I had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled yesterday. This will be just a record of how the recovery went, and what I found to work or not to work for me during this period.
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DAY OF THE OPERATION
Weight - 143.4 lb
I do not remember the operation at all. The doctor came in and asked me how I was feeling (I was feeling fantastic). The last thing I remember was the 3 nurses putting an IV into my arm, talking to the doctor, and trying to adjust some monitors over my head. When I woke up abruptly, the room was almost empty, with just one nurse removing heart rate monitors from my chest. She asked me if I thought I could sit up, and she helped me up. I slowly staggered toward the door, and my husband met met me at the door and lead me straight toward the car.
I was really groggy when my husband got me home. My head was heavy and my lower jaw and tongue felt like made of wood. The gauze they put in my mouth was making me gag - they made it too think. As soon as I could, I pulled it out and applied fresh gauze pieces that were not quite so think. My mouth was so completely dry, I could not shove it in easily, the inside of my cheeks was like dry concrete. I then applied ice packs to my jaw and cheek area, and they felt good on my face.
Pain meds:
My husband gave me a half a pill of hydrocodone as soon as we got home. We decided ahead of time to use half-pills (unless pain was severe) to avoid side effects such as nausea and weakness. I also put 2 pellets of Arnica 30C under my tongue, but my mouth was so dry at the time, they did not dissolve almost at all, and I had to pull them back out to avoid gagging on them.
Food: To chase down the pain pill I drank some Plum Organic Spinach, Peas & Pear baby food from a squirt bottle. My lips were not moving or feeling, but I could put the neck of the package right into my mouth and just squeeze gently to have a little food pour out in small controlled portions. I could then swallow slowly with the back of my tongue. The taste of the food was fantastic, and I enjoyed the whole pouch. I did not realize the food was running out of the sides of my lips until my husband wiped them - this is how deadened my lips and gums were!
After that my husband used the syringe the nurses gave us to apply tepid water to the inside of my cheeks to wash away any leftover food. I was seated upright in a comfy chair (as per discharge instructions from the doctor). I pulled the blanket over my eyes and went to sleep right away.
I woke up a couple of hours later feeling numb but hungry. My lower left cheek felt very tender and had a little gnawing pain in it, but just slightly. Other 3 sites were completely numb. I pulled out my gauze and it was soaked in blood.
Meds and food. I had another pouch of Spinach, Peas & Pear baby food (and it was really tasty again), another mouth-rinse with the syringe, and another half a pill of hydrocodone. I put more Arnica pellets under my tongue and this time they dissolved right away. To control bleeding, instead of gauze i decided to apply tea bags to my wound areas.
I then re-applied the ice packs to my face and asked my husband to bring my book, so I could read.
Because of the gauze pads and the numb jaw plus the ice packs I could not talk at all. My husband brought me a pencil and a piece of paper, and I had to use writing as my main method of communication for about half a day.
For the rest of the day I alternated between different flavors of Plum Organic baby foods, the organic protein chocolate shake from Svelte, and Earth First Organic Chicken and Brown Rice baby mush (that one was pretty gross to my taste). The protein shake was causing alot of gas and pain in my tummy, but it was the only thing I could sip on other than water.
I discovered that any cold drinks woke up my painful lower left side, so I had to stick with the room-temperature foods and drinks. To control the bleeding, I continued to use tea bags instead of gauze. After a while I discovered that the tea bags seep a darn strong mix of black tea, blood, and saliva into my mouth, and it was very bitter and think to swallow, but I decided to stick with the tea bags.
I continued to take half a pill of pain meds every 2 hours, and toward the end of 2nd hour I usually could feel my painful lower left gum waking up, but the rest of the sides were numb completely. After every pain pill I would apply Arnica as well.
Toward the evening I felt like my strength was returning. I nearly finished my book, I washed some dishes, and I started to read and sort mail. My husband and I went for a short walk outside, as the weather was great. I had to lean on him from time to time and we walked slowly, but other than that enjoyed my outing. I went to sleep in upright sitting position in my char about 10 pm that day with some gauze pads ticked deep into my cheeks to control any bleeding overnight.
The feeling in my tongue returned about 5-6 hours after the operation. The feeling in my jaw returned completely within 7 or 8 hours, and I could finally communicate through speech (rather than through writing).
DAY 2
Weight - 140.6 lb
Waking up every 2 hours to take my pain pill was very inconvenient (because I needed to eat and then to wash up). So, to get some restful sleep, I tool a full pill of hydrocodone around 2 am, and did not wake up until 7 am, feeling fantastic and full of energy. There was no pain anywhere.
I ate another pouch of the Plum Organic baby food (Pear and Apple) but still felt hungry. When my husband tried to wash my mouth with the syringe, he apparently pointed to syringe right at the wound, because the water hitting the wound immediately make the whole area filled with awful stabbing pain. It took a few minutes to settle that pain down, but it went down on its own.
Meds: I took 1 pill of antibiotic and one doze of Milk Thistle (to help to support liver). Took 2 pellets of Arnica. I applied a few drops of Dragon Blood to my most painful area on the lower left to see if it made any difference to the healing for that site. Against my expectations, the tincture did not sting at all.
Strangely enough, I had no other painful sites (although the gums above the extraction sites felt sore if I pressed on them with my finger). I decided to wait another hour or so to see where the pain would appear. In the meantime, I decided to go feed the dogs and to water my garden, check mail, and check some recipes online for home-made baby food.
Around 10 am I had some canned tomato soup (room temperature) and some apple sauce for dessert, and both very darn tasty. I decided to start washing my mouth with salt water rather than plain water, and it was hard to remember not to be too energetic and not to spit. I felt so good and normal that I had to remind myself of the recovery rules.
-----------
DAY OF THE OPERATION
Weight - 143.4 lb
I do not remember the operation at all. The doctor came in and asked me how I was feeling (I was feeling fantastic). The last thing I remember was the 3 nurses putting an IV into my arm, talking to the doctor, and trying to adjust some monitors over my head. When I woke up abruptly, the room was almost empty, with just one nurse removing heart rate monitors from my chest. She asked me if I thought I could sit up, and she helped me up. I slowly staggered toward the door, and my husband met met me at the door and lead me straight toward the car.
I was really groggy when my husband got me home. My head was heavy and my lower jaw and tongue felt like made of wood. The gauze they put in my mouth was making me gag - they made it too think. As soon as I could, I pulled it out and applied fresh gauze pieces that were not quite so think. My mouth was so completely dry, I could not shove it in easily, the inside of my cheeks was like dry concrete. I then applied ice packs to my jaw and cheek area, and they felt good on my face.
Pain meds:
My husband gave me a half a pill of hydrocodone as soon as we got home. We decided ahead of time to use half-pills (unless pain was severe) to avoid side effects such as nausea and weakness. I also put 2 pellets of Arnica 30C under my tongue, but my mouth was so dry at the time, they did not dissolve almost at all, and I had to pull them back out to avoid gagging on them.
Food: To chase down the pain pill I drank some Plum Organic Spinach, Peas & Pear baby food from a squirt bottle. My lips were not moving or feeling, but I could put the neck of the package right into my mouth and just squeeze gently to have a little food pour out in small controlled portions. I could then swallow slowly with the back of my tongue. The taste of the food was fantastic, and I enjoyed the whole pouch. I did not realize the food was running out of the sides of my lips until my husband wiped them - this is how deadened my lips and gums were!
After that my husband used the syringe the nurses gave us to apply tepid water to the inside of my cheeks to wash away any leftover food. I was seated upright in a comfy chair (as per discharge instructions from the doctor). I pulled the blanket over my eyes and went to sleep right away.
I woke up a couple of hours later feeling numb but hungry. My lower left cheek felt very tender and had a little gnawing pain in it, but just slightly. Other 3 sites were completely numb. I pulled out my gauze and it was soaked in blood.
Meds and food. I had another pouch of Spinach, Peas & Pear baby food (and it was really tasty again), another mouth-rinse with the syringe, and another half a pill of hydrocodone. I put more Arnica pellets under my tongue and this time they dissolved right away. To control bleeding, instead of gauze i decided to apply tea bags to my wound areas.
I then re-applied the ice packs to my face and asked my husband to bring my book, so I could read.
Because of the gauze pads and the numb jaw plus the ice packs I could not talk at all. My husband brought me a pencil and a piece of paper, and I had to use writing as my main method of communication for about half a day.
For the rest of the day I alternated between different flavors of Plum Organic baby foods, the organic protein chocolate shake from Svelte, and Earth First Organic Chicken and Brown Rice baby mush (that one was pretty gross to my taste). The protein shake was causing alot of gas and pain in my tummy, but it was the only thing I could sip on other than water.
I discovered that any cold drinks woke up my painful lower left side, so I had to stick with the room-temperature foods and drinks. To control the bleeding, I continued to use tea bags instead of gauze. After a while I discovered that the tea bags seep a darn strong mix of black tea, blood, and saliva into my mouth, and it was very bitter and think to swallow, but I decided to stick with the tea bags.
I continued to take half a pill of pain meds every 2 hours, and toward the end of 2nd hour I usually could feel my painful lower left gum waking up, but the rest of the sides were numb completely. After every pain pill I would apply Arnica as well.
Toward the evening I felt like my strength was returning. I nearly finished my book, I washed some dishes, and I started to read and sort mail. My husband and I went for a short walk outside, as the weather was great. I had to lean on him from time to time and we walked slowly, but other than that enjoyed my outing. I went to sleep in upright sitting position in my char about 10 pm that day with some gauze pads ticked deep into my cheeks to control any bleeding overnight.
The feeling in my tongue returned about 5-6 hours after the operation. The feeling in my jaw returned completely within 7 or 8 hours, and I could finally communicate through speech (rather than through writing).
DAY 2
Weight - 140.6 lb
Waking up every 2 hours to take my pain pill was very inconvenient (because I needed to eat and then to wash up). So, to get some restful sleep, I tool a full pill of hydrocodone around 2 am, and did not wake up until 7 am, feeling fantastic and full of energy. There was no pain anywhere.
I ate another pouch of the Plum Organic baby food (Pear and Apple) but still felt hungry. When my husband tried to wash my mouth with the syringe, he apparently pointed to syringe right at the wound, because the water hitting the wound immediately make the whole area filled with awful stabbing pain. It took a few minutes to settle that pain down, but it went down on its own.
Meds: I took 1 pill of antibiotic and one doze of Milk Thistle (to help to support liver). Took 2 pellets of Arnica. I applied a few drops of Dragon Blood to my most painful area on the lower left to see if it made any difference to the healing for that site. Against my expectations, the tincture did not sting at all.
Strangely enough, I had no other painful sites (although the gums above the extraction sites felt sore if I pressed on them with my finger). I decided to wait another hour or so to see where the pain would appear. In the meantime, I decided to go feed the dogs and to water my garden, check mail, and check some recipes online for home-made baby food.
Around 10 am I had some canned tomato soup (room temperature) and some apple sauce for dessert, and both very darn tasty. I decided to start washing my mouth with salt water rather than plain water, and it was hard to remember not to be too energetic and not to spit. I felt so good and normal that I had to remind myself of the recovery rules.
