Frustrated by conflicting advice about recovery time— what is the truth??

Hi!

I just had my bottom left wisdom tooth removed on Monday at 11am (it’s currently 11am wednesday now) and I’m very frustrated by the conflicting advice I’m getting regarding recovery.

Following my extraction, my dentist told me not to use straws, smoke, vape etc for 24 hours as to prevent dry socket. I had already been doing some googling beforehand and saw most sites saying to wait longer, so I am, because I’m TERRIFIED of getting dry socket.

Right now, I definitely don’t have dry socket. I’m in what I would think is a normal (mild) amount of aching pain just at the site. The hole has white film almost covering it, but opens up significantly when I open my jaw more than a few cm. The opening is what worries me.

I use cannabis for chronic pain relief and anxiety, so this has been difficult for me but I’m now 48h without smoking (edibles don’t work at all for me— yay lol). I’m starting to get antsy to smoke as my anxiety has been peaking these past few days. However, I really really don’t want dry socket. I’m also afraid to eat, drink, laugh, cough, and brush my teeth normally and bust a stitch or rip the hole open more. I can't even use my water bottle bc it has a straw. I can't even open my mouth all the way without getting scared. I've been trying laughing with a straight face because smiling feels like it's stretching the site and I look like a creep. fml.

I’m really frustrated by the conflicting advice I’m getting regarding recovery time. When I look up “when can I smoke after extraction”, I’m seeing some professionals say 24h, some say 48, 72, 1 week, even a month…. and I don’t know who to trust. I’m also seeing some sites say the risk of dry socket is gone after day 3, some say the risk starts ON day 3, some say it’s gone after day 10?? What????

Why would my dentist tell me only to wait 24h if dry socket is still a major risk? Why are people giving so many different time frames??? When does dry socket ACTUALLY stop being a risk? When can I ACTUALLY smoke and not freak myself out about dry socket? When can I smile and drink with a straw? I’m so tired :(