It took five days. Five days for the ecosystem that is my mouth to free itself of the violent shock I had inflicted upon it on this Wednesday past. I can now actually move my mouth more or less normally without too much pain.
I had lasagna for dinner and oh my did I relish pseudo-chewing a little before swallowing it whole. I grinned fiendishly. "I'm still here you bastards!"
A few lessons learnt:
Percocet, a combination of acetaminophen and oxycodone is a constipant. (I vaguely remember having this mentioned to me during the post-operation briefing. They really should give that briefing before the procedure. Being under general anesthetic doesn't help much with memory or language processing...) Not only did I not eat for five days ... :p
Acetaminophen when combined with alcohol is toxic for the liver. I did not learn this from experience per se but from poking around on the web. I am immediately switching to Advil for my hangover needs. Anyone have any other insights on pain killers?
Watching samurai movies from the 60's and 70's for 4 days gives you a hell of a hankering for sake, onigiri (rice balls) and chopping people up with a katana. That dentist is on the top of my list right now... ;)
It also teaches you a load of japanese you, as a foreigner, will never need to know: how to yell at inn keepers, how to bet odds or evens at yakuza dice gambling dens, how to say "well well" in a menacing tone.
That curvy syringe they give you for squirting water into the holes in your jaw where your teeth once were... is only useful once you actually start eating again (as opposed to quickly swallowing mush).
Bloodclots! Yum! :p
And most important: life will go back to normal. Eventually. For now, you've got a nasty taste in your mouth and your breath stinks, all the time, no matter what you do.
