My wisdom teeth were removed this morning. I chose local anesthetic only, out of fear that sedation would lead to an infinite coma.

It went well, taking a half hour for all four. The worst part was the beginning, getting anesthetized. About 5 injections of variable volume to each of the four corners. I’ve had shots in the gum for fillings, but GOD DAMN. Nothing that ever hurt like this before. It was probably worth it though; after the stuff set in and got me to being concerned that my tongue was going to swell so much I’d choke on it, I didn’t have any pain during the extractions.

The drill was the other bitch. It was used on my two lower fuckers. The bitch of the drill was twofold. First, I was concerned that at any moment my harmless nerve would get pulverized. Second, it was louder than fuck. No, not necessarily the ambient noise that anyone in the room would hear, but how the noise associated with drilling ivory traveled down into my jaw bone and all around my ears and brain.

They asked if I wanted to keep them, so I have them all in this sealed bag they gave them to me in. They’re big fuckers, luckily the roots were far enough from the main nerves that nerve damage was unlikely. The anesthetic has almost all been metabolized, I feel well. I was given prescriptions for Ibuprofen and Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen (an extra strength vicodin substitute). The latter combination concerns me somewhat because I am probably deficient in the enzyme which metabolizes Acetaminophen since I suffer from Gilbert’s syndrome. From the Wiki “Metabolism of Acetaminophen is thus reduced by 31%, leaving liver-toxic metabolites in the body for longer periods.” Gilbert’s syndrome is 2nd in line for a post.