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[mrissa]

My oral surgeon doesn't know many people.

He said, "You're one of the bravest people I've ever met." For getting my wisdom teeth pulled with only local anaesthetic. So I told him he needed to get out more. (Seriously. That bordered on offensive to me.)

Anyway, teeth out smoothly, trying to type while holding ice on my face, Vicodin kicking in, e-mails welcome.

Comments

[redbird]

I have had two wisdom teeth out, using Novocaine. It's got nothing to do with bravery: it was a combination of that being sufficient, and of being nervous about the idea of general anesthesia. (Yes, I know it's a lot safer than it used to be.)

It is possible that you're one of the bravest people your oral surgeon has met, but that's not why.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I hope I'm not. I would like for the level of bravery I estimate myself to have to be in the middle of the pack. Not that I wouldn't like to rise to the occasion, but that I would like other people to do so as well.

And I'm not comfortable with general anaesthesia, either, whenever I can avoid it. Some of my family members have had some trouble with it, and I would prefer not to test the boundaries there without some reason that's much better than some guy having to tap my head with a mallet. (He muttered, "Well, it bothers me." Sigh.)

[redbird]

If it bothers him, he should refer you to someone else, and then arrange for general anesthesia—or a quiet room with soft music and no dental instruments—for himself.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

That did bother me, yes: that the only oral surgeon my dentist would recommend was this guy, and that he had such strong bias for no medical basis he could tell me (I asked repeatedly).

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

oo, ow. my main memory about getting my wisdom teeth out is getting very sick due to my pain killers. make sure you're really clear on whether or not it's good to take them on an empty stomach, or what.

oh, I also remember my mom sitting next to me as I went under to the laughing gas, asking me, "what are you thinking?" I guess she was hoping I would say something really funny (or revealing). I was just confused why she was talking to me.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I'm hypoglycemic, so if I can't have something on a full stomach, I more or less can't have it at all. (Which is one of the reasons I didn't want to be sedated: it requires a fast of 8-12 hours, depending on who you ask. I have a tendency to fall over long before then.)

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

It's over! Yay! Maybe you're just scared of different things than me. Me, I like oblivion. Fear pulling and nasty crunching and squishing noises. Also, at 17, I was too young to be afraid of death from the anaesthesia. :-)

I get generally more cowardly as I age. I have just realized I am afraid, now that I am ancient, to ride horses. I was invited to ride along on a fox hunt with a friend, and I was struck with terror! How did that happen? I was once a horse crazy teenager who would have stayed up all night long waiting for a chance to ride in a fox hunt for free. (It's not a real hunt, lest anyone begin to get upset. I think it's more like a mass trail ride english style.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I have been unconscious without deliberate cause enough that the bloom has gone off the particular rose of oblivion, so to speak.

I was a fairly cautious kiddo, so I think I've actually gotten braver with time.

[loup_noir]

Did he give you your teeth? I have three and a half of mine. The half is because one fell out of the hiding place and the puppy got ahold of it for a few seconds.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

No, I did not get my teeth. You know the story about my Gran and her cataracts, right?

We had a good giggle about the puppy here. (My mom has ours for the night, which I appreciate more than I can say.)

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

Well, you're braver than I am. I had to be knocked out when I had all 4 yanked. One was fully impacted, two partially, and one fully out. I didn't need heavy pain meds tho, after. Just 3 Advils.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

One was partially and one fully here. But the pain this evening got much, much worse than I remember it getting with the left two. It hurt too bad to eat my ice cream, and it was the really good Blue Sky lemon cream ice, too.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

I don't remember what I ate the first day. It was in April, so maybe not ice cream. I remember more an annoying ache with the Advils than actual pain.

Hope you feel better soon.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Err. Why would April imply not-ice-cream?

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

hmmm..... Good point. I used to not bring the ice cream out til at least May, but.... :)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Every month is an ice cream month! If you eat it in the summer, it cools you off! If you eat it in the winter, it doesn't melt!

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

Now there's a rule to live by!

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Glad, on your behalf, that that's over with. Hope everything heals up real quick like.

[mkille.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it went smoothly, and I hope the healing goes smoothly as well.

[skwirly.livejournal.com]

If you tilt your head at just the right angle, you can precariously balance the bag of ice on your face until your neck decides that it is time for the ice to Go Away Please. Which is, in my humble hexperience, just enough time to type a) a brief livejournal post b) an email to one's sister-in-law or c) approximately half of a paragraph of really clever fiction. But the neck spasm so isn't worth it. And, for what it's worth, large bath towels do not in fact secure small slippery bags of ice to one's head effectively. But I hear the attempt is awfully amusing to watch.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Hee! I think my back problems would not thank me.

[one-undone.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear they came out okay and you're doing well. And really, however mediocre our feats of bravery may be when compared to others', I think it's better to be memorable to one's oral surgeon for our bravery than for bleeding which is difficult to control, or ridiculously poor hygiene, or excessive nose hair length, or other unpleasant things which come to mind. So being brave really isn't all that bad, if you think about it that way, now is it? :-D Hope your swelling goes down quickly and your soup is delicious, you brave and lovely lady!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I think he was thinking of me as the Stubborn B**** Who Will Regret This Choice when I walked in, so the fact that I was chuckling when he said funny things to the hygienist during the procedure definitely disconcerted him. And you're right, that's way better than the nose hairs.

[howl-at-the-sun.livejournal.com]

I am glad to here the surgery went well. I hope the recovery also goes smoothly and that you can eat icecream soon. Piece of advice: Make sure that there is not gauze in your mouth when you try to eat.

You made me think of teeth, which makes me think of crocodiles, so you get a poem that I came across recently.

The Purist
by Ogden Nash

I give you now Professor Twist,
A conscientious scientist,
Trustees exclaimed, "He never bungles!"
And sent him off to distant jungles.
Camped on a tropic riverside,
One day he missed his loving bride.
She had, the guide informed him later,
Been eaten by an alligator.
Professor Twist could not but smile.
"You mean," he said, "a crocodile."

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I love Ogden Nash.

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

The reason it was offensive is that what he was really saying was: "you're one of the stupidest people I've ever met." Because he thinks things should be done HIS way.

He wanted you under general because patients are easier to deal with when they're unconscious. You can yank their mouths open more, you can really dig in and rip those teeth out. If they're awake, you have to be more gentle and it takes longer.

Considering that there is a small risk of death from general anesthesia and none from local, I'd say you were smart and not "brave."

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

That's part of why it was offensive, and you're right, it was less convenient for him this way. He wouldn't say so when pressed, but that was a large part of it. (I think he honestly thought that it would be horrible to go through awake, though, and it was just not that traumatic.)

The other part is that I know people who go into burning buildings to save people regularly. I know people who work up-close-and-personal with all kinds of other people's bodily fluids infected with God knows what. I know people who face down chronic illness every day and still find a way to make a life out of it. And I'm brave because he pulled my teeth out? Come on, fella.

[rosefox]

I got my wisdom teeth out when I was 18 (all four at once, two of which had not yet emerged from the gums) under local anesthetic. This startled the oral surgeon considerably, as he had previously performed surgery on my father, who is extremely dentist-phobic and no doubt insisted on complete sedation. I explained that I was afraid of general anesthetic and would much rather be around to see what was going on. Unfortunately, he didn't let me have a mirror.

While recovering from the surgery, I learned that when one is taking opiate painkillers, it is possible to read a great deal of David Eddings. I also learned that when one is silly enough to go to the movies 36 hours after oral surgery, the people at the concession stand will be very nice and give you two cups of ice water to hold to your cheeks, and your friends will probably only make a few jokes about you being able to drink through your ears. This may or may not be useful to you. *)