To start off with, under general anaesthetic, aren't you supposed to be totally "asleep" so to speak? I woke up twice - once to drilling and another time to stitches being pulled through my gum. Yeah, thanks Mr Anaesthesiologist-and-Dental-Surgeon all-in-one.
As a child, my dental record literally had a big red stamp on it that said "PHOBIA" so you can just imagine my horror waking up during a procedure like that! Even though I didn't feel pain the way I would have without most of the anaesthetic doing its job, it was quite traumatising... Particularly as I'll soon have to do it again for my other two wisdom teeth.
Now, perhaps I'm wrong and I wasn't supposed to be fully under, but they could have at least warned me that might happen. In a way I guess I'm glad it happened whilst just getting my wisdom teeth out. Can you imagine waking up during an appendectomy? Eek.
Then I was told to put ice on it straight away, but I live almost an hour away from my dental surgery, so my face inflated like a balloon. I didn't even get one of those wrap-around-your-head ice things everyone talks about getting when they get their wisdom teeth out, so even when I did get home, and since then, I've had to constantly hold up two ice packs to my face. Yes, that seems like a dumb thing to complain about, but you don't realise how much you need your hands until they're both occupied being numbed whilst trying to assist the numbing. For the first couple of days, taking those ice packs off your face for just a few seconds feels like your gums will explode.
To those yet to get their wisdom teeth out, I'm sorry if I've added to any concern you may have had already. Everyone's experience is different. I've heard horror stories and I've heard real success stories. There's really no use worrying until after it happens, and then, well, you can vent to the online world about it I guess...
Ugghhhh. I want real food.
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oh wow x_x
ReplyDeletethat's terrible.. i feel really sorry for you x_x i would hate to wake up mid-operation for ANYTHING. my faith in sleep drugs has narrowed..
i regret to say that i was sound asleep for all 4 of my teeth (in one go) btu it felt like a really short sleep..
Yeah, there's even this thing called 'anaesthesia awareness' where people are actually not given enough anaesthetic to fall completely asleep, but enough to paralyse them during the op to the point where they can't alert anyone.
ReplyDeleteI actually woke up, rather than stayed awake, so that's thankful. But it really freaks me out to think that could happen!
Yeah, anaesthesia always feels like such a short sleep, even for hours of surgery! It's so weird.
When Lucia got her teeth removed... Not to long ago... She wasnt asleep... She was supposed to be half out of it but I don't think it worked :P
ReplyDeleteIt didn't hurt her... The only thing that concerned her was she had a big headache, she said her head felt frozen from the freezing of her gums :)
She didn't swell up... And nothing hurts her...