Severe pain after wisdom teeth removal

[Strawmite]

6 days ago I had both lower wisdom teeth removed under GA. I’ve been in agony since the local anaesthetic has worn off. My face swelled up to twice as wide as normal and is still swollen. I still have severe pain (8/10) on each side- this is managed with 2 hourly analgesia including codeine but still painful. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t lie flat in bed. I don’t think it’s dry socket as it’s been the same since the day the op happened. Both teeth were very impacted and below the gum line close to the bone so is this just normal?! I’ve had no follow up care, saw my own dentists last week who said the wound sites looked to be healing ok and gave me antibiotics just in case.
I am beside myself with pain. Various people tell me it’s normal but I didn’t anticipate it this bad for so long. At 2 am I promised myself it it hadn’t improved in 2 days I was going to start double dosing painkillers as I just can’t cope with the pain. I have three small children and am not coping, I can’t look after them. Every time I try to ring for help I just cry with pain.

No it should be feeling a little better now, maybe you have an infection? Have you an emergency dentist locally you can call them. I had very traumatic tooth extraction a year ago, ended with jaw lock and an infection but not pain like you describe

Thanks @cheninblanc I have been on antibiotics and the dentist said they couldn’t see anything but I feel like something must be wrong it’s so much more painful than I expected.

If you had them removed under GA , this implies a hospital oral surgery unit was involved. Did you get an aftercare sheet with hospital contact numbers on or were you directed to your general dentist for aftercare?

Can you take diclofenac ? Your general dentist can prescribe that if so. You can have 3 doses of that plus 4 doses of co-codamol in a 24 hour period. That may give you better analgesia. Have you been putting ice packs on the swelling?
It's horrible OP but it will resolve soon x

@M1212 they just said to ring the day surgery unit if I had any issues which I did but the nurse said as Im discharged there’s nothing they can do. They recommended the emergency clinic at the dental hospital but I waited on hold for over an hour 3 times without getting through which is why I ended up seeing my own dentist as an emergency patient. She wasn’t keen to do much as I should be under the hospital but I can’t get through to anyone.

What I'd recommend is looking up PALs for the dental hospital and contacting them tomorrow. You are still post -surgical 1 week after GA removal, so it's their responsibility to review you if you're still massively swollen and it's not responding to antibiotics.
It is possible to curettage, irrigate and dress lower impacted 8 sockets, this might give you some relief.

Thank you @M1212 I will contact PALS tomorrow. I know I just want a review to check it’s all ok! You sound like you know what you’re talking about.

I hope so 😉

No you shouldn’t be in that much pain anymore. You still have pain but the pills should be keeping on top of it. I had all 4 out under GA and about 5 days later was in huge amounts of pain due to a dry socket on the bottom left hand side. A lovely emergency dentist (not my own as they closed at lunch on Fridays!) once he had a look said “You poor thing you must be in agony”, I burst into tears as he was so kind! I can’t remember what he did but he cleaned it out somehow and gave me more antibiotics and painkillers. Did the job.
Don’t take this lying down, get firm and (politely) demand attention. You have my sympathy as it was bloody horrible!

How are you feeling today? Have you managed to get any help? X

Thank you @cheninblanc I’m not too bad. I contacted PALS but didn’t get a response so now got even more of a hump as even PALS aren’t bothered with me . The pain is slightly better today and has been bearable with the painkillers so hoping I’m going in the right direction anyway I’d like really appreciate a proper review.

That's really good to read! I've been thinking of you, after my surgery last year I just struggled and wanted to make sure you were OK. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little better again pain wise xx