Diazepam for dental surgery whilst 13 weeks pregnant?

[StockingFullOfCoal]

I was referred to sedation clinic to have a very tricky wisdom tooth removed (broken, sits on the nerves, abscess on root) but as I am pregnant, they can't use IV or inhalation sedation.

I usually take 10mg of diazepam to get through a filling.

This particular tooth has caused me great anxiety (due to a butcher of an NHS dentist trying to remove it himself and shouting in my face when I cried and said the local hadn't worked - private dentist and surgeon both horrified that he even attempted to take it out himself) and whilst I don't want to take the diazepam thats sat on my shelf, this tooth absolutely has to come out, there is no way around it. I can't see myself getting through this without diazepam.

Is it safe as a one off?

Can you not have a local? I had 3 operations whilst pregnant (eye ops could not wait) usually done under GA. Not pleasant and only offered paracetamol afterwards which I declined and was v v v painful had to be done and couldn't wait

Yes I will be having a local, but the previous 2 times a dentist has tried to remove it under a local, the local hasn't taken at all. All it did was numb the entire left side of my face but not the actual tooth/gum and the removal is going to involve slicing the gum open and digging out the infection. Both times I had a major panic attack that it took me weeks to go get over and my confidence in all dentists is shot to shit now.

I am really sorry to hear you've had a bad experience at the dentist. Diazepam is contraindicated in pregnancy. It also doesn't have any analgesic (pain relieving) properties.

Maybe discuss with the surgeon if you can have antibiotics to tide things over if there is infection, but this wold only temporarily tide you over. However, it might make it easier for things to be number when you tend for the surgery if there is no active infection present. Ask your GP if they could refer you for some CBT to help with the anxiety? Different local by a different pair of hands on a different day might do the trick!

Bets of luck!

I've had a lot of CBT but it doesn't work in dental situations. At all.

I know it has no pain relief properties, I would be using it for oral sedation as I have previously. It makes me drowsy and keeps me calm so I can sit through the procedure. There's a 1 in 300 chance of permanent nerve damage, jawbone loss and he went into graphic detail about what he would be doing, I'll need a minimum of 7 stitches in my gum after.

All I can find online is that its bad if used daily during first and third trimester. GP prescribed the diazepam for me.

I've taken 9 rounds of antibiotics so far this year for this particular infection and it didn't shift it. Theres about a quarter of the actual tooth left which is why it can't wait any longer.

Its been an absolute and ongoing nightmare since last November. If I hadn't forked out for a private dentist and digital x rays I would never have got this referral as my NHS dentist refused to send me to a proper surgeon and said I was being ridiculous, however the private dentist and the NHS surgeon were furious that he attempted to try twice and then verbally abused me. I'm very lucky I didn't numb because the NHS dentist was not qualified to remove it.

As an aside: I currently take Propanolol and Amytriptylene for anxiety and bipolar depression.

Codeine is fine up until the end of pregnancy . I would take solpadeine and paracetamol.

I meant it's fine but not at the end of pregnancy. I worded that badly.

Solpadeine won't knock me out, its only 12.5mg of codeine. Although it has just occurred to me that the GP will prescribe 30/500 and 2 of those would KO me without a doubt.

Hopefully I can get an appointment this week! Thanks for the suggestion. I'd completely forgotten about codiene.

Yes I was prescribed 30 mg codeine right through pregnancy.
Just realised solpadeine already contains paracetamol. If anyone else reads this thread don't follow my advise to take both together!
Hope you get your tooth sorted as pain free as possible stocking.

I asked him that and he said if he fails to do it then he will send me there but the wait lists are long and they won't do it whilst I'm pregnant. I can't win.

I was on diazepam every night in my pregnancy up until around 15 weeks when I weaned off it, my GP prescribed it to me because I was getting stuck between awake and asleep at night.

Sorry but diazepam isn't contraindicated in pregnancy. - not many drugs are. It's generally about risk and benefit of medical problem, it's treatment with the drug and potential harm to foetus.