To F.B.I., D.E.A. S.O.D., C.I.A., N.C.I.S., Ms., Lillith Magazine Executives, & A.C.L.U.: Post-Wisdom Teeth Removal & Childbirth

After my four wisdom teeth were removed at Makalapa Medical Clinic, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, I had trismus, or difficulty opening my jaw. It would only open enough for a straw to pass through my lips. I found that getting it packed with dental clove oil helped me the most. One of the wisdom teeth had to be somehow, forcefully cracked into sections, then extracted, with a dental "hammer."

For that reason, I recommend anesthesia. I only had numbing shots in my mouth for the procedure, but it would be better for others to be put under, for wisdom teeth removal. For some reason, the first lidocaine injection didn't numb my mouth, so a second shot was administered, which is painful. The hammer felt like being punched by a male, heavyweight boxer in the jaw at least four times.

For child birth, I had a natural one, without an epidural, but I don't recommend that to anyone. There are safe, walking epidurals, that should be considered. I had 26 running stitches, following a forceps-assisted, child birth, from an episiotomy, and a lot of pain. The nurse never saw the kind of swelling I had before, in L & D. I felt the episiotomy stitching, and was in pain, even though they administered a numbing shot of lidocaine to the site.

The ob/gyn was training a medical student who looked like he was going to pass out from the procedure. Afterwards, because I was breastfeeding, I only had ice packs, but also used a numbing first aid spray, over the counter, Dermaplast. I was in pain for five and a half months from the ordeal. At six months, post-partum, I felt the pain from walking and getting in and out of the car had disappeared entirely.