Even though I learned in the Summer of 2011 that I needed dentures, getting myself to go through the process of extractions and getting the dentures took me longer than it should have. Maybe I was in a bit of denial, or maybe I just did not want to face it, but it took a long time. Part of the reason was financial too. My insurance only gave me $500 a year for dental work, not anywhere close to enough for extractions and dentures!
Finally in the summer of 2012, my mother came to me and asked me why I had put it off so long. I told her my reasons, and she then gave me the greatest gift - she offered to pay for all of it, no paying her back. I cried, I laughed, I hugged her, and am still so grateful. It took me a few months to get my butt in great, but finally I got going on my journey.
I had the pre-op. with the oral surgeon about a week before Christmas, and then my surgery was on January 6th, 2013. I had planned to be put to sleep, but when I got there and got in, they could not get a good vein, so I had two choices: either come back and try again, or just get novicane and laughing gas. Even though surgeries and dentists terrify me, I just wanted it over with at that point. It took the surgeon about 15 minutes to give me all the novicane shots and then another 25-30 minutes to pull all my teeth. It was over seemingly quickly, and the experience was not as bad as I had thought it would be. My recovery went well, or as well as it could. I wont lie - the first week was awful. Besides being in pain I felt physically sick to my stomach constantly tired. However, slowly, over time I became my old self again. Unlike many people, I did not get immediate/temporary dentures. Instead, I had to wait a few weeks and then began the process of getting my dentures with my regular dentist.
I know I should have done it all sooner, but at least now it is done. I got over my fear, my denial and came to terms with my situation finally.
No comments:
Post a Comment