On Friday, August 26th, 2011 the place where I store all my wisdom was taken away 😀 In other words, all four of my wisdom teeth were taken out 🙁
Chapter 1: The Operation
Everything went pretty smoothly, except that the lady had to stick me four times before she could get the I.V. in. Whenever I get stuck with a needle, I look away and sing. I told her this, and she said okay. A nurse heard me singing and came in to help the other nurse (since it was taking so many times, I guess she thought she could help out). Then, another nurse came in and the other two nurses asked me to sing a song in Spanish for her. They said I was very entertaining and one of the best patients ever. I was surprised at how relaxed and calm I was throughout the whole thing. Part of it may have had to do with the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything since I went to bed the night before––16 hours. Before she put the I.V. in, the nurse asked if I wanted laughing gas. I said, sure, why not? Something I could put on my list of things I’ve done in my life. She gave it to me, and within seconds my whole body felt numb, I couldn’t open my eyes and I didn’t like it. I told her so, and she lightened the dose. Again, within seconds I was wide awake again! So weird…After she finally got my I.V. in, the nurse gave me “happy juice” through the I.V. The next thing I remember is waking up and crying softly. Then I remember opening my eyes and feeling pretty good. I was in the recovery room with gauze in my mouth. There was a man sitting on the other side of the room right across from me––he also had gauze in his mouth. We waved at each other and smiled gauze-filled smiles 😉 The doctor who operated came in, so I waved to him and said “Thank You!” through the gauze.
Chapter 2: Recovery
Dad and Andrea took me home, and for the rest of the evening I pretty much stayed on the couch watching TV, sipping water, eating ice cream and broth, and keeping ice on my swollen cheeks. It was hard to get stuff in my mouth, since most of it was numb. I’m sure it was very entertaining. Here is a picture of me that Andrea took soon after they brought me home. I was pretty awake!
I took some medicine to help with the pain that evening, even though I was still numb. What hurt most that day was my stomach. The surgery must have let in a lot of air, and my stomach did not like that.
Saturday and Sunday I felt pretty good, too. Of course, all the numbness was gone, so I felt the soreness a bit more. I was surprised, however, that the pain wasn’t more severe. I took it easy on Saturday, except that I went to a wedding in the evening. It was hard to keep from smiling! My mouth was definitely stiff and hard to open. Sunday I took it easy, except I went to a lunch after church, at church. Sunday evening, I felt so tired and my mouth felt really sore, so I informed my work that I needed another day to recover. It is now Monday, still feeling tired and sore, but okay. I hope today proves to be a turning point and I’ll get more energy by tomorrow. I’m pretty sure I’ll look like a chipmunk for another few days, though!
I hope that, since I’ve got my wisdom teeth out, that I won’t need to go back to college…
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Quite an adventure! But I really want to know, was the happy juice really called happy juice?
James, that’s what she called it!
So glad you are feeling better today.
I had a tooth removed on Wednesday the 17th. It was one of the teeth that my partial fit on. I guess that after 45 years the partial wore that tooth out. Anyway it broke . My dentist tried to fix it (that was last December), but he was fearful that it would not hold. It didn’t. He recommended pulling it, but suggested that I get a second opinion. We have a new family attending our church, he is a dentist, so I went to him and he said definitely that it was beyond fixing, So he pulled it. First he gave me a needle in the gum and in the roof of my mouth. I did not even feel it being pulled. In fact, I asked are you finished? So I had gauze in my mouth too for 45 minutes and ice on my face once every hour for the rest of the day. But I had no swelling or pain. He gave a prescription of pain, I got it filled, but never needed it. Years ago when we were living in Mpls., MN I had my last wisdom tooth out on my lunch hour and went back to work at Sears. I don’t think it lessened my wisdom and I am sure that you will not need to return to college. Grandpa Tom
Great stories – Hope you feel better soon, Audrey.
I woke up on Sunday, sat straight up in bed; and the room started spinning. (a first for me) I have a stuffy head that must be putting pressure on my inner ear. As long as I’m careful about how I move I can avoid the dizziness, but it does mean I can’t do everything I would normally do.
I’m glad it is finished!
Thanks for sharing
Well-told, Audrey! A good story you can tell your children when they get their teeth out.
Hope your dizziness goes away, Aunt Sharon. That’s no fun.
I feel almost 100%! Sometimes, if I smile too widely, it hurts but otherwise doing very well!