Ouch!!

Forgive me if this post doesn't make sense, I'm under the influence of some pretty cool stuff called Vicodin!

Today was my scheduled appointment to have my wisdom teeth removed. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about having this done. But it actually went pretty well.

It had been exactly a year since I originally went in to my consultation appointment with Dr. Hogan from Southwest Oral and Facial Surgery. I was referred by my dentist, Dr. Craig Mayor, who I've been going to since 1989. I went into Dr. Hogan's Lehigh location because it was closer to my parents house (they were watching the boys). It is located in this really old building on the corner of Coolege and Lee Blvd across from the telephone company (all my Lehigh peeps know exactly what I'm talking about). I was not impressed to say the least. I really liked Dr. Hogan, I was just totally turned off by the building. It was so dark and gloomy and felt more like a dungeon than a oral surgery office. After talking with the Dr. I paid for my appointment and they told me that the procedure would cost a little over $1800 with local anesthesia. My medical insurance doesn't cover dental so we were unable to afford the procedure at the time. After a few months my bottom wisdom teeth started to show through my gums. I noticed that my teeth were starting to push together so I decided that I had put it off long enough and scheduled a day to have them removed. I decided that I would have the procedure done in the Ft. Myers office. Surely it had to be nicer than the Lehigh location. I asked if they offered some kind of payment plan with which they said that they do not, but they accept CareCredit. I applied online and got accepted immediately for $1500. Sweet! Better yet, I don't have any interest for 12 months. Gotta love deals like that!

This morning my appointment was at 10:00. They told me to arrive at 9:45. I parked the car at exactly 9:30 after driving up and down Summerlin trying to find their office. Anyone who knew me before kids knows that arriving about 10-15 minutes early is pretty typical for me. Those who know me post kids know that now my arrival time is 10-15 minutes LATE. I walked in and printed my name on the sign in sheet. I was thrilled to see that their Ft. Myers office was beautiful. Complete with dark wood plantation shutters, leaning ladder book shelves, faux painting and just a really great feel about it. It might seem stupid to be so concerned about the visual appearance of a surgery office, but it just made me feel more comfortable. Especially when it's the place that I'm going to, to have my teeth ripped out of my face! About 5 minutes passed and they called me back into a little room. I watched a short video on after care and Dr. Hogan showed up a few minutes later to put some Novocaine on. I elected not to be put to sleep. For one it would have been too expensive, and two I felt like it wouldn't be that big of a deal to have to be put to sleep. I've only been under once when I had knee surgery and I hated the feeling. Even with 2 C-sections I was awake, I couldn't feel anything but I still knew what was going on. About 10 minutes later he arrived again and inserted needles into my gums to get them nice and numb. It wasn't too painful, but it did burn a little when he was injecting them. A few more minutes passed and he came back in to start the surgery. He pulled and prodded and used a dental dremel and before I knew it, he had removed all 4 teeth by 10:30! As I was paying at the receptionist center, the really sweet woman behind the counter asked if I had felt anything. I said no, and she seemed really shocked and surprised. She glanced at my folder and said, "it was even bony, and you didn't feel anything?" Nope, nothing but pressure (imagine this conversation with my mouth packed with gauze). She said I'm one of the few. Thank you God for letting me be one of the few! I drove myself home being sure to drop off my prescription on the way. The lady asked me my birthday and I managed to mumble it out with my big fat swollen face.
When I got home my dad showed up shortly after. He hung out for a little while and played with the boys while I rested. Glenn had left a little after my dad arrived because he had to move furniture into his new office. After my dad had to go, I was left with the boys. I managed to get them into bed for their naps and then sat around watching TV while I floated around in la-la land from the vicodin. So my surgery went really well today and I'm actually in little pain with the help of my pain killers. Thank you Dr. Hogan for doing an awesome job!

Oh, on a really positive note, this whole surgery has jump-started my weight loss. I've only been able to eat applesauce, jello, yogurt, pudding (fat free at that) and soup. So far I'm already down 2 lbs from today. Yippee for wisdom teeth extractions!!