Hello again, my friends, and welcome (back?) to my blog! I thought that at this point, June 14th, I would have had a few more posts out than I do, but, hey, such is life.
So let's just get right into it. This topic really has nothing to do with health, so I will do my best to turn it into a somewhat relatable post. It will mostly be for anyone who is as scared as I was to get my wisdom teeth out, or anyone who is interested (which, is probably no one, lol).
On Friday (June 10, 4 days ago), I had my wisdom teeth extracted. All 4. Now, before I begin, let me start out by rejoicing that I am still alive, because I truly thought that I was going to absolutely die by having this procedure done. When I got the x-rays taken last summer, I thought "LOL @ this doctor 'cuz there's no way I'm getting them out." I hate going to the dentist and I hate anything that has to do with needles or blood, so honestly, I refused. Within the weeks leading up to the "big day" marked in red on my calendar, I told my mom many, many times that I would have to be dragged to the office. And I really was not kidding. As the weeks started narrowing down, I was literally not sleeping at night because I was so anxious at times. I was going around asking everyone I knew if they had had them out, and if so, how they were still alive. I'm not kidding - I was actually terrified. The day before, I started researching wisdom teeth extractions (AWFUL IDEA) and things that could go wrong with anesthesia, since there was no way I was going to be awake for it.
No matter how many wisdom teeth videos I watched or how many people I asked, the fact that I had to get them out didn't change...sadly. Friday morning rolled around and when my alarm went off, I had hoped that when I went to the office they would say "HAHA JK you're all good". But nah. Not how things went down.
My lovely mother and boyfriend came along with me and the entire time we were in the waiting room (which felt like hours but was probably just a few minutes) I was fuming. When the nurse called my name, I was like nope, not me. But then I realized that I had to actually get up, which was depressing. As I sludged into the bright room with a table full of tools that were oh-so-nicely covered up, I had really hoped I was dreaming. My stomach started growling (because you can't eat OR drink the morning of the procedure), and the nurses in the room took no time to get me ready to go. This one lady, with piercing eyes, started touching my arm to find a vein for the IV. After a solid 10 minutes of me staring angrily at my mother and boyfriend, and still no vein found, I started to cry because I thought "oh my God, there's already complications". They had to call in the actual surgeon, and after another dandy 15 minutes, I finally had an IV in my arm. After that, things are pretty blurry. I kept asking questions and being sassy, per usual, and shortly after, my mom and boyfriend were gone. Now it was just me, my besties, and very fashionable nose breathing tubes.
Next thing I know, I'm being told "you need to breathe....you need to stop laughing". As I opened my eyes, I had tears streaming out, but I was cracking up. Literally - laughing so hard that I was hiccuping and not breathing properly, so the nurse was yelling at me. This went on for awhile, until my mom and boyfriend came back and I got very confused. I started spewing slightly inappropriate phrases (oops), saying things like "what the ...", with tears still coming out of my left eye, and still laughing. What a weird time. I realized I had gauze in my mouth, and unlike most people, I knew that they had taken my teeth out already (some people wake up and ask when they will start). I felt nothing, though. Literally nothing. My entire face was numb, which I guess is nice when you have 4 teeth ripped out.
As I was ushered out to the car, I was completely aware of everything happening, I just felt very high on drugs - which, I was. I knew who I was and what just happened, I just didn't feel the way I thought I was going to. I expected to wake up sobbing, in lots of pain, with blood everywhere. Not at all the case...
So, I mean, yeah, it was kinda fun in a way. All of my fears that I had, such as waking up during the surgery, had not come true. I literally just fell asleep, woke up, and felt like someone had pumped me full of drugs so that I couldn't feel anything (which is essentially what happened). I honestly said "haha that was fun, let's do that again". It really was not bad. All 4 of my teeth were impacted, so they weren't even easy to take out, and I still had no pain.
Once I got home, the drugs started wearing off, but I still felt fine. Obviously, it was a bit hard to talk, and I didn't enjoy having to change out the gauze, but that only lasted about half an hour. It looked worse than it actually was. I still was not crying, or in any type of excruciating pain (except for my extreme hunger). I had a milkshake, some water, and just watched some TV, still without taking any medicine (besides ibuprofen).
I went through the rest of the day expecting some type of awful pain or nausea, but none ever came. I ate some pasta, watched some more Office, and just lounged. When it was time for bed, I took 1 hydrocodone pill, and passed out for the next 10 hours.
Saturday morning, I got up and did it all again - still with very minimal pain. I don't like to take medicine, so I only took a hydrocodone at night for 3 nights, and just took ibuprofen during the day. I continued to watch TV, drink Gatorade and smoothies, and lounge. I wish I had some awesome story or something that lived up to what I thought life would be like after that surgery, but I honestly have nothing. My face puffed up a little bit on day 3, but nothing extreme (like some that I have seen!). I just kept icing, drinking fluids, and trying to convince my mom to let me blend pizza. I could still talk, walk, laugh, etc. I wasn't dead. Really huge win, in my mind.
So, now it's Tuesday, just 4 days later. I am in my usual spot at Starbucks. My face is a little puffy, but nothing makeup couldn't help. I am sipping my typical venti iced passion tea and getting ready to go to work. I AM ALIVE! And I honestly feel fine. My mouth is still a little sore, and I am afraid to go back to eating completely normally, but overall, I'm good.
If you're scared, losing sleep, or thinking that you are going to die - you won't. I now see why everyone made fun of me so much for the weeks leading up to it. Obviously, everyone has different stories. But, if you are a little scaredy cat like me, then I hope this eases you just a bit. Do not research wisdom teeth horror stories the day before like I did. Just take my word on this one -- it's not that bad!
And, since this is on my health blog, I figured I would include some of the things I enjoyed eating over the past few days, if you were curious about some good things...
Milkshakes are great and all, but they get old real fast.
Try making a nutritious "milkshakey" drink instead!
Blend together (not going to put measurements because it's whatever you want):
almond milk
1 protein scoop (or try a breakfast carnation packet!) - whatever flavor
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
ice
look at that: a whole nutritious drink that will fill you up & be healthy!
I am not a huge applesauce fan, but it did taste pretty good with some cinnamon.
I also enjoyed "pastina", which is an adorable tiny form of pasta that is very easy to eat
Sugar-free jello pudding
Greek/normal yogurt
Slow-churned ice cream (healthier than normal)
Gatorade for electrolytes
Ginger ale
The list goes on and on, but those are just a few healthier ideas that filled me up!
Obviously, it sucks to not be able to eat "normally", but that will only last a few days.
Hope this helps you if you are scared or have no idea what to expect!!
And a few photos for enjoyment:
right after the surgery; not happy, but alive!
how I truly thought I would look
still not happy, but not that swollen, so that's good!
Until next time,
Lyndsey
