Xanax for Juvederm Lip Injection with out a Nerve Block?

It is uncommon to experience so much discomfort during an lip augmentation injection. Xanax may alleviate your anxiety, but is unlikely to have much effect on your perception of pain. Consider discussing with your doctor other available options such as topical or local anesthesia. Good luck.

If you are having that much pain, the Xanax may make you feel less anxious but you'll still have pain.  Topical anesthetic gel helps significantly.  If that is not enough, ask the doctor to do a nerve block and that will make it so much less painful.  Granted, it will feel for an hour or so as if you were at the dentist, but that's the price to pay for comfort.
 

Experienced injectors will use nerve blocks for filler injections - especially to a particularly sensitive area such as the lips.  The newest form of Juvederm also comes with lidocaine (a numbing medicine) incorporated into the product.  If used correctly, Juvederm injections to the lips should not cause very much discomfort at all.  Don't assume that just because your provider is a PS that he/she has extensive experience using injectables.  Always ask how many injections the providers (including the MDs) at the clinic have performed.  There is no substitute for experience.  

Although there is a subset of my patients who prefer not to have a nerve block a Juvederm/ Restylane injection in the lip, the vast majority of my patients prefer it.  The lip is extremely sensitive and repetitive injections in the area without a nerve block can be exquisitely painful.  At the same time, a nerve block affects sensation and motion of the lips for several hours which is considered undesirable by some of my patients.

I read your concern. Hyaluronic acid fillers like Juvederm burn when they're injected. You should consider using topical anesthetic for around 20 minutes before your procedure. In my practice, the topical anesthetic is lidocaine / prilocaine / phenylepherine, and lip procedures are well tolerated by nearly all of my patients. Or you could ask for a nerve block which would render your procedure painless. Juvederm with no anesthetic is painful for everyone.

Most patients that experience pain may pass out because they hold their breath. Make sure you keep breathing during your procedure, and it may help you to have your procedure in the recumbent position.

In my view, Xanax may not prevent another episode of syncope.

I hope this is helpful for you.

Regards from NJ.

Greetings~

Sorry to hear you had such a strong reaction to having your lips injected.  Xanax may take a bit of the edge off and reduce your anxiety prior to injections but I don't think it's your best bet for pain control.  (If you take the Xanax you should have someone drive you to your appointment...we don't want you driving around impaired)  There are a great number of things that can be done to help with the discomfort: topical anesthetic prior to treatment, nerve blocks, ice.  Juvederm now also has lidocaine in it, which often makes injections more comfortable for patients. Many of our patients are surprised how little discomfort they have compared to what they were anticipating.

Good luck!

Dr. Grant Stevens 

The new Juvederm XC or Juvederm Ultra XC formulation could be the best bet for you.  It is enhanced for patient comfort with 0.3% lidocaine.  The effects of the lidocaine usually take place in seconds, and I've found that most of my patients greatly prefer it over the older, non-numbing version.  

That is a great question.  The xanax will help to relax you before the procedure but will not dull the pain. I would recommend a nerve block for your next appointment or at the very least a topical lidocaine.  Discuss your concerns with the plastic surgeon and I am sure he will be accommodating.  I hope this help.

Kindest regards,

Neil J. Zemmel

I am not sure xanax will eliminate your pain while being injected in your lips. It will relax you a bit but you still may perceive pain during injections. There are many ways to help decrease discomfort during injections. I have found that using a good topical anesthesia and ice works the best and is the least traumatic for my patients. It seems to be well tolerated and doesn't leave the patient with the perception that this was a bad experience for them. Giving medicines such as xanax has not be necessary in my practice.

I am a huge fan of nerve blocks with lip injections, but more importantly, so are my patients! I perform a nerve block on most of my lip injections. On rare occasions, patients refuse the nerve block. Even with topical numbing, cooling, and a gentle injection technique, it is still a painful procedure. This is my recommendation: if your physician absolutely refuses to perform a nerve block, I would consider going elsewhere for the procedure. It actually pains me to think about a patient passing out as a result of pain.