The Surgical Awakening

 Yesterday I promised to give you the gory graphic details of my day in the dental chair. The husband was not happy when they told him he could not leave in search of food and had to be there the entire time that I was there. I couldn't eat, so he should suffer along with me, right?

I did not begrudge the man breakfast, but let's face it, it wasn't even his normal wake up time as they ushered me to my destiny. It was only an hour surgery they explained to the old man who sat in a chair and stuck his nose in his phone.

The assistants readied me for the IV and looking at my chart, told there was a diagram of my arm to show the only good vein to stick. One left the room for a tinier needle while the other one put a blood pressure cuff on my arm and a mask over my nose with oxygen. The good doctor came in and put the tourniquet on the arm from the illustration and tried the good vein. The good vein did not cooperate, and the cuff had to be moved as he went to the other arm to find a new avenue for the good drugs. He was successful and I watched as they tied my arms to the chair.

I was just about to make a joke about bondage when I was suddenly unconscious. After that, I was blissfully unaware until I was not. My left side was completely numb (my face), and there was a conversation going on. There was a hand in my mouth and a lot of tugging. I heard, "It just won't let go". Then more tugging and I felt my upper teeth in my lip as that hand in my mouth pulled on something. I was completely relaxed; in case you might be thinking I wanted to scream and run from the room. It was surreal, like a dream that I could hear and feel. After that part was over, I drifted in and out. I could feel that hand again and I felt the suture as he sewed up my jaw.

I think we all assumed that the abscess was from the wisdom tooth. That is what it looked like on the x-ray. It was not, the abscess was so large that it extended under the wisdom tooth and left a thumb sized hole in my jawbone! That was filled with a bone graft. The bone was retrieved from a cow and a cadaver. Not sure how I feel about that, but I hope it works, and I won't have to go back.

The recovery has been agonizing. I am not kidding! The last time I had a wisdom tooth removed, the pain receded quickly and other than being tender, I was okay after just a few days. It has been 2 weeks and 2 days, and I still have a lot of pain. I just took some Tylenol to ease it. The prescription for pain is all gone. It was for Motrin 600mg. The only thing good about that was that I could take the entire dose with only one pill. 

I know there is an opioid crisis, but I sure could have used some those first few days! My entire mouth hurt. My tongue, my cheek, my jaw and my ear. The pain starts in the surgical site and radiates to my chin, up through my nose and into my ear. It feels like a lit cigarette is in the hole left by the wisdom tooth. The other part is level with my other teeth, full of cow and dead person bone. The stitches have dissolved and the bruises on my cheek and jaw have yellowed and faded away. A good day is one that does not involve swallowing pain pills.

I have had two good days and today is not one of them. Sleeping was an issue the first week. It was easiest to sleep sitting up to relieve the throbbing. I am getting better, despite all the words above that would indicate otherwise. The pain of the first 10 days made it hard to concentrate on much of anything. The fact that I am able to form sentences is proof that I am on the road to recovery.

Recovery may have been easier if my shoulder had not decided to flare up. Next week I will be getting an x-ray to determine a course of treatment. I sincerely hope it will not involve surgery!