Thursday, August 18, 2011

Dratted Wisdom Teeth

If you recall in my last post, I mentioned having a toothache? Well the pain had intensified after a couple days of me nursing it so I called my dentist first thing on Monday morning. They said they could squeeze me in only if I came in right then, and I said I was on my way! They took a 180 degree xray of my mouth, and the doc looked at my sore spot. She said yep it looked infected and wrote prescriptions for antibiotics and Lortab. I had them call a surgeon right then and get me in for a consult the next morning.

The pain continued on that day and night, and the next day I grudgingly went to work. I had to leave for a couple hours in the afternoon to go to the surgeon's office. After a bit of waiting they took me back, did another xray, then had me watch a video about wisdom teeth extraction. Then the surgeon came in to see me and looked in my mouth....she said with as bad as the infection already was, I needed to have the surgery immediately! She has seen these kinds of infections get bad very quickly and end up in the ER with abscesses into the jaw.

I have taken care of people in the ICU for that same reason so I knew she wasn't playing around. She said the antibiotics might help a bit, but they wouldn't get rid of whatever was stuck under my gum that caused the infection. She got me scheduled for surgery under general anesthesia the next morning! I signed the consent forms and told Nick the plans.

I went back to work and let me boss know the news. She was very understanding (I heart my new job) and let me off Thursday and Friday no problem. I picked up an extra day next week to help make up my hours. When I left that evening, everyone wished me good luck, gave me a hug, and said they would be praying for me! One of my coworkers also brought me a huge transplant of her homegrown basil!

My surgery was Wednesday morning at 10:30, and I was home by 12:30. I took some pain pills when I got home and Nick went to fill my other prescriptions. Later on that day I was already feeling better than before the surgery and ate a little bit of soft food. I didn't wake up once last night in pain, and I am only taking ibuprofen now instead of Lortab! I have been up and doing stuff all day, and even cooked a big batch of pea soup last night to eat on. My dad came and saw me last night and brought ice cream, then my mom and brother came and saw me this morning.

I honestly thought I would be a lot more sore than I am now, but it's not near as bad as I was imagining! The infection pain was much worse. My jaw is still pretty stiff and there is a bit of swelling but it's not too bad. I am actually thinking of going in to work for a few hours tomorrow...

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2 comments:

  1. You're definitely a trooper! I'm glad you're feeling better, I know that kind of pain is just awful!

    Your new job and coworkers sound amazing!!

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  2. You should take it easy for a bit, though. After going to the dentist and getting your wisdom teeth removed, it's best to spend some time recovering. It's not very exciting, but it will help you avoid any potential problems.

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