What are you doing over the summer? What are you going to do when you get home? Everyone asked me these questions as finals were ending and we packed up our dorms for the year. My response: Well, I'm getting my wisdom teeth out on Monday. Everyone's reactions were always negative and it made me even more nervous even though I kept trying to tell myself it wasn't going to be that big of a deal. I heard my friends' own personal horror stories when they had wisdom teeth surgery and yeah, that made it even worse. But I kept telling myself it was better to get it out of the way and have the rest of the summer without it looming ahead of me. I was right but it was still a not so fond memory.
I actually was calm before the procedure and I have been under anesthesia several times before so I knew the drill. But then they started giving me the laughing gas and I felt like a literal potato. It was so strong my muscles relaxed completely and I felt like I couldn't move my limbs. Yes, I was freaking out a little but I was so out of it it was crazy. The nurse turned it down a little and I regained some feeling just in time for them to put me out.
Fast forward an hour later and I wake up in the chair with a numb mouth stuffed with gauze. I am super sleepy and just want to go home. I had some fun with the Snapchat filters on my car ride home and my dad also had some fun laughing at me.
The day of really wasn't awful except for I hate the numb feeling. I also thought I wouldn't need the prescribed pain killers but wow I was wrong. I didn't sleep at all the first two nights because I was so uncomfortable. I couldn't lie on my sides because my cheeks were so sore but my head was not comfortable perched up on a pillow.
I'm someone who is very impatient and I do not like being inconvenienced. My mom tried to get me in the right mindset before my surgery but still I was irritated that I was in severe pain three days later. The first three days were miserable. I tried to eat food other than applesauce and it got stuck in the incisions and I freaked out that I had ruined everything. I also had regained my appetite at this point so I was so hungry but still could only eat mashed potatoes and ice cream.
I actually was not that puffy so I got lucky in that department but the day I was most puffy was also when I got serious cabin fever. I went on a long walk around my neighborhood with my puffy face and it felt good except for when I embarrassingly ran into my friend's mom and talked to her with my chipmunk face.
Each day I felt better until I stopped having to take Tylenol and I could sleep through the night on my side. Slowly I also began to eat more food and the swelling in my face subsided.
Was I a little dramatic in thinking that I was miserable and this was the worst thing ever? Absolutely. It was still bad though don't get me wrong. The pain was severe and I couldn't eat for 4 days. So in short I would say yes I would absolutely dread getting your wisdom teeth out because it kind of is just as bad as you think it will be. But the recovery is about a week so at least it is short lived.
