Totally get how uncomfortable ice packs can be—been through similar after orthodontic work.
This trick made a huge difference for me too. Hang in there, it'll ease up soon."sometimes a thin towel or cloth between the ice pack and skin helps a lot with comfort."
Totally agree with the towel trick. I had gum surgery about a year ago and remember how annoying the ice packs felt directly on my skin. Another thing that helped me was using smaller ice packs or even frozen peas in ziplock bags—they mold around your face better and aren't as stiff as regular ice packs. Also, switching sides every 15-20 minutes made it way more tolerable for me.
One more tip: if you haven't already, try elevating your head a bit when you're resting or sleeping. It helps cut down on swelling and discomfort overnight. The first few days are definitely rough, but it gets easier pretty quickly after that. Hang in there...you've got this.
Did anyone else find the frozen peas got mushy super fast? I liked the smaller gel packs better—same flexibility, less mess. Also, did elevating your head actually help much? I'm worried it'll just make sleeping even harder...
"Did anyone else find the frozen peas got mushy super fast?"
Haha, totally. After day two, my peas were basically pea soup...gross. Gel packs were way better. Elevating helped me a bit with swelling, but honestly, sleeping upright was torture—prepare for some Netflix marathons at 3am.
"sleeping upright was torture—prepare for some Netflix marathons at 3am."
Ugh, seriously...how long did you have to sleep upright? I'm scheduled for gum surgery next week and already dreading it. Also, are gel packs really that much better than peas? Might need to stock up...
