oh wow, i can't believe it's been 5 days since i posted. i haven't been on the road with my job, but i've had a tumultous past few days. as i mentioned before, i had to have a root canal. i was set to have it on Monday, but it turned out there wasn't enough time to have do it and i was also told that it would cost less than it actually did. (i was originally told that the root canal "therapy" would costme $145, which was true. but, the receptionist neglected to tell me that the necessary crown would be an additional $300.) so, i had to apply for something called Care Credit, where i make monthly payments. anyway, i was able to get rescheduled for the next day. i happily went in because i was told the day before that once i had the procedure, the tremendous pain i'd been under would be gone.
so, i get in the chair and they numb the area. my tongue and lip get very numb but my tooth still hurts to the touch. it's not as bad as it was when i came in, just a little uncomfortable. so, they start preping me for the procedure and have a very hard time getting that dental dam protector into my mouth. something about my mouth is small and my tongue wouldn't cooperate. after what feels like 30 minutes, i'm ready to go. things are ok, still a bit uncomfortable, but i'm willing to take it because the work needs to get done. then towards the end it hurts like hell. i have high pain threshhold and this was way too much. i started sweating and all of that. then i realize that the anesthesia is wearing off my already very sensitive tooth. since the area around my tooth is so irritated, the doctor isn't even able to fit me for a crown. they finish the work, and then the hygenist tells me that it turned out i had an abscess in my tooth and that i will also need to have a tooth scaling and root planing before they can fit put the crown on. as she's talking, i can barely concentrate, the pain is so intense. i mean, i felt 10x worse than i felt when i came in. she gives me Rx for an antibiotic and Vicodin. after i check out, i get in the car and just burst into tears. i'd never experienced pain so intense. the office is close to a pharmacy, which is close to my house, so i make there, get the Rx filled and go home. on the way home, i take the Vicodin because i feel like something's got to make it better. once i get home, i start to feel loopy. so, i go to bed. the pain has subsided a bit, but not enough. i can't figure out for the life of me what's going on. when i start to feel better, i get up and start doing work for my job (we're able to work from home). when my manager calls for our daily check-in, i tell him what happened, and he says for me to just get some rest. that's easier said than done because when i have a lot to do, i worry about it not being taken care of. but, i do end up going to bed.
in the middle of the night, my tooth is killing me. i'm cryin' and pleading with God to make it go away. yeah, it was major. i then get up and take a Motrin, which was prescribed to me before the Vicodin. wonder of wonders, i started to feel better and went to sleep.
i got up the next morning and decided i would go into the office. why i decided to do this instead of just staying home, i'll never know. it took me forever to leave the house because i kept having to sit down or rest, i was just weak. i made it to work and felt ify for the first few hours. when it came time for lunch, i heated up the arroz con pollo i'd made a few days before. as you can see, i wasn't thinking clearly when i brought that lunch because i could only chew with one half of my mouth. so, after a while, i started to feel sick to my stomach,dizzy, and my tooth was killing me. i guess that's what happens when you don't have enough food in your stomach and then decide to take some medicine. so, i ended up leaving work early.
by this time, i'm scared. i'm used to living by myself and taking care of myself, but i start wondering if i need for someone to come and stay with me. well, i don't have too many options, so i call my grandmother (all the way in OK) and ask her what to do. well, there was a bit of a problem when i called. about a month ago she had a goiter removed from her throat area and since then her voice has been very scratchy and i almost can't understand a word she was saying. i'd tried to call my aunt at work (again in Tulsa) and she wasn't at her desk. anyway, i was able to decipher from my grandmother that i needed to eat some soup and go to bed. i made my way to Panera, got a bowl of soup and got home. i was able to suck some of it down before my aunt called me back. i told her what happened, and she started praying for me and then told me to look in the phone book to see if i could get an emergency appt. with a dentist (my current dentist was closed by this time, and i hadn't been able to get through earlier.) i do that and find one, explain the situation, and she then tells me that the reason i'm still in pain is because the infection is still raging and the antibiotic needs time to kick in and that the pain medication won't work until the infection starts to clear. she says that the dentist will be glad to see me, but that if she did any work, my insurance company would charge me for the procedure all over again. she then suggests i call the pharmacy to see if i can double up on the antibiotic. i do that and am told that won't help and i'll probably just throw up the excess since my stomach can only take so much. by this time, i'm exhausted, so i take another 800 mg Motrin and go to sleep. when i get up, i feel a lot better.
it's just been a stressful time on a lot of fronts. the tooth pain, the expense of the treatments i need, i have a lot of other bills that are due, i stressed about work, and i don't have any one here in Atlanta i consistently depend on. i'm just tired...
so, i get in the chair and they numb the area. my tongue and lip get very numb but my tooth still hurts to the touch. it's not as bad as it was when i came in, just a little uncomfortable. so, they start preping me for the procedure and have a very hard time getting that dental dam protector into my mouth. something about my mouth is small and my tongue wouldn't cooperate. after what feels like 30 minutes, i'm ready to go. things are ok, still a bit uncomfortable, but i'm willing to take it because the work needs to get done. then towards the end it hurts like hell. i have high pain threshhold and this was way too much. i started sweating and all of that. then i realize that the anesthesia is wearing off my already very sensitive tooth. since the area around my tooth is so irritated, the doctor isn't even able to fit me for a crown. they finish the work, and then the hygenist tells me that it turned out i had an abscess in my tooth and that i will also need to have a tooth scaling and root planing before they can fit put the crown on. as she's talking, i can barely concentrate, the pain is so intense. i mean, i felt 10x worse than i felt when i came in. she gives me Rx for an antibiotic and Vicodin. after i check out, i get in the car and just burst into tears. i'd never experienced pain so intense. the office is close to a pharmacy, which is close to my house, so i make there, get the Rx filled and go home. on the way home, i take the Vicodin because i feel like something's got to make it better. once i get home, i start to feel loopy. so, i go to bed. the pain has subsided a bit, but not enough. i can't figure out for the life of me what's going on. when i start to feel better, i get up and start doing work for my job (we're able to work from home). when my manager calls for our daily check-in, i tell him what happened, and he says for me to just get some rest. that's easier said than done because when i have a lot to do, i worry about it not being taken care of. but, i do end up going to bed.
in the middle of the night, my tooth is killing me. i'm cryin' and pleading with God to make it go away. yeah, it was major. i then get up and take a Motrin, which was prescribed to me before the Vicodin. wonder of wonders, i started to feel better and went to sleep.
i got up the next morning and decided i would go into the office. why i decided to do this instead of just staying home, i'll never know. it took me forever to leave the house because i kept having to sit down or rest, i was just weak. i made it to work and felt ify for the first few hours. when it came time for lunch, i heated up the arroz con pollo i'd made a few days before. as you can see, i wasn't thinking clearly when i brought that lunch because i could only chew with one half of my mouth. so, after a while, i started to feel sick to my stomach,dizzy, and my tooth was killing me. i guess that's what happens when you don't have enough food in your stomach and then decide to take some medicine. so, i ended up leaving work early.
by this time, i'm scared. i'm used to living by myself and taking care of myself, but i start wondering if i need for someone to come and stay with me. well, i don't have too many options, so i call my grandmother (all the way in OK) and ask her what to do. well, there was a bit of a problem when i called. about a month ago she had a goiter removed from her throat area and since then her voice has been very scratchy and i almost can't understand a word she was saying. i'd tried to call my aunt at work (again in Tulsa) and she wasn't at her desk. anyway, i was able to decipher from my grandmother that i needed to eat some soup and go to bed. i made my way to Panera, got a bowl of soup and got home. i was able to suck some of it down before my aunt called me back. i told her what happened, and she started praying for me and then told me to look in the phone book to see if i could get an emergency appt. with a dentist (my current dentist was closed by this time, and i hadn't been able to get through earlier.) i do that and find one, explain the situation, and she then tells me that the reason i'm still in pain is because the infection is still raging and the antibiotic needs time to kick in and that the pain medication won't work until the infection starts to clear. she says that the dentist will be glad to see me, but that if she did any work, my insurance company would charge me for the procedure all over again. she then suggests i call the pharmacy to see if i can double up on the antibiotic. i do that and am told that won't help and i'll probably just throw up the excess since my stomach can only take so much. by this time, i'm exhausted, so i take another 800 mg Motrin and go to sleep. when i get up, i feel a lot better.
it's just been a stressful time on a lot of fronts. the tooth pain, the expense of the treatments i need, i have a lot of other bills that are due, i stressed about work, and i don't have any one here in Atlanta i consistently depend on. i'm just tired...
7 comments:
I knew it wasn't gonna go right as soon as I read that you didn't get completely numb. I am sorry that your tooth is still giving you pain. I heard absesses (sp) are not fun. :-(
Hang in there, stay home and keep your drugs nearby!
Being ill and not having nobody local to really help you is a WHOLE nother issue.... *sigh*
...and yes we are have benefited from standardized tests, I know I have....
the thing that tripped me out is that the dentist went ahead and did the work. then again, perhaps it was the best option. since the infection was so acute, that hindered the anesthesia from working as well as it should have. if they'd waited a few more days for the infection to clear, it may have gotten worse. so, it was like damned if i do, damned if i don't.
yep, that's exactly what i need to do--- stay my ass at home! lol
you know, until now i'd never really needed anyone to come and help me out. (well, there was that time 3 yrs. ago when i had surgery). but, other than that, i'd been ok. this was not one of those times. but, what can you do?
yeah, i was sure you knew that. i was just going off on a diatribe....
I didn't even know you updated yesterday. Blogrolling is really slipping lately telling me when posts are updated.
Aww, my poor Zora! If I wasn't such a meanie I'd hug you. (((HUG))) If you even think of mentioning the hug and it making me not mean I'll make you drink the coldest Slurpee I can find. ;o) I hope you're feeling better and aren't still stressing out about work. It'll get done when it gets done. Either someone will pick up the slack for you or it'll be waiting when you're feeling better.
I so could say something about that small mouth comment but that would be too easy even for me. :oP Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
lol @ freaky!
awww.. i can just imangine the pain.. i hope your mouth feels better.. those 800 mg of Motrin (or Ibuprofin) are AMAZING!!
and when you feel like you need someone.. remember - your blog fam is here :-)
freaky: yeah, i barely remembered updating that day. it was all a blur.
oh, i'm still yours? after all the lists i've been removed from, i'm shocked! lol... well, my tooth is a lot better now, so i could manage the Slurpee. so, i'll say thanks for the incredibly kind hug! :p take that!
as for work, there's still a lot of stuff to do. i should be doing it now, but i don't really feel like it.
you know, when i said my mouth was small, i soooo expected you to reference it in your comments.
ttd: yeah, it's a lot better today. i'm not delirious w/ pain, so that's a great thing. and yes, those 800 mg ibuprofens are the truth! forget vicodins, go w/ the tried and true!
oh, that's nice of you to say. i love having a blog fam!
You could be back on the lists like that if you quit trying to get scratched off. To answer that first question, if you want to be. ;o)
Every response I had for that comment was filthy, so as hard as it was for me I took the high road and walked away. I'm staying on my chain for the time being. :op
freaky: yeah, i barely remembered updating that day. it was all a blur.
oh, i'm still yours? after all the lists i've been removed from, i'm shocked! lol... well, my tooth is a lot better now, so i could manage the Slurpee. so, i'll say thanks for the incredibly kind hug! :p take that!
as for work, there's still a lot of stuff to do. i should be doing it now, but i don't really feel like it.
you know, when i said my mouth was small, i soooo expected you to reference it in your comments.
ttd: yeah, it's a lot better today. i'm not delirious w/ pain, so that's a great thing. and yes, those 800 mg ibuprofens are the truth! forget vicodins, go w/ the tried and true!
oh, that's nice of you to say. i love having a blog fam!
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