Halcion: thou art mighty

Wisdom teeth: any of the third molars, usually appearing in the late teens, early 20s;

Impacted wisdom teeth:  those growing in horizontally, or in any other odd positions, that would impact the other teeth and would need to be removed

Anxiety:  adaptive response to an impending danger that is integral to an organism's ability to cope with or avoid a stress (Pham, X. 2009 ) :D

Halcion:  generic name = triazolam; a benzodiazapine derivative with sedative and hypnotic properties.  It was used to treat insomnia but is not popular now as it is known to have a high dependency rate and has some pretty terrible side-effects.  It is still used by dentists, however, when they need their patients to be completely and utterly knocked out for procedures, such as, oh I don't know... wisdom teeth extractions, maybe?

1/7/11: My original appointment for the four extractions.  I chickened out and had to reschedule.


1/13/11: I picked up some prescriptions from the pharmacy that the dentist's office called in for me. Instructions: take one Halcion before going to bed.  Done.  While on the phone after taking the pill, I mentioned that I didn't feel anything, no drowsiness, no sedation.  I said that I was worried the medication wasn't working, and that I would be awake for the procedure the following day.  I don't remember the rest of the conversation, and I was only told later that I fell asleep in the middle of talking on the phone.

1/14/11: Instructions: take 2 Halcion pills one hour before appointment.  I took the 2 little blue pills at 9am, and laid down to watch some TV before being picked up for the dentist.  I don't remember what I watched.  I vaguely remember answering the phone at 9:30am.  As my mom recalls, she heard a huge thud from upstairs at around that time, so I'm guessing that I must have fallen out of my bed.  I remember nothing else.  Per my sister's recollection, she saw me stagger and stumble down the stairs like a drunkard, swaying heavily as I walked, and stopped at the front door to look outside.  Supposedly, I was laughing all the way down as I muttered something.  I then turned to her, and fell backwards on the ground, and laid there laughing.  She helped me up and walked me outside, where my bf took over and helped me into the car.  Apparently I screamed at him for not closing the car door fast enough, because I was cold.  Again, I remember nothing!

At the dentist's office, I stumbled in and fell into the chair.  He took a look at me, and proceeded to crush up my 2 remaining Halcion pills, and told me to drink up.  It was all black after that.  I have some blurry memories of a gas mask being put on me, and that at some point in time, I had to use the bathroom.  I recall the dentist yelling out to my bf my teeth status: "2 out, 2 more to go!"  I remember my nose itching and scratching it.  Two hours later, I remember at the end when I was coming out of it, that through my gauze-filled mouth, I asked if I can keep my teeth. 

I don't remember the drive home, or how I got back into bed.  I woke up, or was woken up, periodically to changed my bloody gauze pads.  And I slept.  I slept like the dead.  At one point I remember the pain being excruciating on the right side of my jaw (he had some trouble with that tooth) and was crying.  Good thing the doc gave me some hydrocodone.  I managed to be awake for a bit to put down some applesauce, but it came back up, along with some chunks of brown blood that I'm guessing I swallowed during the procedure.

I'm most thankful for the Halcion for getting me through the procedure.  One of the things I was most anxious about was not the pain during the procedure; I was sure they would make it so I wouldn't feel anything.  What I was worried about was whether or not I would be awake, and so would be able to hear the drills, the cracks, the cutting & sawing.  And also, if I was awake, I would smell the burning of the drills and the flesh, and that is more freaky to me than anything else.  So, to have no recollection of the two hours I spent in the dentist chair is a blessing.  As for the other stuff, I wish there was a way I could watch myself tumble about that Friday morning. 

One of the reasons Halcion is no longer being used to treat insomnia is because of its effects the following nights.  Halcion has a tendency to cause rebound insomnia, in which case more drugs are needed to treat the problem.  Although I was only on the drug for a short time, I took into my system 5 pills at 0.25mg apiece in the span of about 12 hours.  I slept gloriously through the procedure, and for the rest of the day, through most of the pain.  However, that night, I could not sleep a wink.  My eyes refused to shut, and my brain would not slow down.  I ended up staying awake the entire night, watching YouTube videos and perusing the internet.  Even the next day I was not sleepy, and had to force myself to nap in the afternoon.  I think by now the Halcion is cleared out of my system, and I'm relieved to have my sleep back.

Halcion: don't underestimate the power of these tiny blue pills!

On another related note: my cheeks swelled up to twice the size of my face.  I looked like a chipmunk that has stumbled on a stash of nuts in the middle of recession.  My sister laughs as she tells me I shouldn't be holding candy in my mouth anymore.  I got some sympathetic chuckles at work today for the cheeks.  On the bright side, I know what I'll look like if I ever gain 20 more pounds... very bloated.