Getting Old Is Not For Sissies

[xifeng]

(The subject line was a favorite tag of my grandfather's.)

Today, I am old. Or older. Whichever. The weekend was nothing special; lolmom bought me shoes and clothes, as she promised to do, and I was injudicious at Sephora and bought myself a pair of sandals off Amazon (because the brand's official website, of course, had already moved on). Yesterday we had salade niçoise for dinner, which was not my birthday dinner but was still pretty good, and lemon pavlova for dessert, which was my birthday dessert and was reeeeeeeeeeeeally good. Damn, I love lemon.

Today, I accomplished exciting and amazing things such as shaving my legs (a godsend, since I went swimming after work and somehow managed to kill most of an hour doing laps, even though I didn't do that many and kind of pussed out), not eating crap for breakfast, and...dun dun DUN DUN...calling the oral surgeon for an appointment, during the course of which I learned the following things:

+ Most people have their wisdom teeth out in their teens or twenties. (Well, mine didn't start erupting until I was already out of my teens, and it was not medically necessary to remove them until they started decaying a year and change ago. See, there's this novel little concept where if things don't bother you and aren't going to go on to bigger and better trouble, you leave them alone.)
+ They usually offer IV sedation. (Over my cold dead body is anyone going to put me under for something as badger-sputumly inconsequential as yanking a couple of teeth, with apologies to the late great Douglas Adams. They're not impacted--both erupted fully. I don't have epilepsy, convulsions, or other problems that would render me unable to control my limbs. I said, nicely, that I didn't feel comfortable allowing them to anaesthetize me just for a couple of extractions, and also that in any case my insurance won't pay for it, which is true. I HAVE PROOF, in the form of the explanation of benefits I printed off the HR website.)
+ They'll need to see my X-rays. They may need to take a Panorex. My dentist and I were going to do this in December, since it would be easier to get the insurance to cough up for that. Y so complicated insurance. (Also y u no let me print card.)
+ I am Not Enthused. The temptation to call lolmom and beg her to come to the appointment with me is overwhelming, but so far I have resisted.

Comments

[jonoakwood.livejournal.com]

I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed in one sitting when I was 20. They were all impacted, so I was put under.

I remember that when I woke up from anesthesia, I was so happy that I wasn't in pain that I started running laps around the parking lot of the oral surgeon's office while my mom chased me to get me into the car. I was also obviously still under the anesthetic's effects.

So, the point is, I hope your removal goes smoothly and is as oddly memorable as mine.

[shake-the-stars.livejournal.com]

That is totally, totally awesome. I can only hope to approach that in oddity! I won't be put under, since my insurance won't cover that and the teeth that need to come out aren't impacted, so I'll probably disappoint by dragging my snarly, cranky ass out to the car and slurring at lolmom to fill the antibiotics but not the painkillers. At least the dope won't change me.