I've been dreading December 27th, 2007 for months now. I booked the appointment....in August. And ever since then, I've been counting down the days until I was going under the knife and getting ALL FOUR of my wisdom teeth out. I'm quite certain everyone that knows me that I am rather adverse...scratch that... Extremely adverse to pain. So for months now, I've been wishing that December 27th, 2007 would just DISAPPEAR.
Sadly, it did not. And in the days leading up to this dreaded day, people around me kept telling me their horror stories of their own experiences. People kept telling me how swollen I was going to be. They told me how they don't cut you open and take them out; they told me that they literally rip them from your jaws. It didn't help that when I had to sign a waiver form today says that I've been informed of the risks informed; one of which, was a jaw fracture!!! And it certainly didn't help when friends told me that because I have a paler / fairer complexion, that I was almost CERTAINLY going to turn green. Brilliant.
The day did not begin well. Angel was supposed to drive me to the extraction site, but she set her alarm for PM as opposed to AM. This did not bode well. My father ended driving me and I felt my legs get weaker with every step I took toward the hovering building. Swallowing hard, I entered the office and spoke to the receptionist who very kindly informed me, that of the $1425 procedure, my insurance was covering only $610. Brilliant. I was now paying, out of pocket, $800+ ......to put myself in pain. Absolutely brilliant.
Very quickly, the nurse brought me to the chair. She left me to review the previously stated waiver, and silly me, I decided to peek under the covered trays to see what tools they were going to use on me. If I had any strength left in my arms, I would have smacked my forehead for being so curious. With an unsteady hand, I signed the waiver and tried to relax into the chair. I resigned myself to the fact that this was going to happen whether I liked it or not. I think it helped, because by the time nurse covered me with monitors, my pulse was at a rhythmic 74 and my blood pressure was normal.
They poked me with a small needle in the back of my right hand, and I watched as they emptied the anesthetic into me. I laid back and within seconds, I was passed out. The next thing I knew, they were helping me into the recovery room where there were two other moaning patients with gauze sticking out of their mouths and an ice pack held to their face. The entire procedure took about an hour and a half and I left armed with gauze absorb the leakage from my wounds. Angel picked me up, and took me home, stopping only for my new best friends, Tylenol 3, and some lunch for herself.
I sit here now, hopped up on T3 with gauze in my mouth. I'm not sure if it actually DOESN'T hurt, or if this T3 stuff is actually THAT wonderful. I'm afraid to let the medication wear off. It's not as swollen as I expected (I'll post pics later); my left side barely swollen at all. The right definitely is swollen, and it hurts every time I try to move my mouth to speak / drink / etc. But very definitely, not as bad as I had lead myself to believe. Although of course, I'll likely change my tune tomorrow morning when I wake up with no more T3 in my system. In the meantime, this chipmunk looking patient is just plain HUNGRY..........and not able to eat.
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