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elwenI'm guessing my entries of the next few days will not be for the weak of heart. I will try to warn you in the first sentence or so of the subject matter of each post, and try not to mix.
So I got my wisdom teeth out today. *watchs everyone run away*
I guess it could have been worse. The most painful part was getting the shots, and there sure were a lot of them. I don't understand the reasoning at all, but I was given two shots on each side, and made to wait a loong time, and then four more shots on each side, all of which I still felt. After that, I was sufficiently numb, I suppose, but it's worn off much faster than it does when I get fillings, so maybe there are some differences.
I think he did the easy one first. As far as I recall -- strange how it becomes difficult to remember the exact placement of structures that were a part of my mouth for so long -- the non-impacted tooth was on the upper right, the fully impacted one on the bottom right, and the two on the left were partially impacted. He did the upper right first, with a bit of twisting, and then a bit of pulling, and it was done before I knew it, without any stitches at all.
Then came the bottom right. As far as I could tell, both of the bottom teeth had to be completely pulverized before they could be removed, while the top ones involved a bit of twisting, and then pulling, although more on the left than the right. I guess it has something to do with the jawbone and not how impacted the tooth is.
The pulverizing isn't pleasant, but it's momentary pain that's quickly forgotten afterwards. A lot of times I wasn't sure whether the sensation still counted as the "pressure" I was told I would feel. But it definitely wasn't the "pinching" I was supposed to feel if the numbing wasn't enough. I don't know. So I gave it the benefit of the doubt and endured, and it wasn't so bad.
The worst part, in the sense of being scarred for life or similar, was the stitches. I can still remember the thread sliding across my lip like any ordinary floss, stained pink with blood. And I watched them adjust the length of the ends, knowing that it was anchored somewhere through a hole in my mouth, even if I couldn't feel it.
But, again, it all could have been much worse.
When I got home, just a while ago, I was faced with a dilemma. I was told to talk the Vicodin the moment I got it. (By the doctor.) I was also told that I should take it with food, or in my case, nutrient-filled liquid. (By the pharmacist.) However, I was also to remove the gauze in my mouth and check for bleeding, and, if there still was some, to place new gauze. It was still bleeding on the right, I'm guessing where the "worst" tooth was. So what am I supposed to do? Eat first? Take the medicine without food? Wait until the bleeding stops? I went with the last, since the pain isn't too bad yet, just a dull ache in various places, along with soreness from biting down on the gauze for so long. The left side of my lower lip is still numb, down to the chin, but I have sensation everywhere else now. (What's up with that?)
At some point between the consultation and today's procedure, I realized why the recovery is such a complicated process. Maybe it's obvious to you that it's because they're taking out large teeth, leaving gaping holes that need to be filled in by flesh and bone. That building of new tissue is a lot slower and more taxing than simply mending a cut.
I still haven't decided whether I should be asking, "Why are humans messing around with evolution?" or simply, "Why, evolution, why?"
Oh, and I never heard anywhere that I was supposed to take penicillin, too. I mean, it's perfectly understandable, but you'd think it'd be written somewhere amidst all that "what you do afterwards" literature.
I wonder if this will be my last fully coherent (me? fully coherent? ha!) entry until I ditch the Vicodin.
So I got my wisdom teeth out today. *watchs everyone run away*
I guess it could have been worse. The most painful part was getting the shots, and there sure were a lot of them. I don't understand the reasoning at all, but I was given two shots on each side, and made to wait a loong time, and then four more shots on each side, all of which I still felt. After that, I was sufficiently numb, I suppose, but it's worn off much faster than it does when I get fillings, so maybe there are some differences.
I think he did the easy one first. As far as I recall -- strange how it becomes difficult to remember the exact placement of structures that were a part of my mouth for so long -- the non-impacted tooth was on the upper right, the fully impacted one on the bottom right, and the two on the left were partially impacted. He did the upper right first, with a bit of twisting, and then a bit of pulling, and it was done before I knew it, without any stitches at all.
Then came the bottom right. As far as I could tell, both of the bottom teeth had to be completely pulverized before they could be removed, while the top ones involved a bit of twisting, and then pulling, although more on the left than the right. I guess it has something to do with the jawbone and not how impacted the tooth is.
The pulverizing isn't pleasant, but it's momentary pain that's quickly forgotten afterwards. A lot of times I wasn't sure whether the sensation still counted as the "pressure" I was told I would feel. But it definitely wasn't the "pinching" I was supposed to feel if the numbing wasn't enough. I don't know. So I gave it the benefit of the doubt and endured, and it wasn't so bad.
The worst part, in the sense of being scarred for life or similar, was the stitches. I can still remember the thread sliding across my lip like any ordinary floss, stained pink with blood. And I watched them adjust the length of the ends, knowing that it was anchored somewhere through a hole in my mouth, even if I couldn't feel it.
But, again, it all could have been much worse.
When I got home, just a while ago, I was faced with a dilemma. I was told to talk the Vicodin the moment I got it. (By the doctor.) I was also told that I should take it with food, or in my case, nutrient-filled liquid. (By the pharmacist.) However, I was also to remove the gauze in my mouth and check for bleeding, and, if there still was some, to place new gauze. It was still bleeding on the right, I'm guessing where the "worst" tooth was. So what am I supposed to do? Eat first? Take the medicine without food? Wait until the bleeding stops? I went with the last, since the pain isn't too bad yet, just a dull ache in various places, along with soreness from biting down on the gauze for so long. The left side of my lower lip is still numb, down to the chin, but I have sensation everywhere else now. (What's up with that?)
At some point between the consultation and today's procedure, I realized why the recovery is such a complicated process. Maybe it's obvious to you that it's because they're taking out large teeth, leaving gaping holes that need to be filled in by flesh and bone. That building of new tissue is a lot slower and more taxing than simply mending a cut.
I still haven't decided whether I should be asking, "Why are humans messing around with evolution?" or simply, "Why, evolution, why?"
Oh, and I never heard anywhere that I was supposed to take penicillin, too. I mean, it's perfectly understandable, but you'd think it'd be written somewhere amidst all that "what you do afterwards" literature.
I wonder if this will be my last fully coherent (me? fully coherent? ha!) entry until I ditch the Vicodin.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-10 11:18 pm (UTC)(I found you through joulesm's friend's page)
no subject
Date: 2004-09-11 01:47 am (UTC)My friend directed me to this thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=274767), which might be helpful. Although I think the most obvious conclusion is simply that reaction and recovery experiences vary widely.
Good luck!