Hope you're feeling better soon!! Call the OS and let him know what's going on. You need to get well. I can only imagine how badly you want that right now!!
MommaDucky: update pg. 13 - nearly 6 mos!
Moderator: bbsadmin
oh no!!! I'm so sorry to hear you're not doing well. I hope that you don't have dry sockets... YUCKOLA! I had my wisdom teeth out 3 years ago and they both got dry socket. My experience was it felt like a miserable, throbbing hell.. and there was a very noticeable funkiness going on in my mouth.
Hope you're feeling better soon!! Call the OS and let him know what's going on. You need to get well. I can only imagine how badly you want that right now!!
Hope you're feeling better soon!! Call the OS and let him know what's going on. You need to get well. I can only imagine how badly you want that right now!!
I am going to second and third what everyone said. I think it would still be okay to feel brusied or achy and tired, but you shouldnt be having any actual pain.
The standard way we nurses ask about pain, is this.
If 1 was no pain and 10 was the most unbearable pain you could imagine, where would you be now.
I would say after this many days if your more then a 5 on a regular basis you need to call the OS.
Rainy giving you some hugs
The standard way we nurses ask about pain, is this.
If 1 was no pain and 10 was the most unbearable pain you could imagine, where would you be now.
I would say after this many days if your more then a 5 on a regular basis you need to call the OS.
Rainy giving you some hugs
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MommaDucky
- Posts: 124
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:04 pm
- Location: Saint Paul, MN
- Contact:
So I should have called the OS two days ago, but I was stubborn and thought, 'maybe I'm just being a wimp', and I would try to tough it out. I woke up this morning with my jaw hurting worse than ever, and I knew to call right away.
In the last three days or so my mouth had been tasting kinda weird, and my jaw pain had been getting worse since surgery last Thursday the 16th, and this morning it even started to hurt my ears. I called the OS at 8:30 in the morning and got an appointment for 11:00.
I got there and was called back to a room almost identical to the one I'd had surgery in. (I was even in the same kind of chair -- scary!) and the surgeon came in carrying an array of lethal looking tools. Lucky for him I cooperated when he told me to open my mouth - saved him the trouble of having to use said tools to pry my jaw apart.
He looked at the extraction sites where the lower wisdom teeth were out - which was where I mentioned I was having the pain. He poked around for about five seconds before determining that I had dry sockets... great. At least the ones on top looked good.
The OS took two small strips of cloth looking stuff soaked in some yellowish -orangish liquid (he said something about them having medication and a numbing agent on) and he proceeded to stuff the small strips of soaked cloth into the holes where my lower wisdom teeth used to live. It wasn't excruciating when he put the stuff there, but it was a bit uncomfortable. He also gave me a prescription for 15 more Vicodin pills, which I'm only going to take if I really really need them. I don't like the idea of being dependent on a narcotic for pain relief. It was pretty incredible, though, as my jaw started feeling better about two minutes after he 'stuffed' the wounds. It was totally nuts.
Anyway, I'm feeling much better and much more awake and alert, whereas at this time yesterday I was totally wiped out and in a considerable amount of pain. I'm glad I went in.
I have to go in again in two days' time, so I have an appointment on Friday at 3PM to get the dressings replaced. Then next Thursday I'm into the ortho to replace my upper archwire that had been cut to allow for easy removal of the upper right first premolar. Whew -- the last few weeks sure have been hectic with regard to my orthodontic work! At least now I'm totally finished with extractions, and I'm getting the dry sockets taken care of.
ohmyjaw, KK, seriously, Miss Smiley, metalmom, and Rainy, thank you all for your advice and well wishes. I'm glad I finally called the OS back, though I probably should have done it two days ago. I feel much better now that things are getting taken care of, and so far my jaw hasn't been hurting nearly as much since the dressings went in. My son is enjoying having me *almost* back to normal. He said 'dada' for the first time two days ago! He's getting so big...
In the last three days or so my mouth had been tasting kinda weird, and my jaw pain had been getting worse since surgery last Thursday the 16th, and this morning it even started to hurt my ears. I called the OS at 8:30 in the morning and got an appointment for 11:00.
I got there and was called back to a room almost identical to the one I'd had surgery in. (I was even in the same kind of chair -- scary!) and the surgeon came in carrying an array of lethal looking tools. Lucky for him I cooperated when he told me to open my mouth - saved him the trouble of having to use said tools to pry my jaw apart.
He looked at the extraction sites where the lower wisdom teeth were out - which was where I mentioned I was having the pain. He poked around for about five seconds before determining that I had dry sockets... great. At least the ones on top looked good.
The OS took two small strips of cloth looking stuff soaked in some yellowish -orangish liquid (he said something about them having medication and a numbing agent on) and he proceeded to stuff the small strips of soaked cloth into the holes where my lower wisdom teeth used to live. It wasn't excruciating when he put the stuff there, but it was a bit uncomfortable. He also gave me a prescription for 15 more Vicodin pills, which I'm only going to take if I really really need them. I don't like the idea of being dependent on a narcotic for pain relief. It was pretty incredible, though, as my jaw started feeling better about two minutes after he 'stuffed' the wounds. It was totally nuts.
Anyway, I'm feeling much better and much more awake and alert, whereas at this time yesterday I was totally wiped out and in a considerable amount of pain. I'm glad I went in.
I have to go in again in two days' time, so I have an appointment on Friday at 3PM to get the dressings replaced. Then next Thursday I'm into the ortho to replace my upper archwire that had been cut to allow for easy removal of the upper right first premolar. Whew -- the last few weeks sure have been hectic with regard to my orthodontic work! At least now I'm totally finished with extractions, and I'm getting the dry sockets taken care of.
ohmyjaw, KK, seriously, Miss Smiley, metalmom, and Rainy, thank you all for your advice and well wishes. I'm glad I finally called the OS back, though I probably should have done it two days ago. I feel much better now that things are getting taken care of, and so far my jaw hasn't been hurting nearly as much since the dressings went in. My son is enjoying having me *almost* back to normal. He said 'dada' for the first time two days ago! He's getting so big...
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Miss Smiley
- Posts: 2008
- Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 11:59 pm
- Location: Sunny SoCal
- Contact:
Glad you got that checked out! I'm sorry you were in so much pain, it's hard to tell when we just read the words and can't hear the voice. Hopefully the packing will make it better very soon!
Upper and lower 1st premolars extracted
Uppers braced 4/6/07 & Lowers braced 4/20/07
ceramic brackets and rectangular arch wires
Est. term: 30-36 months
De-banded: 3/04/09 w/ LBR and U&L Essix
Uppers braced 4/6/07 & Lowers braced 4/20/07
ceramic brackets and rectangular arch wires
Est. term: 30-36 months
De-banded: 3/04/09 w/ LBR and U&L Essix
Yea for saying Dada! Isn't it awesome.. won't be long and he'll be babbling up a storm.
Sorry for the dry socket.. that's not fun at all. I agree w/the other posts that once diagnosed it gets better fast!
Glad to hear you're on your way to being "normal"!! I'm sure all three of you will be glad when you are!
Good luck!!
Sorry for the dry socket.. that's not fun at all. I agree w/the other posts that once diagnosed it gets better fast!
Glad to hear you're on your way to being "normal"!! I'm sure all three of you will be glad when you are!
Good luck!!
Boy, you've had quite a time, Katherine! Great to hear that you're over the hump now. Your description of your treatment at the OS's office is very interesting; I was unaware how dry socket was treated. It sure is good that you went in; it sounds like you experienced some major discomfort there!
How exciting for you that your little one is starting to say his first words! I can't wait until my first granddaughter says hers.
Great to hear your update, and here's a toast to you for feeling semi-normal!
How exciting for you that your little one is starting to say his first words! I can't wait until my first granddaughter says hers.
Great to hear your update, and here's a toast to you for feeling semi-normal!
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MommaDucky
- Posts: 124
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:04 pm
- Location: Saint Paul, MN
- Contact:
Miss Smiley: the packing does make it so much better, but I can tell you, I don't enjoy going into the oral surgeon every two days and having the stuff re-done!
jt2lang: yeah, dry sockets definitely suck. I was impressed at how fast the packings made it feel better, though today it was a little different story, which I will elaborate on shortly.
Rainy: I'm glad that I figured it out too, otherwise I'd still be sitting here aching and whining about how miserable my life is. Not so much fun... I think things will be much better in short order.
KK: The dry sockets certainly are nasty, though I think I'd rather have the dry sockets than having an infection, if given the choice. I'm just glad they're feeling better, and I don't really need the heavy-duty pain meds anymore.
seriously: Thanks for the well wishes (and thank you to everyone for the well wishes!) I really am feeling better and I'm glad I got it taken care of *almost* right away. And it really is a joy to see my little guy talking and babbling up a storm! Dada is his second word, his first was mama. Now he's added 'naa naa' and blah blah' as well.
metalmom: it is really fun to hear my son learning to say his first words. I look at how big he's gotten and sometimes I get sad! But he brings so much happiness to my heart and joy to my life, I feel so lucky to have him. He always makes me smile, and he definitely has been keeping me cheered up throughout this whole ordeal -- I don't think I could do this without him!
cwatt1: I didn't really have much of an idea on how dry socket was treated either; it was rather a rude awakening when I found out what actually had to be done! A friend of mine had had it, and she mentioned something about having to go visit the OS several times and have gauze-y stuff put in her mouth... that's how she described it. Looking back, I'm glad she didn't tell me the details or I probably would not have returned to the OS when I was having difficulties!
So... today was my second visit to the OS to treat the dry sockets. This appointment was far less pleasant than the first, probably for several reasons, which I will explain in greater detail in a moment.
I got to the office five minutes late (oops!) and was called back about a minute after I checked in at the desk. When I went in two days ago to get things checked out, the guy who took out my three bicuspids in March was the guy who saw me. (He was much nicer this time, and he talked to me even!) When he put in the packings, he was very gentle, and I hardly felt a thing. Today my appointment ended up being with the guy who took out my wisdoms and final bicuspid last week- and he was much more aggressive while re-dressing the wounds!
He came into the room saying, "So you got dry sockets, huh?" --And me: "...that's what I was told..." He said a few other things that weren't important to me, then said something about my son being quite the content little guy (he's always very happy, even while strapped in his car seat sitting in the corner of the room at the OS's office), and then he set to work in my mouth. **I hope that last bit didn't sound as bad as I think it did.*
Anyway, he went in with a sort of foreceps and dived right into my open wounds -- ouch, and yuck! He pulled out the dressings that were in there, which was gross, as they came out warm and tasting rather like blood. (are you all puking yet?) I didn't expect that getting new dressings would be any different from the first time, so I wasn't too worried; but when he took out the existing bits of gauze he was hurting me! After those were out, there was a quick rinse directly to the incision/extraction sites, then suction, and after that comes the part where I was totally violated.
He grabbed a couple of fresh pieces of medicated gauze stuff -- I guess it's not really gauze, but more like a thin muslin-like material in small strips about 1/4 inch wide and 1.5 inches long, roughly, and soaked in what looks to be iodine or betadine, orange-yellow in color. Anyway, he took the little strips and went to put one on one side of my mouth. He put the end of it into the hole where my wisdom tooth was extracted, and then proceeded to jam the rest of it in more violently than I would have expected.
Granted, it wasn't really violent, and I'm exaggerating a bit, but he certainly was rougher than the first guy who did this for me, and it was painful. He went in and out of the wound, stuffing the cloth/gauze into the socket with quite a bit more zeal than I would have liked. The whole time I was whimpering and clutching the armrests for dear life, wanting to die right then and there. (Not really that last part, but I was definitely whimpering and clutching.) Oh yeah, and then he did it on the other side too. Not cool.
Since I was first treated for the dry sockets, my jaw had been feeling much better, but it started aching again this morning. By the time I arrived at the OS's office at 3:05 this afternoon, it was mildly achy, but not too bad. But by the time I left about 10 minutes later, I wanted to rip my jaw off! It was hurting so bad. I got into the car and I was in a state of perma-wince, you know, like when your neck is out of alignment and you kinda hunch up your shoulders a bit and turn your head downward slightly, and refuse to move -- it was like that. I did not want to drive home, I felt so crappy, but I had little choice in the matter, as I was by myself save for Felix, and he can't even sit up in the seat, let alone reach the petals or drive.
I drove home cautiously and whining and complaining out loud to myself the whole way home. My jaw was really hurting me. All I could think about was 'pain killers, pain killers, pain killers..." I made it back home safely, brought Felix in to his crib, popped a couple of pills, then climbed into bed with the covers pulled up to my chin and the lights out - I really felt like &#!%. I slept for an hour, and luckily Felix let me do so. When I woke up I felt much better - the pain had subsided.
So overall, today's experience was considerably worse than Wednesday's. The only thing is -- my next appointment, which is scheduled for Monday - will be with the guy that was mean to me today. I hope it doesn't hurt nearly as much next time. I'm counting on it, because hopefully the wounds will be a little farther along in the healing process by then. If not, well, let's just not think about 'if nots'.
jt2lang: yeah, dry sockets definitely suck. I was impressed at how fast the packings made it feel better, though today it was a little different story, which I will elaborate on shortly.
Rainy: I'm glad that I figured it out too, otherwise I'd still be sitting here aching and whining about how miserable my life is. Not so much fun... I think things will be much better in short order.
KK: The dry sockets certainly are nasty, though I think I'd rather have the dry sockets than having an infection, if given the choice. I'm just glad they're feeling better, and I don't really need the heavy-duty pain meds anymore.
seriously: Thanks for the well wishes (and thank you to everyone for the well wishes!) I really am feeling better and I'm glad I got it taken care of *almost* right away. And it really is a joy to see my little guy talking and babbling up a storm! Dada is his second word, his first was mama. Now he's added 'naa naa' and blah blah' as well.
metalmom: it is really fun to hear my son learning to say his first words. I look at how big he's gotten and sometimes I get sad! But he brings so much happiness to my heart and joy to my life, I feel so lucky to have him. He always makes me smile, and he definitely has been keeping me cheered up throughout this whole ordeal -- I don't think I could do this without him!
cwatt1: I didn't really have much of an idea on how dry socket was treated either; it was rather a rude awakening when I found out what actually had to be done! A friend of mine had had it, and she mentioned something about having to go visit the OS several times and have gauze-y stuff put in her mouth... that's how she described it. Looking back, I'm glad she didn't tell me the details or I probably would not have returned to the OS when I was having difficulties!
So... today was my second visit to the OS to treat the dry sockets. This appointment was far less pleasant than the first, probably for several reasons, which I will explain in greater detail in a moment.
I got to the office five minutes late (oops!) and was called back about a minute after I checked in at the desk. When I went in two days ago to get things checked out, the guy who took out my three bicuspids in March was the guy who saw me. (He was much nicer this time, and he talked to me even!) When he put in the packings, he was very gentle, and I hardly felt a thing. Today my appointment ended up being with the guy who took out my wisdoms and final bicuspid last week- and he was much more aggressive while re-dressing the wounds!
He came into the room saying, "So you got dry sockets, huh?" --And me: "...that's what I was told..." He said a few other things that weren't important to me, then said something about my son being quite the content little guy (he's always very happy, even while strapped in his car seat sitting in the corner of the room at the OS's office), and then he set to work in my mouth. **I hope that last bit didn't sound as bad as I think it did.*
Anyway, he went in with a sort of foreceps and dived right into my open wounds -- ouch, and yuck! He pulled out the dressings that were in there, which was gross, as they came out warm and tasting rather like blood. (are you all puking yet?) I didn't expect that getting new dressings would be any different from the first time, so I wasn't too worried; but when he took out the existing bits of gauze he was hurting me! After those were out, there was a quick rinse directly to the incision/extraction sites, then suction, and after that comes the part where I was totally violated.
He grabbed a couple of fresh pieces of medicated gauze stuff -- I guess it's not really gauze, but more like a thin muslin-like material in small strips about 1/4 inch wide and 1.5 inches long, roughly, and soaked in what looks to be iodine or betadine, orange-yellow in color. Anyway, he took the little strips and went to put one on one side of my mouth. He put the end of it into the hole where my wisdom tooth was extracted, and then proceeded to jam the rest of it in more violently than I would have expected.
Granted, it wasn't really violent, and I'm exaggerating a bit, but he certainly was rougher than the first guy who did this for me, and it was painful. He went in and out of the wound, stuffing the cloth/gauze into the socket with quite a bit more zeal than I would have liked. The whole time I was whimpering and clutching the armrests for dear life, wanting to die right then and there. (Not really that last part, but I was definitely whimpering and clutching.) Oh yeah, and then he did it on the other side too. Not cool.
Since I was first treated for the dry sockets, my jaw had been feeling much better, but it started aching again this morning. By the time I arrived at the OS's office at 3:05 this afternoon, it was mildly achy, but not too bad. But by the time I left about 10 minutes later, I wanted to rip my jaw off! It was hurting so bad. I got into the car and I was in a state of perma-wince, you know, like when your neck is out of alignment and you kinda hunch up your shoulders a bit and turn your head downward slightly, and refuse to move -- it was like that. I did not want to drive home, I felt so crappy, but I had little choice in the matter, as I was by myself save for Felix, and he can't even sit up in the seat, let alone reach the petals or drive.
I drove home cautiously and whining and complaining out loud to myself the whole way home. My jaw was really hurting me. All I could think about was 'pain killers, pain killers, pain killers..." I made it back home safely, brought Felix in to his crib, popped a couple of pills, then climbed into bed with the covers pulled up to my chin and the lights out - I really felt like &#!%. I slept for an hour, and luckily Felix let me do so. When I woke up I felt much better - the pain had subsided.
So overall, today's experience was considerably worse than Wednesday's. The only thing is -- my next appointment, which is scheduled for Monday - will be with the guy that was mean to me today. I hope it doesn't hurt nearly as much next time. I'm counting on it, because hopefully the wounds will be a little farther along in the healing process by then. If not, well, let's just not think about 'if nots'.
OUCH!! I'm sorry it was that rough for you. It's always amazed me that youc an go in to get dressings changed and sometimes whoever is working on you forgets that it hurts... I think they get so used to just doing the job they forget it's people they're working on. I hope you're jaw is feeling even better now.
I'll cross my fingers for you that today is an easier appt!!
I'll cross my fingers for you that today is an easier appt!!
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Miss Smiley
- Posts: 2008
- Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 11:59 pm
- Location: Sunny SoCal
- Contact:
momma, maybe you could request to see the other doc or ask the rough one to be a little more gentle since you're not into all that pain.
Upper and lower 1st premolars extracted
Uppers braced 4/6/07 & Lowers braced 4/20/07
ceramic brackets and rectangular arch wires
Est. term: 30-36 months
De-banded: 3/04/09 w/ LBR and U&L Essix
Uppers braced 4/6/07 & Lowers braced 4/20/07
ceramic brackets and rectangular arch wires
Est. term: 30-36 months
De-banded: 3/04/09 w/ LBR and U&L Essix
-
jennandtonic
- Posts: 551
- Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:06 pm
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MommaDucky
- Posts: 124
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:04 pm
- Location: Saint Paul, MN
- Contact:
Thanks everyone for the advice and well-wishes. I feel like it's been forever since I've updated, and I'm also trying to catch up on everyone else's stories too - I'm doing my best! Thanks for bearing with me.
Long story short, the dry sockets are much better after four visits to the oral surgeon's office. The one bad experience I'd had was the only really bad one - the OS was much nicer to me the next time. (I wonder if that had to do with me asking whether I could have some sort of topical anesthetic before he started?)
Visit number four to the OS's office was a little scary, too - it was with the guy who performed my first surgery back in March that I didn't get along with. Besides being less than thrilled to be seen by him again, I noticed something that I didn't realise before - he has very shaky hands! And I don't mean like trembly-shaky, like when you haven't eaten for a while and you feel shaky, I mean like it looked as though this guy had Parkinson's disease. If he really does, that's sad - but if you can imagine having a guy come at your fresh wounds from surgery with a metal tool and he plans to shove bits of gauze into said wounds.... Let's just say I had to shut my eyes really tight when I saw his hand come at my mouth.
But all that's passed, and everything is getting better. Still a little difficulty opening my mouth all the way, and getting a toothbrush across the outside of my back molars is difficult, as the inside of my cheek seems to be swollen against it a bit. I'm just glad to be finished with all the surgeries!
I had my fourth adjustment done on August 30th - the first one since my surgery on August 16th.
Now that I have the last bicuspid out from the upper arch, we can start to make more serious changes up there. I got a brand new shiny Nitanol wire on top that's much stronger than the last one, and instead of going with my normal clear ligs on top, I chose PINK! Although I like the look of the clear ligs with my ceramic brackets on top, I missed eating curry! Besides, I'm tired of all the staining. I'll probably get clear ones again, but for now I'm enjoying being bold. 
As for the lower arch, I changed from the lavender to black ligs. My lower canines are still twisted a bit, so my ortho stretched PC's from the central incisor to the canine on each side of my lower arch. You can see in the photos the two separate PC's, which will more than likely create a gap between my lower front teeth while rotating the lower canines, but sometimes progress is two steps forward and one step back. I'm not too worried about it though, especially since I go in to see my ortho every three weeks... even if there is a gap, it probably won't be there for very long.
Alright, alright, enough talking! Here are some photos I took after my fourth adjustment, pretty much exactly three months since b-day. I also included the before photos for added impressiveness. Sorry it's not the best lighting, but I try. (Wow, I can't believe the differences in such a short amount of time!!)
SMILE!!!
HOLY COW! I can't believe this is three months. I'm soooo happy!
day one............................................................................three months
three weeks into treatment................................................three months into treatment
Go, teeth, go!!!
day one............................................................................three months
three weeks......................................................................three months
Hey -- I also just realised that tomorrow, September 7th, is the 100 day mark! I've been wearing braces for 100 days! Crazy...
AHH! I'm just so excited about this, I can't contain myself!!!!!!!!!
Long story short, the dry sockets are much better after four visits to the oral surgeon's office. The one bad experience I'd had was the only really bad one - the OS was much nicer to me the next time. (I wonder if that had to do with me asking whether I could have some sort of topical anesthetic before he started?)
Visit number four to the OS's office was a little scary, too - it was with the guy who performed my first surgery back in March that I didn't get along with. Besides being less than thrilled to be seen by him again, I noticed something that I didn't realise before - he has very shaky hands! And I don't mean like trembly-shaky, like when you haven't eaten for a while and you feel shaky, I mean like it looked as though this guy had Parkinson's disease. If he really does, that's sad - but if you can imagine having a guy come at your fresh wounds from surgery with a metal tool and he plans to shove bits of gauze into said wounds.... Let's just say I had to shut my eyes really tight when I saw his hand come at my mouth.
But all that's passed, and everything is getting better. Still a little difficulty opening my mouth all the way, and getting a toothbrush across the outside of my back molars is difficult, as the inside of my cheek seems to be swollen against it a bit. I'm just glad to be finished with all the surgeries!
I had my fourth adjustment done on August 30th - the first one since my surgery on August 16th.
Now that I have the last bicuspid out from the upper arch, we can start to make more serious changes up there. I got a brand new shiny Nitanol wire on top that's much stronger than the last one, and instead of going with my normal clear ligs on top, I chose PINK! Although I like the look of the clear ligs with my ceramic brackets on top, I missed eating curry! Besides, I'm tired of all the staining. I'll probably get clear ones again, but for now I'm enjoying being bold. As for the lower arch, I changed from the lavender to black ligs. My lower canines are still twisted a bit, so my ortho stretched PC's from the central incisor to the canine on each side of my lower arch. You can see in the photos the two separate PC's, which will more than likely create a gap between my lower front teeth while rotating the lower canines, but sometimes progress is two steps forward and one step back. I'm not too worried about it though, especially since I go in to see my ortho every three weeks... even if there is a gap, it probably won't be there for very long.
Alright, alright, enough talking! Here are some photos I took after my fourth adjustment, pretty much exactly three months since b-day. I also included the before photos for added impressiveness. Sorry it's not the best lighting, but I try. (Wow, I can't believe the differences in such a short amount of time!!)
SMILE!!!
HOLY COW! I can't believe this is three months. I'm soooo happy!
day one............................................................................three months
three weeks into treatment................................................three months into treatment
Go, teeth, go!!!
day one............................................................................three months
three weeks......................................................................three months
Hey -- I also just realised that tomorrow, September 7th, is the 100 day mark! I've been wearing braces for 100 days! Crazy...
AHH! I'm just so excited about this, I can't contain myself!!!!!!!!!
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Miss Smiley
- Posts: 2008
- Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 11:59 pm
- Location: Sunny SoCal
- Contact:
