I had a wisdom tooth surgery yesterday, and it was such a terrifying experience. my first encounter with a surgery of any kind. albeit a small one, it gripped me way before the day itself.
the whole experience made me really tired and limp.. and i have slept for 12 hours since. i still feel numb and tired. for someone who can faint from a small injection, it's a feat to be alive now. i'm glad i'm on a 5 day mc.
let me recount the process...
the night before, the fear has built up. i tossed and turned and slept 3 hrs. that morning itself, i was replaying the whole process of the surgery as i know it in my head.
when i reached the clinic, i knew i had to face the music. i still couldn't believe i was going to be cut with a surgical knife. the dentist tried making small talk with me... he said, oh since u're a psychologist, you should be fine, can psycho yourself!
i was thinking, fat hope. i know how chicken shit i was. but i was hoping that the dentist wouldn't have to find that out.
he gave me an ultra strong 24 hr painkiller pill to eat first. then he gave me two or three very very painful anaesthetic injections with his metallic 30cm long syringe which i had already encountered during my wisdom tooth extraction in march. this, i was brave enough to last through.
then i fainted.
while on his dental chair no less. at first i thought i was on GA, though i had opted for LA. but the familiar wave of giddiness and sleepiness lulled me over, and i had went through this too many times to not be able to recognise i'm passing out. everything became far and distant. and soon my body gave way.
from far away, i heard the dentist saying something to me. it suddenly registered as, lift your head up to put this cloth underneath. at this time he didn't know i blacked out. i heard him say it over and over again. but my eyes could not open. i couldn't respond. i mustered lots and lots of strength n energy to finally say something coherent like, i.. think i... ...black out....
he quickly lowered my seat to a sleeping position and let me rest for 5 mins before he started the procedure. he clipped a pulse monitor on my thumb and we could hear my heart beating on the monitor so we'd know if i fainted again.
then the real thing started, but not before he covered up my whole head except for my mouth.
i know how the procedure is like. and i could really feel each step happening although i couldn't feel the pain or see anything. first, he was cutting through my gums with a knife. it was quite fast. then he was drilling through my embedded tooth, cutting it up into smaller pieces. this took some time, and it was loud, like construction work. my head rocked with the drill. then he was using something to remove the pieces of teeth inside my gums. i could feel him tugging at them forcefully, like a premature extraction. when all the pieces were pulled out, i could feel him using some thread to sew up the wound. this took some time as well. i kept thinking of him stitching me up and i wanted to faint again.
i felt sick to the core.
and then it ended. my whole left face felt so utterly numb and swollen. there's so much blood and anaesthetic gel all over my mouth.
although the painkiller was supposed to last me 24 hrs, i could feel severe throbbing pains 2 hours after the surgery. when the LA was still working, and my mouth was all numb. the pain took me by surprise, and i popped two panadols. it was a horrible feeling. it was so painful i cried. the wound kept bleeding and i had to keep putting cotton gauze.
the worst was when i had to eat and drink. i had to shove my food (liquid diet..) to the right side, and try to swallow it that way (doctor's instructions). i was so afraid of letting the food touch the wound as it hurts, and i dun want it to get infected. when i drank, the water nearly electrocuted my wound. any tiny bit of movement of my jaw and the tongue triggered some pains. whenever i opened my mouth a bit too wide, i felt as if the stitch was snapping apart. having a stitch wound inside the mouth is no joke at all.
i took one whole hour to eat some plain porridge and mashed potato, and swallow all my medication. i couldn't brush my teeth even as i couldn't stretch my lips. i had to rinse my mouth with some antiseptic wash after each meal.
i finally had the courage to look at my wound and saw that it has thick black stitches on it. urghhh. doc says the swelling is going to go up around day 3 or 4.. and bruises may appear on my cheek.
this is just such a terrifying and surreal experience. the wound feels slightly better now, some aches here and there but i hope the throbbing pain won't come back. i really hope i can survive this week of eating and taking care of my wound. i just dun wanna get any infection or complication.. i can't go through another ordeal. urghh.. two more wisdom teeth to go. i really dun wanna go through it anymore...
i wonder when's the next time i can eat something proper like meat, bread, or biscuits. i just pray for a fast recovery.
