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…