Post-wisdom tooth surgery anxiety

[alwaysworried]

Got my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday. I was terrified, nearly had a panic attack in the chair. They used IV sedation so once I was out it wasn’t too bad. Surgery went well, but I’m really anxious now. My anxiety tends to be triggered by physical sensations and you can imagine I’m feeling a lot of different ones right now. Constantly worrying about dry socket, infection, too much swelling, etc. even though I am following post op orders and resting. I have a follow up in a week. To make matters worse, I happened to get my period on the same day as the surgery (double the anxiety...fun) which comes with its own side effects and I haven’t been able to sleep that well even after being sedated which I’m sure doesn’t help with the anxiety.
I guess I just need to vent a little bit. I hear after the first 4 days it gets much better. I’m actually not really in much pain which is good. I’ve been taking Advil every six hours. They prescribed pain killers, and I took half of one yesterday, but the Advil is enough for me right now and doesn’t make me feel weird. Just wish I could sleep better, and I feel so on edge. I feel really tired, almost to the point of being “woozy” (though that could also be anxiety) yet I just can’t fall asleep. My family keeps reminding me that I’ve just had surgery, and that plus not getting much sleep before OR after surgery is bound to make me more tired than usual. It’s just hard to know I’ll feel like this for the next few days too. Anxiety makes everything worse. Anyone have some tips or words of encouragement? I worry a lot about infection even though I (gently) rinse my mouth out after eating and they have me on antibiotics for 10 days to deter infection. There’s just so many things runnning through my head, so many worries, and as I’m confined to the couch for a few days I can’t seem to shake myself out of it.

 

[The Worried Well]

Sort of an "it is what it is" situation, but obviously you must have needed the procedure. I remember when I was dating my wife she had I think 2 or 3 wisdom teeth extracted. She was of course miserable, but I recall it got better slowly each day. By the time you go back next week you should be 90% better. Infections can be treated in the off chance that happens. This too will pass.

 

[suzzeeb]

Oh my gosh! You sound exactly like me! I had 2 wisdom teeth removed in September (had 2 out when I was younger). I knew I needed them out for a long time but even thinking about it would raise my anxiety so much I never did it. Well this time I knew I had to, so 2 months after a heart procedure, which was no big deal but terrifying to me, I was scheduled to have my wisdom teeth out. Bad decision. I was in such an anxiety spiral already that I wasn't sleeping and feeling terrible but went through with it anyway. Like you, I could not sleep afterwards. My pain wasn't bad either. I only took 1/2 of a pain pill because they make me sick and feel terrible so was only taking ibuprofen. I was constantly worried something was wrong and must have called that office a million times in the first few days afterward. I even went in once because I thought they were infected because I thought they were bleeding too much. He said everything looked good and it was fine, but I seriously have not been the same since all that. I'm still in my anxiety state! I think the 2 procedures within a couple months just pushed me too far or something. The wisdom teeth thing is so not a big deal so I have no idea why its so devastating. I'm glad they are out but yeah it was rough mentally for some reason.

 

[alwaysworried]

Thanks guys, this made me feel better. I'm now on day 4 post-op and am feeling much better, probably because my physical symptoms (mostly just pain) have lessened and the sedative and painkillers I took on the first day are out of my system. Feel pretty good today to go without Advil (we'll see, anyway) but still going to take it easy. Still continually worrying about dry socket but I guess all I can do is follow the instructions they gave me. I did cough accidentally this morning, which can dislodge the blood clot, so I'm a bit worried about that but I guess all I can do is wait and see. So far I seem to be healing nicely, wasn't even too swollen (I was lucky though, none of mine were severely impacted and they were all pretty close to the gum line). Fingers crossed I'm out of the woods for dry socket soon and that these holes close up in a week or two!

 

[Natsuka]

Still continually worrying about dry socket but I guess all I can do is follow the instructions they gave me. I did cough accidentally this morning, which can dislodge the blood clot, so I'm a bit worried about that but I guess all I can do is wait and see.

Hello, there!

Interestingly, your situation is so close to mine. I had two upper back teeth removed last thursday. So this is monday, basically 4th day after the operation, or 5th, depending on how to count it.

I didn't need to take pain medication after the operation - it has been almost painless - just slight throbs and such here and there. I was also very worried when I had to cough and suddenly sneezed and such. But I take 'no pain' as a good sign, I started eating solid food on sunday, and today continued that trend. It was a bit sensitive and throbbing while and after eating (potatoes, tuna, soft bread, cheese, sort of lettuce, bananas, yoghurt, mandarins for dessert), but after I 'cleaned' it carefully with just water, and used the disinfectant (also very carefully), it's been fine.

I am also worried about dry socket, but I think that would've happened to both of us already, and it would be very painful, I think.

I understand your situation very well - my situation has some social components (no people in my life, and the only individual that was in my life for almost a week, kinda dumped me), some unspecified components (I have no idea why the anxiety started around 10th of November, and ever since, have been on-and-off, fluctuating, always back there, waiting to have me for lunch, and yesterday really pounced and tore me apart so I had to cry and go for a long walk and pray and play video games until I finally felt good enough to let exhaustion force me to sleep).

I have an appointment in a couple of days, and my sleeping rhythm has been bad - so when I only slept for 5 hours, I figured it's a good opportunity to just stay awake until evening and try to go to sleep. Apparently I am here instead, d'oh!

Anyway, how is your situatio now? I would be very glad to hear how you are doing. Did they stitch you? They had to stitch my hole as it was so big from two neighbouring teeth having been removed.

I am hoping that the 'hygienist' I have appointment to, can inspect how well the holes are doing, and doesn't accidentally bump into it with some sharp object (so many worries)..

It's odd, how tough it can mentally and psychologically be to lose teeth. It should be like clipping nails (except teeth don't grow back), but somehow it's some kind of 'self-identity' and 'personality' issue - I feel like lesser being now that I don't have full teeth anymore.

Then again, I have no one in my life, so there's no one that can judge me or think less of me because of missing teeth.

I hope I can sleep early tonight.. anyways, I hope you great feeling and hopefully your anxiety will lessen as you get more and more used to your new teeth setup.

Do you have more teeth that have to be pulled out? I probably do, so it's also very scary.. do I have to do this soup+yoghurt-thing again with another teeth or more than one? Agh.. this is already enough of a hassle.

But thank Goodness, it has been pretty much painless - so much so, that I sometimes forget, and my tongue has this reflex of touching the tooth that are suddenly not there, and bumps into the back tooth instead, so it feels a bit weird, and sometimes I feel the stitches, too. But I try my best to not let my tongue wonder towards that area.. I hope to also post here at least after the tooth have had time to heal properly. Maybe I can start chewing with both sides in a couple of weeks.

 

[alwaysworried]

Anyway, how is your situatio now? I would be very glad to hear how you are doing. Did they stitch you? They had to stitch my hole as it was so big from two neighbouring teeth having been removed.

Hi! I'm glad your extraction went well, and you're right! No pain is good! It's been 2 weeks since my extraction, and I'm doing well. I didn't get any stitches so I've had open holes in my mouth for a while now, but they're almost completely closed now. I think in a few days or so they will be completely closed! I had a follow up last week and they said everything looked good, so that was a huge weight off my shoulders.

Luckily I got all four teeth out at once, so I don't have to go back for another extraction. The first few days were definitely the worst. I hope you can sleep better soon! Like you, I am looking forward to chewing normally and eating foods that aren't super soft. I still have to rinse my mouth out every time after I eat until the holes close up though. I feel pretty good about chewing (no pain), but I'm too scared of getting food stuck in the holes to chew normally with my back teeth so I've been sticking with softer foods and chewing with my front teeth. Not super fun, but the holes should close up really soon. Otherwise, I'm back to "normal" life, and feel I have enough energy to exercise which has helped my mood. I've also been sleeping a lot better now that I can sleep on my side and without my head elevated.

Going back to get the bottom teeth out doesn't sound like fun, but if it makes you feel better, I think the bottom ones are easier to take care of. I can actually see the site and make sure I'm keeping it clean, and make sure it doesn't look red or inflamed. And you'll be a pro the second time around!

For me, the anxiety was not so much that I was missing teeth, but I was afraid of infection and dry socket. The good news for you is that dry socket usually happens with the lower teeth (and even then it's pretty rare), and you're already on day five, so it's looking good! Just keep doing what you're doing and all will be well. I'm sorry to hear you've been having a difficult time lately. You can always come here to talk, there are a lot of helpful people here. I would love to hear how your follow up appointment goes! Wishing you the best!