beautiful music I had ever heard in my life. It didn't make me feel out of control, I was just an even more goofy and earnest version of myself.
posted by ITheCosmos at 7:17 PM on October 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Took Halcion when I had 3 wisdom teeth taken out. I remember that it kicked in relatively quickly. I took it, my dad called, I recall talking to him for a few minutes and then remember my partner taking my phone and telling my dad goodbye because I started saying weird goofy things. I definitely felt high, but not at all in a scary or out of control way. Just sort of smiley and fuzzy. During the procedure I was aware of it, but agree with other posters that I just felt very far away from it. I don't really remember much other than that and they wheeled me to the car in a wheelchair because I was loopy. Slept it off and woke up totally normal.
Took hydroxyzine for sleep briefly, just made me a little tired.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 8:25 PM on October 7, 2016
Took hydroxyzine for sleep briefly, just made me a little tired.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 8:25 PM on October 7, 2016
Best answer: Halcion makes you fuzzy within the half hour of taking it and then you are dozey. It is totally fine, and I say that as the queen of dental issues. Doesn't even bother me. They were doing whatever the hell they were doing on my surgery, sewing my gums or some shit, but I cared not.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:12 PM on October 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:12 PM on October 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Do you have more anxiety about the sedation than the extraction? I did, so I had my wisdom teeth (four, two impacted) out with local anesthesia only and it honestly wasn't horrible. Not sure if that is an option for your dentist/tooth situation.
posted by mskyle at 11:26 PM on October 7, 2016
posted by mskyle at 11:26 PM on October 7, 2016
Response by poster: Guys, thank you so much! I took the Halcion and felt... calm, and nothing. Warm. And I remember very little. Though I did snapchat someone the same photo 50 times, and tell the receptionist that she should give me all the teeth in the building. Yet it all felt very reasonable and not scary, and helped me have NO recollection of the surgery at all which is pretty much ideal.
posted by c'mon sea legs at 7:49 PM on October 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by c'mon sea legs at 7:49 PM on October 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
felt...calm, and nothing. Warm. And I remember very little. Though I did snapchat someone the same photo 50 times, and tell the receptionist that she should give me all the teeth in the building.
The makers of Halcion should use this in their marketing material.
Aside re my memory of having wisdom teeth removed under sodium pentothal (the doc asked me to count backward from 10 when he started the I V): "10...9...this feels so good...".
posted by she's not there at 11:55 AM on October 12, 2016
The makers of Halcion should use this in their marketing material.
Aside re my memory of having wisdom teeth removed under sodium pentothal (the doc asked me to count backward from 10 when he started the I V): "10...9...this feels so good...".
posted by she's not there at 11:55 AM on October 12, 2016
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I didn't even notice it kicking in. It was more like a slow realization that I was not freaking out when normally I would be, and that things just felt pretty okay in general. Then I went home and slept for a few hours, woke up feeling refreshed.
posted by erst at 4:37 PM on October 7, 2016