Metal Mouth Message Board

I am having my surgery in 4 days. I've been having the worst trouble sleeping lately. I've been obsessing constantly consuming all of the info that I can before surgery. Clearly this surgery is stressing me out but I should be excited to get it. I've been waiting 23 years (found out I would need it when I was 10)to get here. Is this normal?

I started having a hard time sleeping and having weird dreams (I usually don't have dreams, just sleep right through the night) about a week or so before my surgery. I'm guessing it was just my nerves, even though I wasn't really nervous about having the surgery.

[quote="shutmymouth"]I am having my surgery in 4 days. I've been having the worst trouble sleeping lately. I've been obsessing constantly consuming all of the info that I can before surgery. Clearly this surgery is stressing me out but I should be excited to get it. I've been waiting 23 years (found out I would need it when I was 10)to get here. Is this normal?[/quote]

I hardly slept the night before. I'm guessing it's normal, because it's major surgery.

But, it's not some kind of new experimental surgery. The surgeon I went to (7 weeks ago) does 150 of these every year.

Maybe the best thing to do is prepare for the days after, which actually are the hardest part. (The surgery was "easy" because you go from anesthesia to painkillers -- I felt basically no pain other than the IV insertion.) Get your liquid diet sorted out, buy a child-sized toothbrush and Waterpik (if your doctor says it's OK), etc. What worked well for me was to focus on that preparation, and have the house well stocked. I had surgery in the late evening, and spent two nights in the hospital on the IV, which eased my transition to going home.

You should be excited about, though. The results for me were amazing -- I'd never had all my molars touching before when I bite. Even though my teeth are still braced and not all that white right now (hard to clean them well post-op), they look so much better for being lined up. I really can't wait for when the braces are off and all the swelling is resolved. (Minor swelling now, but I can tell even if others can't.)

Do you do prayer/yoga/meditation? If so, focus on that the next couple of days. If not, or if you're still stressed after such practices, I recommend a coupla glasses of wine (I myself am partial to Pinot Grigio).

Seriously, though, I think it helps to pay attention to your worries but not get too caught up in them, to remember to breathe deeply, to drink water, and to eat *lots* of yummies. And I do think your worry is totally normal--but you'll do great.

Keep us posted!!