Wisdom Teeth (Josh's this time)

Yesterday I (Josh) had my wisdom teeth removed at about 8:30 am. The surgery went really well, better than I expected in fact. Fortunately the surgeon who did the extraction was the same dentist that I've been seeing since I was a little kid, so felt pretty comfortable going in. After I got home and my face started to regain feeling, I had quite a bit of pain in my jaw, but the miracles of hydrocodone quickly got rid of that. Today it hardly hurts at all, but I'm still having trouble eating anything but liquid food. I just gummed down a bit of cheese, and although difficult, it didn't hurt at all, so I may try making myself some real food tonight.

My teeth hurt like a biiiiiiiiiiiiitch

I'm popping hydrocodone like Dr. House after he had a fight with Cuddy and some kid took his cane. Well not really, but that's what I feel like. Last night all I dreamed about was all of my current posessions being put in my second grade classroom at Garfield Elementary, and looking for my hydrocodone prescription. It was weird, becuase yesterday I was getting by with just Ibuprofen, but last night I felt like my jaws were in a vice.

PQing

Well today I had my physical and dental exam, and will be getting my wisdom teeth out next week. So far the PQing process hasn't been too hectic, although I did forget to get my TB skin test while at the doctor so I will need to go in and get that done. I will be moving up to Stanley, Idaho for the summer this Saturday so it will become much more difficult to come down for doctors visits after this week, although it will be great living in Stanley.

Not-So-Wise Teeth

If this post sounds rambly, it's because I'm on prescription drugs and it's late at night. As part of the PQ process, I got my wisdom teeth out today. I have what you might not call a "phobia" of needles, because I can get shots without completely flipping out and punching the nurse in the face or rampaging through the clinic (as I've heard from other horror stories) but my brain and needles don't really agree. It's some lingering vestige of childhood, a memory of unpleasant experiences with needles but no concrete reason for fearing the pain. As a result, I was given a Valium to take a half hour before the surgery. I think I was so freaked out that it didn't do much, but the nitrous oxide they gave me right before they put the IV in my arm sure did. The nurses said the actual extraction took only 10 minutes (did I imagine that? 4 wisdom tooth extractions seem like they would take longer than that) and most of the time was spent bringing me out of the anaesthesia. Josh was the best nurse ever, stopping by the pharmacy on the way home to pick up my hydrocodone (which I was told I should be excited about, but it's not that trippy...just takes away the pain) and we stopped at WinCo to get some bottles of Bolthouse Farms smoothie drinks. Knowing that I couldn't eat solid food today of course made me crave it incessantly, but after a fruit smoothie that Josh made and some slightly pureed chicken noodle soup he blended up, I at least had enough food in my stomach to assauge the nausea that hydrocodone causes (p.s. not fair at all.) As a self-evaluation, I feel like I'm healing quite quickly and nicely. The combination of hydrocodone, ice, and ibuprofen has numbed the gaping holes in the back of my mouth to a dull soreness; very manageable for me. I'm also very drowsy, and sleep will aid my healing. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, but I think it's going to turn out much better than I had expected.