Wisdom Teeth Surgery: The Recount

Hello all,
Last month I had all four wisdom teeth removed! Whilst this is a seemingly easy surgery, this was the first surgery I was going to be having as a spoonie. I had no idea how my body would react to the actual surgery and how recovery would be afterwards.
I mentioned in my last health update (link is here) that there was a lot of drama surrounding the Pre-Admission for surgery. I was very anxious during the Pre-Admission and combined with a blood pressure cuff that was too small (it was so unbelievably tight that I saw white spots and almost passed out) and a nurse telling me how fat I was (charming), my blood pressure sky rocketed. And by that I mean my reading was 210/165. Now, I am hesitant to believe that was my actual blood pressure, and the doctor did say he didn't believe it was either. But with readings like that I had to have a lot of tests to check I didn't have something wrong with my heart or a tumor on my kidneys.
My surgery was booked for August 10, so I had 3 weeks to have several tests done and start blood pressure medication. To cut a long story short, nothing is wrong with my heart (after a scare that I had a prolonged QT) and I'm on blood pressure meds. After having another Pre-Admission appointment I was cleared and ready for surgery!
I hadn't had surgery before in a public hospital. Call me a snob but having private health care, I had all my previous surgeries at a Private Hospital. To compare my experiences, I felt the public system was more thorougher at ensuring I was in fact fit for surgery. At the time I resented having to have all those tests but I did learn I was in need of an iron transfusion so that was a benefit.
The day of surgery, waiting beforehand was rather weird- you waited in a waiting room with a bunch of other people and were called back when it was time for you to have surgery. In the Private Hospital you were given your own bed to chill out on whilst you waited. Maybe in hindsight it created more anxiety waiting in a bed but I liked the fact I could lay down. With my bad back, those chairs at the Public Hospital were super uncomfortable.
Anyway, right before surgery, in the waiting bay, I was rather anxious. Anxious of post-surgery and the pain. I haven't mentioned yet that my biggest fear for this surgery was afterwards and how I would manage the pain. The fact that I am on such strong pain medication all day, I was concerned whatever I took wouldn't work. The anaesthetist discussed this with me and strongly encouraged I take panadol, nurofen and endone every four hours to stay on top of the pain for the first 3-5 days.
I remember when I was in the surgery room, I was knocked out a lot faster then I ever had been! I was also given C-PAP prongs that shot 100% oxygen through my nose.  Apparently it helps you wake up more alert. Side note: I didn't have any sinus issues for over a week after that. I found that interesting!
I woke up in the recovery bay without any pain. No pain! I had been given a local in my mouth so I knew I had a few hours without any pain. Looking around me, all the other surgery patients (who had also had their wisdom teeth removed) looked extremely sorry for themselves. Yet here I was, feeling refreshed and ready to go home! One of the nurses mentioned that because I deal with chronic pain on a daily basis, I know how to deal with pain mentally. She was right. I will discuss more about what I learnt about myself and my body in my next post: Wisdom after Wisdom Teeth Surgery.
On the way home Mum grabbed me a drink. I have always thrown up after being put under so I was very concerned that would also be the case this time. The recovery nurse encouraged me to drink and mentioned that sometimes just having something in your stomach does help the nausea. It definitely helped mine and I didn't throw up! I also had a red raw throat from having the tube down my throat.
When I got home it was about 8 pm so I continued drinking up a storm, set alarms for every four hours for pain medication and went to sleep. I was very proud of how I was doing post-surgery.
The days after surgery I did well. I managed to rest a lot, continued my pain management and followed the post op instructions (I can go more into that if anyone wants to know- please comment below). The hospital also called the day after surgery to check on me which I thought was nice!
I was feeling good. A little too good. And by Day 4/5 post op the flare hit. I was expecting it and was shocked it took so long to happen! I continued my pain management and continued to rest as much as I could. I listened to my body, withdrew from social media and rested. The flare lasted 2 or so weeks, and I just allowed it to happen and didn't fight it. I believe that was what ensured my flare didn't continue any longer.
Two weeks post op I saw my oral surgeon. That was interesting. He walked into the room saying "brutal". I was a little confused! He told me that my surgery was the most brutal of the day, as my teeth were so hard to get out. He mentioned that some of my jaw bone had been removed along with the teeth. He said that because of this he expected me to take longer to heal and be in pain for longer then the normal surgery. I didn't think that my pain was too bad, but I knew how to control my pain for the most part so maybe that's why I wasn't crying in pain. But I felt very proud of myself after hearing that.

In my next post I am going to discuss what I learnt about my body during the recovery process. I believe it was a really important learning curve for me and really want to share it with those spoonies who may have an upcoming surgery, or are interested in some insight into how amazing spoonie bodies and minds really are!

Until next time,
Gentle hugs
Bridget