Celiac and Wisdom Teeth: Part 2
The last time I talked to you all, I had four wisdom teeth and two normally-sized cheeks. Two days since my appointment, both of those traits have changed.
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| The new me! |
My actual appointment flew by. Around 11 on Thursday morning, I walked into the dentist office sporting my "Life is Good" t-shirt, my own form of sarcastic rebellion. An hour later, a nurse wheeled me out to our car, my mouth full of gauze and my brain fuzzy with drugs. No complications, no massive bleeding and no traumatic memories.
So, I suppose the surgery itself went smoothly - as smoothly as yanking out four teeth from a jaw bone can go. The recovery? It's been bumpy to say the least.
Honestly, I feel glutened. There's the post-surgery brain fog that fragments my memory into glances and blinks. Collapsing on the couch. Scanning my favorite blogs (and luckily not being stupid enough to try to write a coherent reply). Wobbling through the house to find water or use the restroom.
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| I'm feeling a little zombified... |
Then there's the full-body fatigue. Shaky legs? Check. Heavy feet? Check. Lack of motivation to move any portion of your body more than an inch? Check! In my last post, I said that the only thing worse than having my wisdom teeth removed would be getting glutened at the same time. I guess this spunky body of mine decided to accept the challenge. Go figure.
Beyond glutened-like symptoms, there is the most amusing result of wisdom teeth removal: the swelling. On the first day, it wasn't bad at all. I had a little squarer jaw, puffy at the bottom, and I joked that I looked like a supermodel who makes money off her weird bone structure. Then, it kept inflating…and inflating.
I've heard stories of people who experience little to no swelling and are munching on potato chips two days later. Me? This mutant chipmunk isn't leaving her home for a while now.
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| Swelling Day 2... |
Despite all of these nasty side effects, though, this wisdom teeth warrior is winning the battle. Even without the standard narcotics, my lovely friends Motrin and Tylenol are kicking pain's butt. Nausea attacks at random, but more meds - and as full a stomach as I can bear - lower the damage. And, although I can't gorge on Ben and Jerry's or instant breakfasts, I'm reviving my taste buds with green smoothies and applesauce.
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| More delicious than it looks! |
Things have changed since I last talked to you. The imagining and planning for wisdom teeth removal (not to mention the four teeth themselves) are gone, and full-body inflammation has taken it's place. Honestly, these last two days have stunk. I've cried, I've whined and I'm never going to complain about eating gluten free (solid) food ever again!
Even as I stare in the mirror at my swollen face, force my heavy limbs to the bathroom or choke down my third shake of the day, I try to focus on healing. I try to remember how I beat celiac after it whipped my butt for almost a year.
Wisdom teeth ain't got nothing on me.
Stay tuned for my last addition to the Celiac and Wisdom Teeth series, where I will dish on lessons learned, celiac tips and more!
How do you stay motivated during health issues? How was your recovery from wisdom tooth surgery? Comment below!
I didn't know how lucky I was when I had one wisdom tooth out a few years ago! I'd had decay and fillings in it over the years. When the most recent filling broke or fell out, my dentist told me that she couldn't fix it any more-- there wasn't enough left to do a filling and since it wasn't quite straight anyway, the best thing to do was to remove it; she referred me to a local dental surgeon. (You're probably familiar with the next bit.) He painted some stuff on my gums in that area, came back a while later and injected some anesthetic, came back still later, put his pliers in my mouth, popped the tooth out (not taking any longer to do than to tell about). Stuffed the area with cotton sticks until the (minor) bleeding stopped. They sent me away with instructions to eat only soft food for a week or so, chew only on the other side of my mouth (obviously not an option for you), avoid brushing teeth or anything else that would involve even mild suction or pressure in my mouth, and to use the prescription I was given if I needed stronger painkillers. I had no pain to speak of and no persistent swelling (at least nothing that made me uncomfortable about being seen, but then I have a full beard, so it may not have been so obvious).
ReplyDeleteAll of that was a few years before my more severe celiac symptoms began to set in (I really don't know how long gluten has been working it's nasty magic on me); I might not recover so quickly now. Now, a few years later, there's still a hole back of my last molar in that quadrant, but it causes me no problems. So that's what my recovery (from 1/4 of the trauma that you're going through) was like.
And that's why I count myself as having been pretty lucky.
I'd definitely agree with you that you were pretty lucky! Glad it worked out :) I will be super glad when I can talk about my recovery in past tense too ;) Thanks for sharing your story!
DeleteCasey! I am SO sorry about your wisdom teeth removal surgery, overall it stinks no matter what! Sending you healing vibes and some hugs your way <3
ReplyDeleteI stay motivated by focusing on the positive, and what I CAN do to improve the symptoms/issues, as opposed to wallowing in it (but don't worry, the positivity usually comes after a good cry session!)
I had THE WORST experience ever, I actually had a bad reaction to the anesthesia, my tongue swelled, and I bit a piece off of it post surgery. My tongue was so swollen doctors didn't realize it, sent me home and days later I was still in excruciating pain, from my missing tongue piece! I couldn't eat solid foods for a week and a half and got too sick from the pain meds, so it was awful to say they least THANK GOD IT'S ONLY DONE ONCE RIGHT :)
Thanks for the love and healing thoughts, Amber! I'll definitely take them! Yep, I agree with you on both points - crying is good sometimes, but most times it's best to enjoy the excuse for a TV marathon! ;) That sounds awful!!! At least my tongue is spared from this abuse. And I've been saying that at least I got them all out a once a billion times a day!! Thank goodness for small favors! :)
DeleteExtracting one wisdom tooth can be a tough ordeal -- what more if there were four? If there's any consolation, the actual procedure must've been painless for you. As for your current condition, you're taking it like a champ. If there's any silver lining, it is that you get to have all of the smoothies that you want. Get well soon!
ReplyDeleteJoo Kwon @ Westlake Dental Center
Thanks for the well wishes! Yep, thank goodness for anesthesia! And smoothies! Lots of smoothies! :D
DeleteI hope that your mouth is healing well. I remember when I had my wisdom teeth out. My cheeks blew up for a bit too, but it was so much better than dealing with any of the alternatives. http://www.omsoforegon.com/oral-surgery-medford-or/wisdom-teeth-medford-or.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for the healing wishes! It's finally feeling good, so I'm super excited about that! Wisdom teeth removal is definitely one of those lose-lose situations. You lose if you don't get them taken out, but taking them out can be a pain too!
DeleteCeliac and Wisdom Teeth: Part 2...
ReplyDeletereconstructive surgery
That’s the spirit, Casey! It’s just wisdom teeth, and not something you will have to deal with for a long time. The haziness or as what you like to call as “zombified” state will eventually go away. There are far worst dental cases that will give no choice but to put you in pain and treatment for a long time. Compared to that, this pain is absolutely easier to kick in the butt. Haha! Anyway, have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteKaren Perry @ Brookside Smiles
Hi Casey! Congratulations on the wisdom tooth removal. Having one removed could be a little tough, and the recovery time seem to take forever, but at least you get to have smoothies all the time, right? Haha! I see you’ve taken applesauce and smoothies, they actually do taste better than they look. Anyway, Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGarry Owen @ New Century Dental Group
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