Thursday, May 17, 2007

I'm Not as Wise as I Was This Morning...

At 10 this morning, I had my wisdom teeth taken out. I'd never had any kind of surgery before (not even cavities or braces) so I didn't really know what to expect. Turns out, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! The whole proceedure took about an hour and a half. I got to lay down in the dentists' chair (I love dentists) and they put that weird thing on me to give me oxygen. The doctor came in and then turned the laughing gas on, and I waited for "something" to happen. Like, to start laughing or something. I felt pretty normal for the first few moments, and then something overcame my body, like nothing I've ever felt before. It was the weirdest thing! I felt heavy and weird all over. I had my conscious mind, and I could think about normal things, but there was this other part of my mind that felt really weird, and I started seeing shapes growing and coming at me. I couldn't stop the strange thoughts! After a few minutes, the dental assistant asked me if I was feeling ok, and I managed to mumble "I feel really weird" so they turned the nitrous oxide down a bit. I still felt strange, and I thought for a few minutes that I might die, which made me want to get up and run out of the room. I probably would have, except that I don't think I would have been able to due to the way the laughing gas made me feel.

They gave me some really strong anbesol-type stuff, and then some shots in my gums. That didn't bother me at all. I really am not that scared of needles, to be honest. The injections made me feel VERY numb. Thank goodness. After they poked around a little bit, I started to feel nauseous, so I told the doctor. He turned the laughing gas off and put the oxygen back on, and then sat my chair up for about 10 minutes. I tried talking to the assistant but I couldn't really control what my tongue was doing, so it sounded really weird. Finally, the doctor came back in and leaned my chair back again. He asked if I wanted the laughing gas, and I told him that I would let him know if I needed it, but to leave it off for now. I was completely conscious at this point - feeling pretty normal except for the numb mouth. The doctor pushed and pulled on my teeth and in about 5 or so minutes, they were out! I was so surprised that it only took that long. I have no idea what they did to my teeth to get them out, and frankly, I don't want to know. All I felt was a bunch of pressure. No pain whatsoever! I got to keep my wisdom teeth, and they told me how to care for the gaping holes that are now present in my mouth.

The weirdest thing was not being able to feel anything from my upper lip down to the bottom of my chin. I could put my hand on my bottom lip and chin and feel nothing (I should have gone to get a lip ring... hahaha). My bottom lip was the worst. Straight after surgery, I thought it was my tongue (because I couldn't feel that, either), and I kept wondering why my tongue was hanging out of my mouth. So I tried to suck my lip in so that I would look more normal. I would touch my lip with my finger, but still not be able to tell what it was. Without feeling in my lip, it was hard to tell! Eventually, I asked the dental assistant what I was touching: "Ith thith my lip ohh my tongth?" She laughed and told me "It's your lip." And I just laughed "Hahth Hahth Hahth!"

When I got in the car, apparently I was pretty funny, because my mom kept telling me that I was acting like I was high. I don't know why though, because I didn't use any of the laughing gas for the actual surgery. Hmm. They gave me a prescription for some strong painkillers, and I took a 1/2 a pill once the numbness began to wear off. The prescription actually said to take 1 or 2 pills at a time, and I'm really glad I took 1/2 because it made me sick. I switched to ibuprofen and I feel great. I just feel a little achey in the jaw, which is amazing because the last time I took ibuprofen was about 5 or so hours ago!

I got to keep all 4 of my teeth, which is funny. They are really ugly and I'm considering using a toothbrush and toothpaste to get them cleaner. But that's just creepy, so I won't.

If anyone wants to come eat ice cream with me, let me know. :)

Well, I should be getting to bed soon because apparently I need a lot of rest (even though I slept most of the day because that codeine made me drowsy). Peace out, wise ones!

-Katie

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