The Drill

So. I've just been de-wisdom toothed. All of them at once. Which, apparently, was three - I already had one extracted some time ago, and memory decided that that was worth concealing from me. But it's been quite the buildup of anxiety for me, because my one sister was violently ill and took two weeks to recover, while my other sister was up and on her feet within the same day of the operation. I had no idea where I'd land.

Fortunately, it looks like I've landed in the latter camp. I'm feeling quite well - not a lot of pain, not sick, fairly lucid all the way around.

I should mention, though, that I was put under for this little operation. My first time that I've been under IV sedation, and it was an interesting experience. They set me up first - breathing tube, those little round patches placed on your chest with wires, and a little clamp for your finger. After getting me rigged up, the assistant left while we waited for the surgeon to appear. It took me a few minutes of watching the monitor itself to understand that the top graph was my pulse and that the low one was my respiratory rate. I got my pulse down to 51 at its lowest, usually around 60, and my respiration to 6. Whatever that number means. It was actually really fascinating for me - the dental assistant gave me the TV remote so I could watch something while I waited, but I didn't bother because I was way more intrigued by my own vitals. Noticed how my pulse jumped to ~80 whenever I stretched, and how my breathing varied when I talked. How both naturally slowed when I played through some more comforting memories in my head. It was really cool.

Eventually, the surgeon arrived and inserted the IV into my hand. That was pretty nervewracking - I was pretty anxious, as I'm not overly fond of needles and I'd never had this particular proceedure done to me before. But I kept an eye on my pulse, and kept it below 65 while I felt the cold metal puncture my skin, how odd it felt to have it travel in, and how alarmingly easy it moved once it found its way into the artery. Psychologically terrifying in a way, and physically peculiar in an other. Then they hooked me up to the sedation drugs, and I remember watching my vision start to feel wobbly before I woke up at the end of the surgery from what felt like was the middle of a nap.

Almost as if my sleep cycle was stuck somewhere in the middle - I was conscious but groggy. Didn't have an issue putting on and tying my shoes, but the discussions going on around me where wrapped in a layer of fog, and Earth's gravitational pull seemed a bit... Wobbly. But unlike the many stories I've heard about people doing hi-larious things after coming around (reportedly, my one sister laughed at everything, while the other sister stopped to take a short nap on every lamp post between the dentist's office and the car), I did nothing overly noteworthy.

It's an odd thought that I don't remember anything between starting the sedation and the end of the procedure, especially considering that I was supposed to have been in a semi-alert state. I feel like I've been robbed of some of the precious time of my consciousness - I experienced something, and then it was immediately whisked away from me. And then we rewind several paragraphs to where I had forgotten that I had already had a wisdom tooth extracted before, and maybe it shouldn't be so shocking. I know that my memory is not one of the sharpest tools in my inventory, but I guess the extreme immediacy of this one unnerves me a bit.

Aside from that, I'm feeling fairly recovered. I need to be under supervision for 24hrs following the 'operation', two very good friends got me to and from the dentist and have been taking awesome care of me, even letting me stay the night. I've been taking some meds, watched a lot of Top Gear and saw Looper (which was a freaking awesome movie - there were several really great moments in there with some neat twists and clever storytelling. I give it 9/10).

I ate some yogurt and applesauce in the afternoon, and then my one friend made spaghetti for dinner. Now, I'm technically supposed to be on nothing but soft foods for 3-5 days, but she makes a mighty fine spaghetti. Luckily for me, they recently got a baby-food processor, so we shoveled some pasta and spaghetti sauce into it, and blended it up real good. And man, it was weird. The tastes were no longer isolated, but merged together, and there was zero sense of texture aside from that of mush. I knew I was eating spaghetti, and it tasted like spaghetti. But my head had a small freak-out, because without the textures I was expecting and the way the flavours of the tomato sauce, meat and pasta were supposed to be allocated... It didn't quite make sense. After that bowl of pasta-paste, I ended up eating a very small bowl of Ye Traditional Spaghetti, being super careful with my chewing so I didn't upset anything.

Anyways. 'Tis late. I need to sleep. One thing's for sure, though, it's super-awesome to have people that are totally willing to care for you and help out when you need to get this kind of work done. Warm and fuzzies, people. Warm and fuzzies everywhere.
-Cril

I've been to the dentist a thousand times
So I know the drill
I smooth my hair, sit back in the chair
But somehow, I still get the chills

"Have a seat," he says pleasantly
As he shakes my hand and practically laughs at me
"Open up nice and wide," he says peering in
And with a smirk he says "Don't have a fit, this will just pinch a bit."
As he tries not to grin

When hygienists leave on long vacations
That's when dentists scream and lose their patience

Talking only brings the toothaches on me
'Cause I say the stupidest things
So if my resolve goes south
I'll swallow my pride with an aspirin and shut my mouth

Owl City - Dental Care