Wisdom Teeth Under General Anesthesia

[maggypies]

Hi all!

I originally scheduled an appointment to extract two wisdom teeth - top fully erupted, bottom partial bony impaction - for June 30.

I got into the room, got my arm greased up for the IV, and LITERALLY chickened out. I got up and walked right out of there! Seriously.

My surgeon gave me some Ativan, and we rescheduled for July 21 (today!) I also got hypnotized by a licensed therapist, and got a general anxiety prescription from my doctor so I could sleep the weeks before the surgery, or take something if I was preoccupied.

The night before the surgery, I was a hot mess. I practiced my hypnosis and relaxation techniques, and they helped. I got up several times throughout the night and woke up my boyfriend to hug me.

In the morning, I took my Ativan, took a nice hot, soothing shower, and danced around like a fool to "Eye of the Tiger" in my living room. After having fun and being ridiculous, I felt a lot better on the drive over.

When I got to the dentist, I paid the bill, went straight back, and was put into the exam chair. A nice assistant came over and started putting the blood pressure cuff on my hand, and then she clipped a heart monitor on my finger. I also got a little bib tied around my neck.

They both left the room for a few minutes, and while they were gone, my boyfriend and I cracked jokes and poked around on the heart monitor to make it beep. My Ativan was kicked in, hypnosis was working, and I felt pretty relaxed.

The doctor came in and I asked if we were "going to take some teeth out today." "If you'll let me at 'em!" he joked.

A girl behind me put a tube into my nose so that I could breathe pure oxygen. I started breathing it - it made me floaty, but there was SO much of it coming through the tube that I was about to tell her to turn it off, when my doctor put the torniquet on and started having me squeeze for the IV.

I squeezed, and he found a vein very quickly. He told me he was going to freeze my arm, then he sprayed it with this can of cold stuff. It actually shocked me! It was really cold.
When he put the needle in, I didn't feel pain because of the stuff he sprayed - I got a little freaked out because it went further into my vein than expected. This makes sense - it was my first IV ever. It wasn't painful, and I couldn't feel fluid coming through it like many people claim to.

I stopped focusing on the IV and was about to seriously ask them to adjust my oxygen tube, which was still annoying me, when I woke up.

There was no oxygen tube on me. Two assistants were unfastening my monitors. My IV was already out, and there was a band-aid there. I checked my face, and it was numb and had cotton wedges in my mouth.

"Already?" I asked.
They told me I was all set! All my wisdom teeth were gone!

I got really excited and was still kinda stoned from all the meds, so I started dancing to the music that was playing in the office. Some assistants came in and pushed me back down into my seat gently, then they kinda danced around my seat for me so I wouldn't try to get up. Haha! I know I was being silly but it was actually pretty fun.

The doctor came back in with my boyfriend and a wheelchair and told my boyfriend that he had to cut into a little bone on one tooth - that it was more impacted than the thought - but that no additional pain care would be necessary, that it would all heal quickly.

Then, they helped me up slowly, put me in a wheelchair, and took me out to the car.

After that things have been pretty easy. Vicodin and ansaid all day, and I haven't experienced what I would say is pain, really. Just some pressure. My face hasn't swollen too badly at all, and the bleeding stopped pretty soon after the whole thing. They told me to take my gauze out when I got home and that I didn't have to put more in, so I didn't, and that's been fine.

Your encouragement and being there for me helped me so much, you guys. If anyone wants to ever contact me and ask me about wisdom teeth stuff, please do at any time! I would be happy to help or answer questions based on my own experiences. I've been on both sides of the coin - I chickened out too! But I"m so glad I went through with my appointment. I'm very proud of myself.

-maggy pies

 

[soozypoo]

well done for being so brave,i was exactly same as you,i had 4 teeth out (inc 2 impacted wisdom teeth)2 days ago under G.A.

i felt like i wanted to back out but now im so glad i faced my fear and i think the fear was the worst part of the whole procedure

 

[maggypies]

Awww, I'm so glad to hear that Soozy!!! How are you feeling today? I am a little sore - that's mostly because I'm holding off on taking the Vicodin again because it's making me pretty much incapacitated. And I wanna get some work done.

The ANSAIDs work really well, though. I'm getting ancy and I want to be completely well RIGHT NOW so I can go eat potato chips and go running and that sort of thing. But all this is MUCH better than what would have happened if both of us waited, right? For me I would have ended up in the hospital with a bad infection for sure.

It feels good to face your fears and take care of yourself. <3 Mega congratulations to you too!

 

[soozypoo]

i want pringles lmao im sick of soup and what seems like pureed baby mush
but all in good time i guess lol

im not in that much pain to be honest apart from a bit of stiff jaw,no pain from extraction site,they gave me some tablets only paracetemol and some kinda ibuprofen called diclofenac but i seem to go woozy when i take it and feel disorientated and giddy lol so i stopped taking it as like u i hate that feeling

i went to drive yesterday and suddenly felt really weird so had to stay in home another day hehehehe hopefully today i can get out n about.

hope ur recovery is going well 2 xx

 

[maggypies]

Hey Soozy - how are you feeling today?

I had a rough day yesterday. I got behind on my pain pills and had a very unpleasant few hours. I think where they had to take out some bone caused me a little more problems than expected.

Today is much better. I actually managed to eat some fruit - I think I'm going to take a big leap and try some grilled cheese when we go to the movies this evening.

Still taking the vicodin every six hours and the ansaids every 8 - I will be thinking about you and hope you're okay! Let me know when you get those delicious pringles.

 

[Dave48]

Hi maggypies glad your ok I never like having a GA in the Dentist waiting to see orthodontist .


Dave.

 

[soozypoo]

hi maggiepies

sorry 2 hear u had a bit of a bad day,hope things r better today.

i still havent had any pringles yet! i think im enjoying the weight loss too much hahahahah.id eaten too many donuts on hols hehehe and think ive lost around 7lbs in the week i been back and since the surgery,i still keep gettin waves of weirdness,i cant explain it i feel disorientated n dizzy every now n then but im told it could be because im not eating properly yet lol.
i stopped taking my ansaids and feel a lot better(no dizzyness)so maybe it was those making me feel ikky.

as for tooth pain none to speak of,tho i did have earache last night for a lil while,and a bit of sore throat dont know if its connected or just that im coming down with something.

did u enjoy ur fruit? i tried a banana but found after peeling it i couldnt open my mouth wide enough hahaha so i threw it away.
my bf n kids ordered pizza hut last nite i attempted 1 slice of pizza as im sick of slop and soup lol but ended up just eating the chicken wings instead,its as though my whole taste has changed and things i liked b4 now make me feel sick,hopefully it will pass,how can i live without tasting chocolate again

hope ur recovery is going well

 

[maggypies]

Hey Soozy! I am glad you checked in. I was just about to check in on you.

So I've had some really bad pain over the last few days. I went back to the dentist today, and he said one of my sockets is sitting right up against an inflamed muscle. OW. That's a weird complication to have! But the ANSAIDS pretty much take care of all the pain. The vicodin wipes it out completely, but it makes me woozy so I'm trying to tough out the pain and stick with the ANSAIDS.

It's really weird. My worst fear before all this happened was pain. And I ended up being in pain and I'm still alive. And it's really been pretty manageable overall. Honestly I don't think anything really compared with the fear of getting them out in the first place. And i would rather not have awful health problems so its all been really worth it.

ANSAIDS make me dizzy, too. I also feel like I've lost a ton of weight. Tonight I ate cheesesticks. They were a welcome treat.

I was able to eat some mashed avocado. Even now the only way I could eat a banana would be to mash it! Haha.

I think we're both almost out of the woods. The dentist said my jaw pain should end by the weekend. All in all it really wasn't as bad as I thought! Just another few weeks of my life over - and a good way to lose weight, eh? I hope you are feeling okay!

 

[soozypoo]

hey there maggypies

ouch that doesnt sound pleasant i hope its getting better for you,i think u hit the nail on the head when you said about the fear and the fear of the afterpain being far worse than the actual procedure

id been told about 8 yrs ago that my impacted wisdom tooth would need to be removed in hospital and they would write me a referral but the thought made me literally shake and feel so sick,and as i never had a problem with it i thought i'll leave it be hahahah,and told them so lol.

i swear it was fear from things being the same as when i had teeth out as a kid and remembering the gas and the spitting blood and i was not gonna go thru that trauma again lol.
And i was convinved i would not wake up again,but like you say we have been thru it and lived 2 tell the tale,and we know that we are better off than had we left things longer

i havent taken any painkillers for about 5 days or so now (only for a headache yesterday lol) i have managed so far to avoid any problems,the main thing thats annoying me is the dam stitches,i thought they would have dissolved by now but i can feel them flapping on the back of my tongue and it makes me heave lol it looks like bits of dental floss hanging off my gums blerghhhh i want the dam things gone as they are startin 2 make my gums feel tight when i try and laugh it feels odd.

i am kinda back on my normal diet again now,i had a chinese takeaway last night,but still chew on the opposite side lol,how were the cheesesticks btw?
i was enjoying the weight loss heheheeh but now i started eating again it is slowly going back on guess i will have 2 get bak 2 doing some exercise again,or book in 2 have more teeth out hahahahaha.

hope you have a good weekend and can start eating properly again soon

 

[maggypies]

Hey Soozy - do you get the stitches out? Or are they dissolvable? I didn't have any - I have so much gum hanging out in there that I didn't need 'em.

I'm almost 100%. The dentist said the pain would go away over the weekend and it did. I didn't have any stitches so really there's nothing back there to cause any issues but some holes.

Right? We deal with things like skinned knees, menstrual cramps, tummyaches, but for some reason this was a huge huge deal to me. The pain would have been more manageable had I not been too ambitious about trying to eat too soon. Compared to even some of the hangovers I've had, this was a walk in the park! Hahaha!

I'm anxious to know when you're 100%. Keep me updated. Have you gone back for the follow up yet?

 

[soozypoo]

hi maggypies

good to hear u have now almost fully recovered,same here lol i took the kids to pizza hut on monday and tried to get used to chewing again on that side,felt odd as i been used to using one side of my mouth since last november hehehe
as i was chewin i felt this stringy thing moving around which was pretty yukky,later that day it came out blergh all i was left with was the one in the top,and that came out in my sleep last night i woke up n felt a clump on my tongue and sleepily fished it out yehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hehehe finally back to normal,and like you there is just a slight dent in my gum from where the teeth used to be
but apart from that im fully 100% back to normal now.My jaw can open again without feeling stiff,i just not keen on when my tongue touches where the teeth used to be blerghhhhhh,but i guess i will get used to it hehehe
I was never asked to go back to either the hospital or my dentist for a follow up so i guess they dont do any check up here to see how everything went lol.

i totally agree with what you said about everything we go thru in life and this just seemed to be the biggest fear ....ever to me as well and now we have made it through it does tend to make you think what the heck was i worrying so much about,but i know that if i hadnt been put to sleep there was no way on earth i coulda gone thru it awake

my dentist referred me to orthodonist to discuss braces as i have a tooth on the opposite side that was pushed back slightly due to overcrowding,im meant to go on friday but i dont know if to or not,as i know that to get that tooth back in line will 90% likely mean a tooth would have to come out and i know that i will not have the option to be knocked out this time,as it was only because of the awkwardness of the wisdom tooth that i managed to get a GA,and also due to the cost as im told this orthodontist is one that deals with invisalign i think they are put on the back of teeth so they cant be seen and the cost can be up to £5,000 and only deal with private patients and even if i had a dental plan it wouldnt cover this treatment,so im not sure if i will be wasting my time paying and going for the consultation when i know the chances of me going through with it are remote lol

but its good to hear that you are well on the mend at least this means we can try and help others who have the same fear as us at least feel a little less anxious about a procedure such as this

we should celebrate with a drink i think we both deserve it hehehehe xx

 

[Suzanne0522]

Hi ladies,
Good job on the wizzies! I got mine out on the 27th of july. Reading your posts is awesome, makes me feel not so alone. Thank you

Suzy

 

[maggypies]

Soozy and Suzy! Cool. Haha.

Sooz, I will gladly celebrate our full recovery with a drink. My biggest problem now is that I still have one big hole and I get quinoa and lentils stuck in there! But a quick swish and it's no biggie.

My upper left socket is completely closed. Cool huh? After only two weeks. I still get a little sore on the right side but I think I clench my teeth. I never noticed it before. I need to try to stop doing that. I think it's just from paying so much attention to my mouth after the surgery.

Suzy if you ever need anyone to talk to we are here. I have been PMing with people about General Anesthesia and wisdom teeth and I would be glad to share my experiences with you and be as upfront as possible. If you are nervous or need a helping hand give me a shout. Advice and help before my surgery were life saving! : )

Maggy

 

[soozypoo]

another suzy,my proper name is actually suzanne too lol

well done with the extractions btw,we all know now that we did the right thing and faced our fears,hope you are healing well

those dam lentils eh maggy i have kinda a hole part in one of mine that they removed(not wisdom)but it was at a strange place behind one of my teeth towards the roof of my mouth(i have no idea how that tooth managed to come thru as it did but had been that way since i was around 9/10 lol) they told me the hole will eventually go but every time i eat something it ends up heading straight 4 there hahaha then im constantly poking around with my tongue to try and get the offending food out
the 2 wisdom teeth and other back molar are closed as they were stitched tho i can see the little dents where the stitch thread was

but like u say swishing around with some water usually manages to do the trick.still not liking the bare gum feeling blerghhhhh pmsl,and i still find that i am eating on the opposite side even now i know there is no chance i will break any more parts of the tooth off as it not there anymore lol.i think its cus im partly worried that if i chew on the gum where the teeth were it will hurt i honestly dont know but hopefully i wont be chewing my food like a cow munching grass for much longer

heres a big to all of us

 

[maggypies]

Yeah, it's funny because the left side healed up so well, but the problem side is still gaping. It's annoying. Right now I am trying to eat some corn chowder and I'm still sore and gaping over there. But I think a lot of the problem is the tooth next to my socket had a really deep cavity and I still have pain in it. I think I need to just stay off the sockets but I'm ambitious. Haha.

My boyfriend told me to do this thing where you make this annoying noise and blow air through your holes once they've healed up to get the food out. It actually works really well but food flies out of your mouth and all over the place, so you have to find a good place to do it in. Hahhaa.

Have you sneezed yet Soozy? I hate sneezing. You can feel absolutely everything that's going on in those holes when you sneeze. It doesn't hurt but it's weird. haha.

All in all this was scary before I got it done but it's actually kind of cool to see what your body goes through, and the pain was manageable.

 

[Suzanne0522]

Hi suzy and maggy,
Today one of my stitches came out on the top right side.. freaked me out way bad, guess it didn't dissolve all the way. Had a small panic attack, scared it wasn't supposed to fall out so soon. I convinced myself its part of the natural process.
My follow up is tomorrow I'm excited to show off all the extra room in my mouth.

I totally know what you mean with the lentils. I'm vegetarian and after a couple days tried to eat some. Did not work at all. I mainly lived off of pureed watered down split peas, rice, brocolli with milk. And wet bread.. ewww I know, not the biggest fan of sweets. Plus I developed thrush and thought maybe all the pudding isn't the best right now.
Glad to know you both are healing well.

I'm going to try some air pressure experiments now

 

[soozypoo]

hahaha the air experiment thing sounds cool,ill try it when the kids are in close range

yes i have sneezed cpl of times which felt quite odd but the weirdest thing was blowing my nose,like u say u can feel everything in the socket ..quite fascinating lol.

and suzy number 2 i know what u mean about the stitches,mine were pretty yukky and kinda just hung there when i spoke or ate they were hanging on my tongue i kept feeling them blerghhhhhhhhhh and i never wanted to touch or prod them to hurry them up they made me feel creepy lol.Hope ur recovery going well btw and you also maggy

well i went for my orthodontist appointment 2day,had a 30-40 min consultation,but in adults treatment can only be done privately not nhs,unless you a kid,she took loads of pics of my mouth blergh
and made me stand there and smile which was horrid cos i hate one of my teeth which due to crowding was pushed slightly back and it being at the top next to my front teeth i find is real noticeable,then they showed me on a screen which was even worse it looks like i have no tooth there at all lol

she thinks i can get the treatment done to pull that tooth forward without the need to have any extractions,which is all good,the only problem is the price lol

almost £4,000 now i'd love to have perfectly straight teeth(who wouldn't) but at what cost????

i know the results would last for life but to spend that kinda money,she did say that if it is something that obviously bothers you then you will be so happy to see the end result,and i know i would
but as i dont work atm so no income and training as a driving instructor im gonna have to fund myself a car to instruct in and i've just paid out £2,500 for that training so i now have loads of thinking to do,when you first start in business it gonna take ages to make profit and i dont wanna get myself in loads of debt and i dont think my bf 2 happy at the thought of me spending £4,000 on my teeth,think how many holidays i could have with that heeheheh.

everyone says to me why do u want it doing theres nothing wrong with your teeth,its not noticeable,but i know its there hahahah and feel that everyone stares at it,as most ppl instantly spot defects on other folks teeth rite?
i mean i have a friend who got exactly the same and i can see it on her,so ppl can see it on me,and if i have pic taken i always smile with my mouth closed lol
arggggggggggh what to do lol