Wisdom tooth surgery?

[Drakey]

So I got 4 wisdom teeth out on Wednesday and I didn't hurt too bad the first day because I was still doped up on the painkillers. Yesterday my mom stopped letting me take my painkillers, so I had to make do with ibuprofen all day yesterday and the pain was pretty minimal. When I woke up this morning I felt ok until I drank some tea and then the pain became excruciating again and I was able to pop a vicodin, but I still kind of hurt. How long is it gonna take for me to be able to get back to normal and have no more pain? I want to be able to eat real food and smoke cigarettes again Can anybody tell me how long this bullshit might last?

[jvn95]

I had all four of mine pulled out last year, the pain will go away pretty much in a week, and the only pain you will have is if you have extreme temperatures with foods like ice cream or hot soup. then after that the "surgery holes" will be there for about 2 months before they completely heal up and you won't have to worry about food getting stuck in there every time you eat.

And keep an ice pack on it at all time for the first couple of days along with some form of painkiller. It helps you recover quickly. Don't do ANY form of suction for a while like a straw, or youll get dry socket.

If you have any other questions about this, feel free to ask.

Best wishes.
-J

[Drakey]

Originally Posted by jvn95

I had all four of mine pulled out last year, the pain will go away pretty much in a week, and the only pain you will have is if you have extreme temperatures with foods like ice cream or hot soup. then after that the "surgery holes" will be there for about 2 months before they completely heal up and you won't have to worry about food getting stuck in there every time you eat.

And keep an ice pack on it at all time for the first couple of days along with some form of painkiller. It helps you recover quickly. Don't do ANY form of suction for a while like a straw, or youll get dry socket.

If you have any other questions about this, feel free to ask.

Best wishes.
-J

how long till I can do suction like straws and cigarettes and stuff again?

[Chip]

Be really, really careful with the straws and cigs. If you go back to them too early, you run the strong risk of dislodging the clots that protect the extraction holes and giving yourself dry socket, which hurts like *hell* (or so I'm told.) I think they normally say wait at least a week.

And... just a thought... if you've gone several days without the cigs, you might never have a better chance or incentive to give them up permanently. I'm sure you know the health risks, but if you haven't seen someone actually die (last moments) of lung cancer, you don't really get how serious it is. Might seem like that's a long way away, but cigs are among the most addictive things out there and so if you're thinking about quitting, there's no time better than when you have a strong need to not smoke.

[Drakey]

Originally Posted by Chip

Be really, really careful with the straws and cigs. If you go back to them too early, you run the strong risk of dislodging the clots that protect the extraction holes and giving yourself dry socket, which hurts like *hell* (or so I'm told.) I think they normally say wait at least a week.

And... just a thought... if you've gone several days without the cigs, you might never have a better chance or incentive to give them up permanently. I'm sure you know the health risks, but if you haven't seen someone actually die (last moments) of lung cancer, you don't really get how serious it is. Might seem like that's a long way away, but cigs are among the most addictive things out there and so if you're thinking about quitting, there's no time better than when you have a strong need to not smoke.

I wasn't thinking of quitting them altogether per se. I more was thinking this would be a good opportunity to majorly cut down since I've been smoking a lot more than I usually do (which really wasn't a lot by cigarette addict standards). I still really like to smoke, I just want to do it less so I can enjoy it with less health risks.
I'm trying to avoid getting the clots to dislodge, I have a follow-up appointment on Wednesday, so I'm thinking I might be ok by then?

[justinf]

I had a tooth taken out through surgery three years ago (after a stupid dentist -- not my own -- tried taking it out himself, and failed, leaving me with a half-teared, exposed tooth nerve, and excruciating pain). Anyway, Drakey pretty much said it all. The pain lasted for maybe a week, first three days being the worst. After that it only hurt when I'd forget I had stitches and a hole, and would eat bread or something with that side of my mouth, or when I'd suck on it (which I did a lot, don't know why). The stitches vanished in about three weeks (don't know if you have any?), and the hole where the tooth had been completely healed in two or three months.

I don't think sucking on a straw is gonna do any harm, though, in my honest opinion.. I went on a holiday six days after surgery, and I drank a looooot of cocktails, using straws. It didn't hurt at all, and there were no problems whatsoever with the healing process. So I'd say just wait one week so the worst has gone, and then I think as long as it doesn't hurt, you can suck on straws, just be a little careful I don't know about the cigarettes, though...

[Drakey]

I didn't get any stitches. I'm also rather fond of using water pipes to smoke tobacco and I know those are more dangerous to use because it creates negative pressure. I just read that after 72 hours it's pretty much safe, but I think I'm going to wait up till about a week.

[Gravity]

I just had my wisdom teeth out a couple weeks ago, and from what the dentist told me, I would avoid any straws, smoking, etc. for as long as you can handle - certainly until the follow-up appointment. My diet was limited strictly to ice cream, warm (not hot) soup (the tea, if it was hot, probably was more than your sockets could handle), applesauce, and water (no carbonated drinks).

Since it's only been two days, you're still in the time when clots could be easily dislodge and form dry sockets (very painful), so I would be as careful as you can, at least until the weekend, and preferrably until the follow-up. When you go, ask them about ways to keep your mouth clean and such, if they didn't already tell you some, and do those things.

Also, get your mom to surrender the vicodin, and take that stuff as much and as long as you feel like. They give it to you for a reason, and the day after is WAY too soon to give it up. Unless you take them all at once, it would be hard to cause any damage to yourself with a single prescription (I'm guessing they gave you a 20 count of 5/500? In any case, one or two pills every few hours should do it - more pain than that, and you should call the dentist).

[Drakey]

Originally Posted by Gravity

I just had my wisdom teeth out a couple weeks ago, and from what the dentist told me, I would avoid any straws, smoking, etc. for as long as you can handle - certainly until the follow-up appointment. My diet was limited strictly to ice cream, warm (not hot) soup (the tea, if it was hot, probably was more than your sockets could handle), applesauce, and water (no carbonated drinks).

Since it's only been two days, you're still in the time when clots could be easily dislodge and form dry sockets (very painful), so I would be as careful as you can, at least until the weekend, and preferrably until the follow-up. When you go, ask them about ways to keep your mouth clean and such, if they didn't already tell you some, and do those things.

Also, get your mom to surrender the vicodin, and take that stuff as much and as long as you feel like. They give it to you for a reason, and the day after is WAY too soon to give it up. Unless you take them all at once, it would be hard to cause any damage to yourself with a single prescription (I'm guessing they gave you a 20 count of 5/500? In any case, one or two pills every few hours should do it - more pain than that, and you should call the dentist).

I had a coke at the movies today but I didn't sip it through a straw, so I think I should be ok. Right now I'm waiting for some soup to cool down because I know I'm not supposed to eat hot stuff right now. My mom already tossed all of the vicodin so this is gonna be my cross to bear v.v I've been rinsing every day, and I think I'll be ok by Monday to return to all the stuff I used to do...I'm hoping.

[KaraBulut]

Post-operative swelling and pain peaks between 48-72 hours after surgery. Any surgery.

During that time, it makes sense to use pain medication liberally. What we've discovered is that pain is like a fire. It's much easier to control a fire when it's smoldering. It's far more difficult to put out a fire once it's a raging fire. With pain, once you get to the point where it is really hurting a lot, it takes much more medication than if you would take the medication early when you feel it starting to hurt.

You might consider nicotine gum to satisfy your nicotine craving temporarily. It will also help you not smoke until the sockets have healed.

Not to lecture but people who have read this forum know that I'm not a fan of smoking anything. The problem with smoking isn't as much the buzz from the nicotine, it's that smoke damages your lungs, causes premature aging and over the years, really does a number on your circulatory system. On the short term, you'll heal better without the smoke in your mouth and carbon dioxide/monoxide in your blood. If you can work through the cravings and cut back on the smoking part, it's a good thing to do- for the short-term and hopefully for the long-term.

[Mej7]

My friend recently had her wisdom teeth pulled...
I have to agree with your first responce to this thread...
smoking is really not good for you. Have you tried quitting?
I really wish you would... I wouldn't want you to go through what my cousin Phylis did- it killed her. She got lung cancer, and it wasn't a painless, quick death. She really suffered, and it had an effect on everyone around her as well, because they were hurt emotionally. It felt so helpless- there was nothing we could do to save her. Don't let that be you. Please.


P.s. Do you like poetry? If so, you should check out this one:
Andrea Gibson - "Birthday" (Keuka College - September 30, 2009) - YouTube
It really is beautiful, and there is a line I think you should hear.

[Chip]

Originally Posted by Drakey

I wasn't thinking of quitting them altogether per se. I more was thinking this would be a good opportunity to majorly cut down since I've been smoking a lot more than I usually do (which really wasn't a lot by cigarette addict standards). I still really like to smoke, I just want to do it less so I can enjoy it with less health risks.

Of course it's your choice, but let me share with you a pretty chilling statistic: A very large, long-term study (over 5000 people) was published some years ago. They started with people who smoked less than once a month in their teen years and asked a series of questions, including whether the subject intended to become a regular smoker. About 95% said no, they did not. Five years later, they interviewed the same group. Of that group, about 70% were now regular, addicted smokers, between a half-pack and a pack a day.

Of the 70%, nearly all (over 90%) said they intended to quit within the next 6 months.

Five years later, about 60% of the group that intended to quit smoking within the next 6 months were still addicted smokers, smoking on average 1 to 1-1/2 packs a day.

Nicotine is among the most addictive substances there is, and the tobacco companies have spent billions of dollars testing and manipulating cigarettes to make them as addictive as humanly possible. I can say, based on the above study, and other data, that it will be nearly impossible to cut down, because you're fighting billions of dollars in research designed to ensure that you *can't* cut down. You can deny that you'll be in the lot that's still addicted later in life, but the statistics show otherwise.

So... I hope you'll think about it. There are much more pleasurable things in life than filling your lungs with toxic smoke.

[Drakey]

I appreciate all of you caring about my health and stuff. I really did want to cut down and stuff. I'd rather not go over all of the reasons why I'm apathetic about my health these days..long sad story. I've been off cigarettes for a week about now, and I think it may be me quitting for good. I was starting to develop a hacking cough anyways >.> I think the occasional cigar will do me well.
I feel a little better today...just really nauseous for some reason..and a bit sore

[KaraBulut]

Originally Posted by Drakey

I feel a little better today...just really nauseous for some reason..and a bit sore

Quite often, there's some bloody drainage from the surgical site. When swallowed, that drainage can cause some nausea. Also be sure that you're not taking the pain medications on an empty stomach, which can make the nausea worse.

[Drakey]

Ugh today I woke up so much worse than I was yesterday x.x I don't think it's a dry socket though because it's more the bottom of my jaw hurting rather than a specific area. Maybe it's just my teeth shifting back for some extra space. I'm really fed up with feeling like crap

[alwayshope11]

Took me about a week

[Drakey]

woke up this morning still in extreme pain >.>

[Mlpguy88]

Originally Posted by Drakey

woke up this morning still in extreme pain >.>

I'm sorry, do you have any Vicodin because that stuff helped me alot. When I had mine pulled I was eating steak by day 5. I had to eat like a beaver using my front teeth but it still worked, my dentist also gave me something to flush out my teeth and that helped too. I would say just to take it easy and eat as many soft food as possible, that should ease the strain on your teeth.

Hope this helps, it worked for me

[Drakey]

my mom threw out all of my vicodin I've been able to eat more solid foods, my jaw is just super super sore and it feels like I have a lot of pressure on my jawbone.

[Mlpguy88]

That make sense, more chewing will make it more sore, the first few days I survived on apple sauce and pudding. But why would she throw out your Vicodin? It's not like you are getting hooked.