Some people are more sensitive to epinephrine and the local anesthetic than others. The closer the anesthetic is deposited to a vein or artery, the greater the chance that you’ll notice these effects (racing heart, lightheadedness) because epinephrine naturally causes heart excitation as well. My office manager feels crappy for a day after she gets local. This is likely a combination of both the epi and the LA. And as you said, stress before and during the procedure (from anxiety) always seems to make people more susceptible to these things.

We haven’t used used Novocaine for years (decades?) because many people were allergic to it. Other anesthetics such as lidocaine were developed in response. The first LA was cocaine which worked well but had caused other problems.

Local anesthetic is a solution with a high pH that blocks nerve depolarization by competitively inhibiting sodium channels in the axonal membrane. With sodium channels blocked, the propogating voltage gated potential cannot continue and so no nerve signals can transmit.

Switzerland was fun, but chilly. Actually most of Europe is under a bit of chill right now.

Hey I have a question for you about Novocaine . . . I just had my crown lengthening and survived it nicely but the heavy doses of Novocaine made me really really shaky. I asked my Periodontist why this happens at high doses and he thought it was the Adrenaline in it and then also my own body producing Adrenaline. However, once the procedure was over and I was driving home, I was so lightheaded that I thought I would faint. I felt really really “out of it” . . . is this a result of the Novocaine as well or maybe just the procedure and my own anxiety? What exactly is in Novocaine?

I hope you had a blast in Switzerland!