It’s five days since I had four wisdom teeth removed and the stitches are itching. When I told people I was having this done the response was amazing, each person had their own story to tell, most of them could have featured in a top Halloween movie line up. This did not put me at ease.

I have to say my particular experience was not so bad, my dentist explained exactly what was going to happen and how it should feel so the shock value, which is probably the most un-nerving part, was subdued. My boyfriend diligently came with me and as they gave me the ‘relaxation’ pills he took down the details of what to do after. As I waved goodbye I suddenly felt pretty anxious, maybe I could just keep them? A crowded mouth isn’t too bad, the more the merrier! The dental nurse must have seen the manic look on my face and quickly distracted me with a DVD list. Yes, I actually watched a DVD whilst they played around in my mouth. I chose ‘Marley and Me’ no idea why, somehow Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston seemed comforting at the time and I like dogs. My addled mind started to drift as I was given a couple more tablets and very soon it was over! I hadn’t even finished the movie which was a bit annoying.

Not knowing I had already had double my dose of relaxant pills my boyfriend kindly gave me some more pain killers the size of almonds and I was off in gaga land. Coming in and out of consciousness and feeling very emotional I had no idea what was going on. I definitely lost a day of my life and not in a fun, ‘I was drunk’ way.  I woke up the next day swollen and sore but after the obligatory pain killers I was feeling ok. Note; take these with food, they are strong and drink lots of water. I looked a little like a chipmunk but not as cute, my face wasn’t too bad but I looked like I’d been eating all the pies.

Now there are just holes where the wise teeth used to be and these are great at collecting food. People keep asking if I have been eating a lot of soup, to be honest my love of food meant that even the day after I was nibbling on the solids, no weight loss for me! The swelling has gone down and I am no longer waking up at 2am to take another dose of pain killers. It feels good to have it all over with, saying that the stitches come out tomorrow, groan!

Tips;

• Buy some soup
• Have ice packs ready
• Put the painkillers out on the side in easy reach so when you wake up at 2am you don’t have to do battle with the safety cap
• Definitely have someone pick you up, you will be a mess.
• Get some good DVD’s
• Take at least two days off work