Odd Side Effects of Wisdom Tooth Extraction?!

Hello All,

This past monday (the 3rd) I had my 4 wisdom teeth removed. All were impacted, and all required (dissolving) stitches to close the gums afterward. I've been sore and on bed rest all week (today is now sunday and was the first day I got out of bed and functioned relatively normally), and have had a few odd symptoms I was wondering if anyone else had experienced. Be forewarned, I am a little bit of a hypochondriac, so sorry if some of them seem trivial!

1. Although the swelling has finally began to decrease in my jaw (and it took 5 days to do so), I am still experiencing overall jaw tightness and weakness, making it uncomfortable to chew anything, even with just my front teeth, or talk for more than a minute or so. My mouth also won't open half as far as it usually does, and I sometimes hear a soft clicking on one side when I open/close.

2. My top left extraction site, which has had little pain throughout the healing process, has begun to hurt in a kind of off way. The site of extraction and the gum itself seems fine, and when checking with a mirror and flashlight seems to still be healed and doing well. However, over the last two days, when I talk or eat for longer periods of time, I sometimes experience this "zinging" pain not in the gum, but in my upper jaw where roots may typically be. The perfect way to describe the pain is that sharp, almost electric feeling you sometimes get when you over-whiten your teeth, it's that precise feeling. It only lasts a second or 2, and only happens once or twice a day, but always in the same area.

3. I had the misfortune to get in a rather heated argument last night, and exercised my jaw and gums liberally for the first time since my surgery, and afterward I noticed that my lower left gum (which I was told was the hardest tooth to extract and which area had the most swelling) had popped a stitch. The gum is now bleeding just slightly, but I'm experiencing no pain, and as my stitches were dissolving anyway, I'm wondering if this would cause any issues.

I have been religiously following doctor's orders, no straws, only very mushy food all week, not slurping or coughing, etc, and rinsing gently with saltwater upwards of 5 times each day. I did a little research on dry sockets, but the only info I could find described that as a kind of throbbing, constant pain, which isn't exactly what I have as mine is very sharp but is gone very quickly. I do have an appointment with my surgeon for a follow-up later this week.

If anyone has experienced any of these after-extraction symptoms, I'd love to hear what it ended up being for you!

Thanks!
-Molly