Hello, hello! Earlier today, I was reminiscing on the time I had my wisdom teeth removed, and how curious and nervous I was for that day to come. Now imagine, you are the first sibling in your family to undergo this procedure and the only sufficient person you know who can relate, is your father. Fantastic right? Only it would be if he remembered every detail.
I understand how you are feeling: nervous, anxious, curious, and wondering if you're going to say ridiculous things as you are under anesthesia. Now I have no idea how these patients come up with what they say while medicated, but the nurse I had said it won't happen to me. She was right - I didn't say anything embarrassing, in fact the only thing I said was "I feel fantastic" after the Doctor asked how I was feeling as he filled my IV. Here's my story I hope will help you, and ease your nerves before you experience one of the best decisions you'll make as a late teen. You will be rid of the pain of your wisdom teeth growing, and be that much wiser. (now you know why babies sob when they are teething!)
Essentially you are indicated by the nurse, to not eat or drink 24 hours before your surgery. Mine was appointed in the morning, I do not remember a specific time, but it was before 11AM. The day before, I gave myself the "last" of everything: the last time I eat breakfast, the last supper, and the last time I'll be able to actually take care of myself - for now, at least. Insert tip one: drink water. I don't mean the minimum of what you're supposed to consume in a day -- I mean drink SO much water, you're sick of it. It is very important to remain and stay hydrated before your appointment. Something I failed to do prior.
It is the morning of my appointment, and I'm feeling okay. I remember my appointment was made in August, which happens to also be my birthday month. I check in, fill out papers, and sign a release form; which by the way freaked me out but is required. Now remember, I was 19 [turning 20] at the time, and I can say I was pretty open minded. I had made it my plan to bring my iPod (go figure) for the procedure. As soon as the nurse saw my beloved iPod, she said "No, no we cannot allow you to listen to music while put under because we want your brain to 'relax'." Basically, if I listen to music being sedated, I will technically still be awake, and my brain will be active. Now I opted for sedation - no gas mask. I will be conscious, not put under but I will have no memory of the surgery. In addition to this, I will be able to answer the Doctor as I am sedated ... How crazy is that?!
I sit myself in the chair with my dad and mom (who didn't last long). The nurse puts an oxygen mask on my face, and preps the IV while the Doctor finally comes in, and assists the nurse with medication and his utensils. As this is happening, the nurse is jotting my information such as my weight, height and age. They use this to determine how much medication they need to use in accordance to your size. The nurse brings over the needle and the first thing I said to her was "please don't hurt me" - she assured me she would not. The IV was a breeze, didn't feel a thing and I felt pumped. Now as this is happening, the Doctor is making me feel comfortable by engaging in small talk, while he works with the nurse to fill my IV bag. As I mentioned earlier in this post, the Doctor asks "how are you feeling?" and I say: "I feel fantastic!" - a great indicator that the medicine is working. Before I become sedated, I remember vividly sitting in the chair, the room is spinning, everything becomes blurry, eventually black.
Literally what felt like 20 minutes, was more than an hour of surgery and I am awake. The nurse wastes no time in waking me up, pretending as if nothing happened. I get up by myself and finally meet my dad and brother in recovery. The nurse tells my dad care instructions, questions he may have, all the information needed to take care of me for the next week. I get up and my nurse helps me into the truck and finally I am on my way home. The car ride home felt like 5 minutes (it wasn't, it was a good 25), but I remember sitting in the truck beside my brother and I wanted to text my sister. I have no idea what I said to her, or how I was able to function a phone, but I did text her and it was gibberish.
I am home. I open the door and my mom is anxiously waiting expecting me to be incoherent and not able to move on my own. Her maternal instincts are in full gear, she greets me, and the first thing I do is run to the living room saying to my mom "I am okay". Now I cannot describe to you the dizzyness I felt after my surgery and for the rest of the week which is why I ran to my couch and laid there all day. My mom went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription and came home. The first few hours post-op was my dad changing my gauze full of blood every half hour of so. Super gross, not fun, or cute. Finally after the bleeding stops I lay down, and relax. It sucks because you cannot eat. No straws, no solid foods, no cold or hot drinks, nothing. My diet for the week consisted of protein shakes used for hospital patients because it was all I could consume as I was incapable of chewing.
Me being the superhero I am, I didn't use my prescription. The next morning after my surgery I felt fantastic. I had no pain, and I felt good - but still dizzy. My entire week consisted of me laying down on the couch, only getting up to rinse my mouth, and take care of myself. It sucked but it was my temporary reality.
Overall, everything went okay. Recovery was ironically better than the surgery itself but nonetheless I came out and made it alive. Everyone reacts differently to surgery, and while I was able to survive mine post-op without my prescription, you may be opposite. Don't get me wrong, there was discomfort, but nothing to the extent of needing medication.
How to PREVENT dry socket: One of the frequent correlations to having your wisdom teeth removed is the chance of getting dry socket. Dry socket occurs when the blood clot in your gum prematurely falls out, causing the wound to be exposed to air, and particles. You do not want this to happen and I was thankfully able to avoid this completely. I was SO paranoid of getting dry socket, I diligently cleaned my four wounds every hour with salt water. There was a point when a blood clot did fall out a few days later and I'm not gonna lie: I freaked out but it was natural in a way it did not affect healing. I urge you to clean your wounds and make sure your mouth is in perfect oral hygiene. If you do get dry socket it extends your healing to another week or two, depending on the severity and you need a prescription from your Doctor to aid in healing the infection.
Post-op: A misconception with this surgery is after one week, you are free. Not true. When your mouth is healed entirely, you literally have only just begun. It takes an extra four to six weeks for the wounds to close if your Doctor did not surgically stitch them, and even if your gum is stitched, you still need to be careful. Before and after you eat MAKE SURE your gums are clean of food in the sockets. It's tedious, and gross but it has to be done.
I understand how you are feeling: nervous, anxious, curious, and wondering if you're going to say ridiculous things as you are under anesthesia. Now I have no idea how these patients come up with what they say while medicated, but the nurse I had said it won't happen to me. She was right - I didn't say anything embarrassing, in fact the only thing I said was "I feel fantastic" after the Doctor asked how I was feeling as he filled my IV. Here's my story I hope will help you, and ease your nerves before you experience one of the best decisions you'll make as a late teen. You will be rid of the pain of your wisdom teeth growing, and be that much wiser. (now you know why babies sob when they are teething!)
Essentially you are indicated by the nurse, to not eat or drink 24 hours before your surgery. Mine was appointed in the morning, I do not remember a specific time, but it was before 11AM. The day before, I gave myself the "last" of everything: the last time I eat breakfast, the last supper, and the last time I'll be able to actually take care of myself - for now, at least. Insert tip one: drink water. I don't mean the minimum of what you're supposed to consume in a day -- I mean drink SO much water, you're sick of it. It is very important to remain and stay hydrated before your appointment. Something I failed to do prior.
It is the morning of my appointment, and I'm feeling okay. I remember my appointment was made in August, which happens to also be my birthday month. I check in, fill out papers, and sign a release form; which by the way freaked me out but is required. Now remember, I was 19 [turning 20] at the time, and I can say I was pretty open minded. I had made it my plan to bring my iPod (go figure) for the procedure. As soon as the nurse saw my beloved iPod, she said "No, no we cannot allow you to listen to music while put under because we want your brain to 'relax'." Basically, if I listen to music being sedated, I will technically still be awake, and my brain will be active. Now I opted for sedation - no gas mask. I will be conscious, not put under but I will have no memory of the surgery. In addition to this, I will be able to answer the Doctor as I am sedated ... How crazy is that?!
I sit myself in the chair with my dad and mom (who didn't last long). The nurse puts an oxygen mask on my face, and preps the IV while the Doctor finally comes in, and assists the nurse with medication and his utensils. As this is happening, the nurse is jotting my information such as my weight, height and age. They use this to determine how much medication they need to use in accordance to your size. The nurse brings over the needle and the first thing I said to her was "please don't hurt me" - she assured me she would not. The IV was a breeze, didn't feel a thing and I felt pumped. Now as this is happening, the Doctor is making me feel comfortable by engaging in small talk, while he works with the nurse to fill my IV bag. As I mentioned earlier in this post, the Doctor asks "how are you feeling?" and I say: "I feel fantastic!" - a great indicator that the medicine is working. Before I become sedated, I remember vividly sitting in the chair, the room is spinning, everything becomes blurry, eventually black.
Literally what felt like 20 minutes, was more than an hour of surgery and I am awake. The nurse wastes no time in waking me up, pretending as if nothing happened. I get up by myself and finally meet my dad and brother in recovery. The nurse tells my dad care instructions, questions he may have, all the information needed to take care of me for the next week. I get up and my nurse helps me into the truck and finally I am on my way home. The car ride home felt like 5 minutes (it wasn't, it was a good 25), but I remember sitting in the truck beside my brother and I wanted to text my sister. I have no idea what I said to her, or how I was able to function a phone, but I did text her and it was gibberish.
I am home. I open the door and my mom is anxiously waiting expecting me to be incoherent and not able to move on my own. Her maternal instincts are in full gear, she greets me, and the first thing I do is run to the living room saying to my mom "I am okay". Now I cannot describe to you the dizzyness I felt after my surgery and for the rest of the week which is why I ran to my couch and laid there all day. My mom went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription and came home. The first few hours post-op was my dad changing my gauze full of blood every half hour of so. Super gross, not fun, or cute. Finally after the bleeding stops I lay down, and relax. It sucks because you cannot eat. No straws, no solid foods, no cold or hot drinks, nothing. My diet for the week consisted of protein shakes used for hospital patients because it was all I could consume as I was incapable of chewing.
Me being the superhero I am, I didn't use my prescription. The next morning after my surgery I felt fantastic. I had no pain, and I felt good - but still dizzy. My entire week consisted of me laying down on the couch, only getting up to rinse my mouth, and take care of myself. It sucked but it was my temporary reality.
Overall, everything went okay. Recovery was ironically better than the surgery itself but nonetheless I came out and made it alive. Everyone reacts differently to surgery, and while I was able to survive mine post-op without my prescription, you may be opposite. Don't get me wrong, there was discomfort, but nothing to the extent of needing medication.
How to PREVENT dry socket: One of the frequent correlations to having your wisdom teeth removed is the chance of getting dry socket. Dry socket occurs when the blood clot in your gum prematurely falls out, causing the wound to be exposed to air, and particles. You do not want this to happen and I was thankfully able to avoid this completely. I was SO paranoid of getting dry socket, I diligently cleaned my four wounds every hour with salt water. There was a point when a blood clot did fall out a few days later and I'm not gonna lie: I freaked out but it was natural in a way it did not affect healing. I urge you to clean your wounds and make sure your mouth is in perfect oral hygiene. If you do get dry socket it extends your healing to another week or two, depending on the severity and you need a prescription from your Doctor to aid in healing the infection.
Post-op: A misconception with this surgery is after one week, you are free. Not true. When your mouth is healed entirely, you literally have only just begun. It takes an extra four to six weeks for the wounds to close if your Doctor did not surgically stitch them, and even if your gum is stitched, you still need to be careful. Before and after you eat MAKE SURE your gums are clean of food in the sockets. It's tedious, and gross but it has to be done.
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