Feb 22, 2009 09:25
Getting my wisdom teeth removed has been a very different experience from what I expected and from the fearful warnings I got from friends and coworkers. The weirdest part was how fast I was out with the anesthesia having never had it before. I saw one wavy blur of celing and then was waking up 2 hours and minus 4 teeth later. Initially I was not in any pain after the surgery either, just stiff and blurry. After about a 1/2 hour they let Steve take me home and I got a glimpse of my face in the hallway mirror. Big chipmunk cheeks and dried blood all over my teeth. Yuck. I was able to mumble a bit but the local anesthetic was still working pretty seriously so I didn't have much control there. I resorted to miming writing on the wall to communicate with steve because air writing wasn't working.
After I got home it was kind of anti climactic for a while. Steve had a conference call to make and I was just glad to be home in one piece. I tried to nap on the couch and woke up 2 hours later to him saying I had to take out the gauze again and change it. Well I was sorry I did, it was painful since I think it clotted around the gauze and it also freaked me out that my entire right side of my face, lip, chin and tounge were still numb. By that time the pain meds were needed and eating beforehand was a necessity and that was tough considering I could barely open my mouth. After that I just went to sleep for a while. I ended up getting up later and with the anti-inflamitories and antibiotics I was able to listen in on a conference call for work and not feel like total crap.
Once we figured out the way to make milkshakes that didn't suck in the blender things fell into a routine. Ice cream + jewel frozen strawberries in a syrup like sauce + milk makes a pretty good milkshake and I have been eating more ice cream this week than I probably have in the last 5 years. Also the magic bullet was a goofy gift at christmas but is mainly how I make things edible right now. Don't underestimate the appeal of pureed food (oatmeal, mikshakes, soup, or non solids like yogurt & pudding) when you can't open your mouth all the way. So, I really haven't been in any real pain since Thursday and the only annoying thing left is that they kind of stiched my gums together with part of my cheek or something because I still can't open my mouth very far. It just won't open. The chipmunk cheeks went away by day 2 and this salt water rinse thing is kinda gross. But you get through it and as long as I can find pureed food, I'm fine.
The good news is that Steve and I seem to do ok together like this. I've been here since last weekend with Zeus. He doesn't seem to mind my extra clutter nor the times I just dissapear to go blog or work on stuff. He watches far more TV than I do and has a much simpler palate. (eating the same thing every day is ok) I am not suprised that we seem to be happily dividing and conquering chores and having a good time being together but it is a good feeling to know your hunch was right.
wisdom teeth,
surgery,
chicago