Ouch!

Had my impacted tooth extracted last Tuesday afternoon. I thank myself for having the foresight to file for a vacation for last Wednesday a week before. That spared me a lot of sorrow. I was still in pain last Thursday, so I called in sick. Here's the day by day:

Day 1 - Went to the dentist by 2pm. He had already started drilling when I flinched real hard. He had hit a nerve. He had to inject me with another dose of anesthetic. I got a total of three shots. He drilled on. He eventually finished after an hour or drilling, pulling, cutting and sewing. By the time he finished, the right side of my lips were numb. Darned anesthetic was spreading. If only you could control where those blood vessel flowed. By the time I got home, I was bleeding a lot. The anesthetic was wearing thin. I had to place an icepack on my right jaw. I sipped on very cold water every now and then. By early evening, I had to eat cold oatemeal through a straw. It was the only way. Nothing more frustrating than to eat through a straw when you could smell the feast that awaited others.

Day 2 - Woke up in pain. When I got up, I realized that I had stained the pillow case with blood during the night. I started the day by gargling with a saline "cocktail" (actually, that's salt diluted in cold water). Helps kill the bacteria, heal the wound and so forth. I had to cook another batch of oatmeal to sip through the straw. By noon, I scrounged up a few packs of instant noodles. I cooked one pack, took a handheld blender and practically pureed the living daylights out of it. Again, I ate through the straw. But only after I put in a couple of ice cubes. It was still too hot, and I was already hungry. What was I supposed to do? By nightfall, I was feeling a bit better. The swelling was still there though. Painful too. Did I mention it hurt a lot???

Day 3 - I pretty much had to sleep off most of the day. Two days of moaning and groaning had exhausted me. My feeble attempts to chew were met with regarding cynicism by my nerve endings. They refused to be feeble even after three days of painkillers. I had to call in sick. I was too weak and in pain to go to work. Try eating around 30% of what you used to eat.

Day 4 - Went to work with oatmeal in hand. Still on Painkillers. Had to shell out the cash for that. My medical insurance only covers the first prescription for any treatment. Partial chewing is now possible. Darn it! I'm craving for a hamburger.