I want to share my experience getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth surgically removed. Both bottom ones being impacted, my left bottom one was pretty bad. I'm a female in my early 30s. I use marijuana daily and am a light cigarette smoker. I am diagnosed with OCD and generalized anxiety disorder (not on any daily medication currently), and I have issues with food restriction (work in progress).
I share all of this (information I don't normally disclose) because this experience affected me in a bad way, and after just about 19 days post-surgery, I am finally starting to feel a little better. In the last ~20 days I have been a hot mess, both physically and mentally, and after spending so many hours on this thread, Google, and (Lord help me) ChatGPT - I thought if my experience could help at least one other person, that would maybe make this hellscape worth it lol.
Pre-Op
My bottom two wisdom teeth were "out" - both grew in completely sideways and were lightly pressing on my molars. Normally it wouldn't cause me any pain, but every so often one would get inflamed. This happened with my bottom left, and something in me said, okay, time to take care of this. My top two were there but never grew in. Otherwise I have normal dental health. My regular dentist let me know he couldn't extract them in-office and referred me to an oral surgeon who would put me under general anesthesia, thank God.
Days 1–3
The procedure itself was smooth and painless, but I was knocked out so I guess I wouldn't know for sure - the surgeon assured me it went well lol. They gave me amoxicillin, hydrocodone, and ibuprofen 800s. Only enough hydrocodone for a week and enough ibuprofen for about a week and a half. When I got home after surgery I managed to eat (with a spoon) a thin smoothie, and later that night a room-temperature broth soup (hot temperatures can dissolve the blood clot forming in the extraction sites). The pain was managed pretty well with the medicines, and I also drank a THC shot (we live in a legal state). Days 2–3 were about the same pain-level wise - bad but manageable with staying on the medicine schedule (and THC drinks). The swelling probably peaked during those days as well. Food-wise I was eating all liquids or extremely soft foods: smoothies, applesauce, yogurt, pudding, soups, and mashed potatoes. I also started (and am still) drinking a protein shake and nutrient shake every morning. Mentally I was more exhausted than anything, riding the steady lull of pain pills. I also started doing warm salt water rinses on day 2 and am still doing them religiously to this day after I eat or smoke anything.
**I want to note that the aftercare sheet I received said I could smoke after 48 hours and drink through a straw, but I refrained from smoking a cigarette until day 4, and I'm still not using a straw as I normally would (ridiculous, I know lol) out of fear of dislodging the blood clot. If you don't know - dry sockets happen when that protective blood clot is dislodged or dissolved, which is why you're not supposed to "suck" on anything.
Days 4–6
The pain started to get worse these days. My jaw was incredibly sore. I was still following the medicine schedule, but I'm sure my body was getting used to the medications. I was still drinking THC drinks daily, though edibles have never affected me much. I smoked a cigarette extremely lightly on day 4 (with my lips not fully closed), but immediately got scared I'd messed something up and didn't try again until day 6 or 7. Food-wise I was still largely eating the liquid and very soft foods from days 1–3, but also adding in some very soft breads - pasta, pancakes, and grilled cheese soaked in tomato soup — because I was starving. I was probably eating fewer than 600 calories a day that first week, only hungry enough for one meal. Mentally I was not doing great. The lack of food, marijuana, and nicotine mixed with constant pain was wreaking havoc on my nervous system. I felt extreme guilt over the only foods I could easily eat being "unhealthy," and I was obsessively Googling for hours what I was supposed to feel like on Day X.
Days 7–10
I was really thinking these would be the days I started feeling better - I was wrong lol. I was out of hydrocodone and had maybe 1 or 2 ibuprofen 800s left, trying to savor them, so I was off my med schedule. The pain was almost constant in my lower sites and molars, despite not having a dry socket and everything healing normally. I went back to the oral surgeon on day 10 and he told me the sites looked great and gave me a syringe to irrigate them after eating. He did offer to dress my lower sockets with a dissolvable clove-soaked dressing for pain relief, but said it would delay the healing process, so I opted out. Irrigating the sites has been one of my worst nightmares brought to life (looking at the holes brings me so much discomfort) but I am still doing it after every meal along with a salt water rinse. Food-wise I was still on the same diet as days 4–6. I didn't want to push myself, and chewing for prolonged periods killed my jaw. Medicine-wise I was alternating Tylenol and ibuprofen. Mentally I was in a bad place. I'm a creature of routine and habit, and this threw me for a loop. I could not sleep at all (my sleep schedule is still messed up), and my anxiety and OCD were firing on all cylinders. I was crying every single morning and wondering why I ever did this. I did start very lightly smoking a single cigarette around day 6/7 (again with my mouth partially open and a salt water rinse after), and I was still drinking THC drinks - but no smoking of anything yet.
Days 11–14
I started to see some improvement on the pain side. I was taking OTC meds as needed, which was still every day, but not every 6–8 hours. I was irrigating the sites after meals and still doing salt water rinses multiple times a day. Food-wise, largely the same diet still. I started adding in some finely ground protein, but I still (to this day) am mainly chewing with my front teeth. My back teeth's bite still feels off, and I'm not trying to get food stuck in those holes. At this point I had probably lost around 10 lbs that I didn't really have to lose, but the mental fear of messing something up (combined with guilt around what I was eating) was keeping me from eating more. Mentally, things still sucked. I didn't want to go out, do anything, or see anybody. I spent large chunks of the day crying for reasons I couldn't pinpoint. I just felt so off. I was still having random bouts of pain that OTC meds didn't really touch. On day 14 I smoked my first dab out of our Puffco and it was glorious - A+, felt like I was 15 again smoking for the first time. I still didn't suction my mouth around it fully and pulled lightly, and I'm still doing it that way.
Days 15–Now
The last few days have been the best so far. This past weekend (day 15) I went out with friends for the first time since surgery and had a blast. I was finally able to let go and stop obsessing for a few hours - "do I have a dry socket?" (risk is usually past by day 5–7 lol), "do I have an infection?", "is my face swollen?" The next day I paid for it a bit and was in pain again, which sent my mental state plummeting. But the last two days (17/18) I've been OTC med-free, mostly pain-free, and starting to feel a little better mentally each day. I can comfortably smoke a cigarette the normal way again, and I've been doing dabs from the Puffco comfortably when I need one. I still haven't been brave enough to smoke from our bong (too much suction), but hopefully that's coming soon lol. Food-wise I'm slowly introducing more, but I'd be lying if I said I was anywhere near normal eating. I'm still sticking mainly to pastas, soups, potatoes, diced protein, yogurt, soft breads, pudding, and smoothies. I did have a shepherd's pie for dinner and was very slowly able to eat it, win!
My bite still feels very off (two fewer prominent teeth back there that I had for years), and my jaw still hurts after extended chewing. That's my last major struggle. I still get some pain here and there, but it's usually manageable without meds.
The extraction sites - the right lower one is getting smaller each day, but my left (more impacted) is still pretty large. I'm avoiding food on that side as long as possible. My top sites never caused any issues and you can't even see them. I've read it can take months to a year or more for sites to fully close if they're deep enough, but you're healed where it counts.
TLDR: Recovery takes everybody different amounts of time, and it can absolutely be just as hard mentally as it is physically, I'm still recovering on both fronts ~20 days later. Try to eat as much as you can comfortably, but don't push yourself. Don’t smoke anything if you can help it until around a week, it’ll delay healing. Follow your aftercare instructions to a T. DO THE SALT WATER RINSES (and irrigation when you have the syringe) after every meal and smoke. Follow your pain med schedule. Dry sockets are most common from days 3–7. Don't suck on anything. Don't obsess over your recovery. Stay off Google and LLMs - call your dentist/surgeon instead. If the pain meds make you constipated - get some senna. Most importantly, just do the best you can!