spike

Thanks to everyone who called or emailed to inquire about the surgery. Everything went well with the procedure from what I could tell, and apparently I was very talkative as I was coming out of sedation. At the time, I was under the impression that I had been awake for the whole thing, but that would be impossible. This is what did happen, to the best of my memory:

The anaesthesiologist or dentist’s helper (I’m not sure who was who) said they’d start me off with oxygen and laughing gas, so she placed a mask over my nose. I had been administered nitrous oxide before so I expected to begin slipping into sleep. However, I was staying blissfully aware of my surroundings. When she asked how I was feeling, I said I was fine, but still aware.

They inserted an IV into my arm and began feeing me what I believe was sugar-water. This, also, was doing nothing to calm me — I’m nervous around surgical equipment. The food was somewhat refreshing since I had been instructed not to eat or drink anything for eight hours prior to the appointed time for the surgery. At this time, I was informed that I’d be receiving the sedative intravenously.

The dentist came in and told me he was going to begin the drugs. Everything else is hazy, but I must have been somewhat aware of at least part of the operation, which is why I later told Amy that I had been awake for the whole thing.

The next thing I remember without a doubt is being in a different room — a hallway — on a bench, in the process of sitting up from a prone position, next to Amy. The dentist came by and shook my hand. Someone else was there to give me instructions for taking the various drugs (penicillin and hydrocodone bitartrate). Luckilly, Amy was more conscious than I at the time and was able to remember the instructions. I barely remember taking out my credit card to pay for the procedure. (Let’s hope it doesn’t take my insurance too long to reimburse me.)

Over the weekend, I have been gradually reintroducing “chewing” to my daily activities. I’m not fully there yet, but at least I haven’t had any kind of problems with the surgery yet — knock on wood. There’s still a slight possibility that something will go wrong with the stitching or I’ll get the dreaded dry socket. It does seem like everything is progressing normally, and at this point, there’s very little pain — just a mild uncomfortability that can be controlled with the drugs.

More about this “well-orchestrated” weekend later…

My electricity went out (as did at minimum the power for my neighboring apartments, street lamps, and possibly traffic lights as I heard police cars from that general direction) last night at around 10:30pm. I decided I might as well go to sleep. I was jolted from bed about an hour later when a couple of lights I left on regained power — I left them switched on so I’d know when power returned.

I got up, checked my email one last time, and went back to sleep. Speaking of sleep, my new bed is the greatest thing I’ve ever known. Since buying the new bed, I’ve been sleeping wonderfully. It is a little wide when I’m in it alone, though.

Funny, I thought I posted this here all ready.

I have an appointment this Friday to have my wisdom teeth extracted. People have been kindly sharing their scary pain stories, so I can’t say I’m looking forward to the event. At least I’ll be taken care of well with Jell-O, soup and other foods not requiring mastication. Somehow, I thought scheduling the surgery the day before I’m traveling to Baltimore would be a good idea. Actually, I didn’t have many options open — it had to be a day when someone was free to drive me. Yes, they’re going to make sure I’m completely drugged through the whole thing.