I don't think it's nearly as bad as people say it is. Last summer I had to get my four wisdom teeth out, an impacted molar, and a cyst. I didn't really need three of my wisdom teeth out, they just figured they'd take them out anyways, but it really didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Within a few of days, the left side of my mouth (where I had two wisdom teeth removed) barely hurt at all. I got an infection where the cyst was and it was just a huge empty space (like a big dry socket), and it hurt, but after a couple of days I was fine if I was on pain killers. My molar was horizontally impacted so that did hurt more than the other teeth I had removed, but it didn't hurt an incredible amount (and I have a ridiculously low pain tolerance...I'm a complete wimp). Also, I bled the first day, but that's pretty much it. Really, the first day was the worst but the anesthetic really hadn't completely worn off yet so I was still out of it
. Going off of solid food really isn't bad at all either - I mean soft foods are pretty good (jello, ice cream...yum!). I've heard people say that they were fine the same day and mine wasn't that easy, but it really wasn't as bad as some people told me it would be.
I had never been put under before either and was terrified, especially of the IV. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be though, I got the gas mask at first, and when I woke up and they took the IV out, I didn't even feel it.
After all of it, I have to say that the part leading up to the surgery was worse than the actual surgery; most of it really was mental. My cyst was recurring so I'll probably have to go in again, but I'm not nearly as scared as I was before the first one. Plus the dogs made it so much easier
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Good luck, and don't worry too much!