Well, I spent most of last night awake, and in a great amount of pain. One or more teeth on the left side of my mouth have been bothering me lately, and last night was a culmination of pain. I spent the majority of the night trying to hold a cold gel pack against the side of my face while I waited impatiently for the pain meds I'd taken to kick in. (Even when they did my face still hurt like hell.)
Anyway, early this morning, Monica decided that I should go see the dentist, so we called one in Athens about 8:40 AM, and made and appointment for 9:45 AM, which we barely had enough time to get to. We needn't have bothered. We got there on time, and then spent the next 2 hours or so sitting in the waiting room, watching person after person go in ahead of me (they must have had appointments for 7 AM or something.)
So anyway, after a lot of sitting around, checking the time over and over because I had to work at 3 PM, they finally called me into the back around 11:45 AM or something. They asked me what was wrong, took a look at my teeth, took some new high-tech X-rays (so different from the last time I had them taken!), and said that I had a cavity on the lower left side of my mouth, and that there appeared to be some nerve damage to the roots. The dentist said that he'd check for that next. So far so good, no major pain, no definite major problems. That all changed pretty quickly!
Sticking some gauze in the side of my mouth, and some cardboard or plastic thing between my teeth and my tongue (I think), he then proceeded to prod at a tooth with some device. I didn't feel a thing, which at the time I thought was a good thing. Then he was like "Moving on to number 12" or something like that. He started prodding at that tooth, saying "Feel anything now?" All of a sudden pain lanced through my jaw, my back arched up off the reclined chair and I was like "Yes! I can feel that one!!!" Man did it hurt! And he was like, "Yep, that one's alive." Apparently I was SUPPOSED to feel the sensation (not that the fact made me any happier about it, because I enjoyed the complete LACK of pain I felt upon the first tooth he tested!) Unfortunately, that was the one with the damaged/dead nerve endings, but I really think I'd be alright having all of my nerve endings "damaged" so I couldn't feel anything. It would sure beat all the pain I've been feeling lately!
Anyway, the dentist informed me that I would require a root canal. Somehow I've managed to avoid these all my life, so I wasn't too thrilled about hearing the news, especially when they told me what it was all going to cost. So now I have to schedule at least 2 more appointments. The first, to actually do the root canal work, and excavate the problem areas. Then they have to build the tooth back up, possible insert a post, and then top if off with a temporary cap. Then I have to schedule ANOTHER appointment to go have a crown added on in place of the temporary cap. So it's going to be lots more time at the dentist, and lots of money which we don't really have. I want to wait until after Thanksgiving, if the pain will let me, because I don't want to be out of it or unable to eat properly while we have family and friends here. I have to get it done before the end of the year though, because our insurance through Home Depot changes in January, and it might not be as good.
So anyway, I tell the hygienist and the receptionist that I'm going to have to wait to schedule and appointment for the root canal, because I've just moved to the area, and money is tight. They say that's fine, and then they give me some prescriptions for an antibiotic and a pain killer or two, and then Monica and I finally head back towards home, stopping at Wal-Mart to drop off the prescriptions and grab a quick lunch at Golden Sun (or whatever that Chinese restaurant over there is called.) Then we dash home, I hop in the shower and get ready for work while Kate and Jacob arrive to spend the day with Monica (going to get Page), and then drive back over to the other end of Baxter to spend the evening working at OM.
That was pretty much my day today. Now I'm sitting here typing this long blog as antibiotics, pain killers, and the remains of a 5 Hour Energy shot I drank before I left work course through my system. Hopefully I'll have a relatively pain free night tonight, and maybe actually get some sleep. If the pain comes back though, I'll take another Percocet this time, and then I just won't CARE that much if it hurts. Ah, narcotic pain killers...gotta love them. lol
So that's the latest from my world - possibly painful dental dilemmas, and bothersome bills (un)fortunately forthcoming. Oh well, look at the bright side. Gas is only $1.70 per gallon around here. That's got to be worth something! :) Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend.
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