Thanks again to everyone who commented on my previous post about
wisdom teeth removal. No shopping spree for me...I took the IV sedation. I had to - I was a
nervous wreck yesterday. Here's how it went down...
I tossed and turned the entire night before the surgery. I woke up super tired and starving b/c they said I couldn't eat anything 8 hrs before the surgery. At this point, I still hadn't decided 100% which anesthesia method to choose. I was trying to talk myself into doing just the local anesthesia, but it was pretty obvious to myself just how nervous I was. I got ready, said some prayers, and around 9:15am, we got in the car and headed to the surgeon's office. I considered telling my hubby to turn around the entire ride over. "Do I really need to get these wisdom teeth out?" I pondered. We arrived at the office park and saw a girl getting wheeled out to her mother's car with gauze in her mouth...I figured she must have just finished up getting her teeth done. Lucky!
The office park had one main entrance and about 20 offices inside. When we walked through the main entrance, I was surprised to see it had this really nice inside garden area that I found slightly relaxing. Lots of pretty greenery and a quiet ambiance. We found the office of my surgeon, and I signed in. Another girl came in the door about five minutes after me with (who I guessed to be) her mother and grandmother. I noticed she looked extremely nervous, too, and when she said to her fam, "I'm having second thoughts," I wanted to tell her, "Hey, let's get out of here...we don't need to get wisdom teeth out, right?" But, I kept my mouth shut and gave her a nervous smile. Minutes later, I was called back by the nurse or surgeon's assistant or whoever he was. He was very nice and tried to joke with me so I would laugh and wouldn't be so nervous. He took me to the room where they would do the procedure. It was very stark and empty - just a gray chair, white walls, and some silver trays and tools. The room freaked me out, to be honest. It was about then I realized that I would absolutely have to be sedated. I asked the nurse if most people were sedated and he said yes. He went on to explain that it's easier for the patient and surgeon if the patient is asleep b/c otherwise, they are (without intending to) fighting against each other and also how there are things you hear and see that the surgeon is used to, but may frighten the patient.
He didn't have to talk me into it any more...I was ready for the IV sedation. He started by hooking me up to the heart monitor with three sticky pads that had little wires connected to them. The monitor beeped quite quickly showing the nurse and me just how nervous I was. He even commented that it sounded like I had just run three miles! lol It was then I knew that I made the right decision to be sedated. The nurse covered me up to my shoulders with a blanket (which I found to be a bit more comforting) and put the finger-monitor on my right arm's pointer finger. He then put an oxygen-thingy in my nose. Shortly thereafter, the surgeon came in all jolly like a grandpa (which was one of my favorite things about him - it helped me feel a bit more relaxed). He made small talk with me for a bit, asking about my job and what not and then said, "This will hurt just a little bit" as he put the first needle in my arm. I had read before that Versed worked quickly, but when roughly 30 seconds after receiving the dose, I felt really, really, really drowsy, I remarked, "Hey, this stuff does work fast!" That's the last thing I remember before waking up with gauze in my mouth. It was perfect - I don't know how some of you guys could be awake for your wisdom teeth removal (you guys are brave!), but I am so glad I chose the IV sedation. I think if I were younger, I could have handled it better. I mean, I had four teeth pulled when I was a teen without hardly blinking, but I guess the older I get, the more I overthink things or something.
Anywho, just wanted to check in to say that everything went well and I'm just going to be recovering over the next week or so. I've got lots of yogurt, pudding, applesauce, mashed potatoes, and other soft foods to chow down on. So far, so good, but man, could I use a burger!? lol :)
Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and kind words!
