Surviving Tori Removal

Going to the visit is NOT my favorite thing.   It rates high on things I avoid doing at all cost.   So on the days I have to go I want to get in there and get out of there as quickly as possible.   There is no way I want my doctor to be probing around in my mouth and stop and say...

"Um, has anyone talked to you about these tori in the bottom of your mouth?"

A tori? What in the world is a tori?  Not only had no one talked to me about them.  I really didn't want him talking to me about them then.   Apparently tori are bones that can grow in your mouth.  Mine were growing in the bottom of my mouth.   It was miserable getting x-rays and my tongue didn't fit in the bottom of my mouth.   

That was a few years ago when he pointed them out to me.   He said "if" they grew too big they would have to be removed.   "If".   Ha!  First of all, tori are not something everyone in the population gets.  Secondly, if someone's are going to grow it will definitely be mine.   I came home that day and told hubs, "Start planning.  I am going to have these bones removed from my mouth."    We laughed, but we both knew.   If bones were going to grow in someone's mouth, it was going to be mine. 

And they did!

Fast forward to this past week...  The time had come.  The surgeon said that I needed to have these silly bones removed.  I called the office the day before my procedure to double check that I was going to be out.  I didn't want any of that silly twilight.  I wanted to be totally out.  After all, taking out the tori means  high-speed drill bits, chisels, bone and other appliances in-office.   They assured me that I would sound asleep and have plenty of pain medication afterwards.  

Donald and I arrived at 8:00 that morning and they took me back to start my IV.   After that I remember waking up to get in the car and get in the bed.   Donald says I talked to him all the way home in the car which is kind of scary, but I certainly don't remember it.    I took a long nap and then got up to watch a movie.   I was so thankful when the anesthesia wore off so I didn't feel so disoriented. 

My doctor gave me antibiotics, pain medication and super strong ibuprofen to take.   After one day I quit taking the pain medication because it gave me a headache.   I live with fibromyalgia so dealing with pain is normal for me.   The swelling and pain in my mouth wasn't worth the headache that pain medication was causing.   I just took the ibuprofen and antibiotic.   I was pretty miserable on Thursday night/Friday morning, but after that I have just been sore.  

If it weren't for the swelling and pain, this surgery would be a great diet plan.   I haven't been able to taste anything until late Saturday night.  On top of that I was too sore to eat anything.  I drank a TON of mango Gatorade.    Seriously, our local gas station had a sale offering buy 2 get 1 free and my boys wiped them out because I was drinking about 6 a day.   I did manage to eat some mashed potatoes and Friday night I managed some rice.    My sweet husband made me scrambled eggs and those were the best I have ever eaten!

As of today, I am so thankful that this crazy surgery is behind me and I can get on with my surgery.   If you are faced with this surgery in the future you can know that it is not too bad.   Of course, I highly recommend having a competent and experienced surgeon and team like I had.  Thanks, Dr. Nichols!    On top of my surgery team, my at-home recovery team cannot be beat.   From fresh sheets on my bed, plenty of Gatorade, new books on my Kindle, washing all my comfy pjs, pulling the tv up to the end of the bed and hooking up the Roku so I could watch movies.... I was definitely pampered and taken care of like always.    Thank you, my loves!