When Anesthesia Wears Off

I’ve been healthy most of my life so setting up an appointment with a medical practitioner is something strange to me. I never had any major or minor operation, and I’m truly grateful. The last time I’ve been to a hospital was in 2015 when I needed to take care of my father who was battling with cancer at that time.

5 years later, I had no choice but to set up an appointment with a dentist. I was advised that I should have another appointment for tooth extraction. The dentist couldn’t pull out my tooth because my gum was swelling. I have chubby cheeks, so having a swollen gum made me look like an alien from an undiscovered planet. I swear I looked funny. I was advised to take antibiotics and return after a week.

I returned after a week and was a bit scared. I was literally trembling when the dentist was trying to extract my tooth. I had a few shots of anesthesia. More shots than normal. The anesthesia started to wear off after a couple of hours. I slowly felt the pain. It’s painful that I wanted to cry in my room.

I just realized that we use anesthesia not just in some medical procedures but as well as in protecting ourselves from our feelings. Anesthesia comes in different forms. Sometimes we drown ourselves into liquor to numb our feelings. Other times we soothe ourselves by eating. Some resort to sex. The problem is after all of these we go back to the undealt pain. Anesthesia wears off. It always does. The best way to deal with the pain is to face it. Feel the pain and be honest enough that the offender’s actions deeply hurt you. Feel the pain, choose to forgive, and move on.

Never be afraid when anesthesia starts to wear off. Pain is always a signal that something is wrong. It lets us know that we need healing whether that’s physical or emotional. When anesthesia wears off, healing begins.