Why am I feeling Dizzy, Exhausted and Down after Wisdom Tooth Extraction?

I had my upper wisdom tooth extracted last Monday (17/03) under a local anaesthetic, following nearly a week of intense pain which my friend, a dentist, initially thought was due to an abscess of or peridonitis. Before it was found to be tooth decay (he did not x-ray my teeth as he was on holiday at the time), he gave me a very short course of antibiotics (3days). At the same time, I was taking 2 nurofen every four hours. By the second day of taking the antibiotics I was waking up at night, my nightdress drenched in sweat and feeling quite ill (aside from my aching gums!). Also, everytime I moved my head in bed, I felt extremely dizzy, as though I'd stepped off a playground roundabout. My tooth was removed by another dentist after an x-ray found the tooth to be decay, and the pain stopped in my gum. However the nausea, sweating and dizziness continued until yesterday (22/03). Today, I don't feel as dizzy but I feel exhausted wth no energy to get out of bed. Is it the antibiotics?

Why am I feeling Dizzy, Exhausted and Down after Wisdom Tooth Extraction?
I'm a dentist.





Conceivably, it could be the antibiotics. People sometimes do have idiosyncratic reactions to medications. Although this his highly unlikely, especially since you finished them a couple of days ago but are still having some diziness.





The nausea could be caused by narcotic pain medications, as could the dizziness (which would exacerbate the nausea).





It is also possible that you developed something called "benign positional vertigo" (BPM for short), which is characterized by dizziness when you move your head. As I'm a dentist rather than an otolaryngologist (i.e. an ENT), I don't know if there's any connection between potential dental infection (or surgical trauma) and vertigo. What I do know is that this BPM involves the vestibular system, and if memory serves, is caused by build up of something on the otoliths that cause movement of the hairs in the semicircular canals of your vestibular system. Again, this is out of my area of expertise.





Either way, you should get it checked out by your primary care physician, who may refer you to an ENT if he/she thinks it's appropriate.
Reply:Part of the healing process........many don't look at it as surgery, but it is. In some cases it could be classed as major surgery.


The antibiotics are doing their job too. You'll be fine in a few days.
Reply:Sounds like infection, you should get checked out. Get an x-ray

slippers