One Day My Crown Will Come..

It was back to the dentist for Dave and I today. I'm feeling pretty terrible tonight.. so if my summary seems a little bit concise, it's purposeful.

We started the morning with my appointment at the new clinic where I was to get my second opinion on the madness going on inside my face. I went in toting before and after x-rays, which the new dentist appreciated very much. In short.. I learned that the drilling out, lining and refilling idea was little more than nonsense and Dr.S said a root canal is most definitely the way I need to go. He took one look at the x-rays and winced. He said I must be in a world of hurt with the filling composites pinching in the nerve like it was. I nodded weakly, and agreed on the world of pain concept, lol.

Dr.S told me that I was in a pretty high risk area of getting another infection. With such foreign weight pressing in on the nerve, my body is going to stay in full-on attack mode, and it just didn't look good. He wrote me out another prescription for another two weeks of an antibiotic, as well as one more week's worth of pain medicine to get me through. He said if I couldn't make it, they could take out the filling, and put a numbing medicine in there to help me out, which they only like to do in very serious pain instances, (like mine), but I'm going to tough it out, and wait on my root canal. One procedure is enough for me, thanks.

My root canal is scheduled for September eleventh. I'm hoping I can continue to just get by until then. They went over the procedure and the costs, and I thought I was going to be all right when they quoted me two hundred dollars for the root canal. Unfortunately, I was unaware that you have to cover the rootless tooth with a crown, and I wasn't prepared to hear about the six hundred dollar price tag on that one, (after insurance). I've been stressed and upset about it ever since, which really doesn't mix well with pain and infection. I'm going to try to apply for a six month dental care credit card.. but, I really wish I just had the money to pay for it up front and not look back so I could have one less thing weighing on my mind. In a perfect world, I suppose.

We headed to Dave's appointment from there. I took a snack, because I assumed I'd just be sitting in the waiting area the two hours, as per usual. I had canceled both my appointments with them, but apparently, the hygienist was bored, and needed something to do, and literally came out and begged me to let her do my cleaning anyway today. I felt bad, having just informed them that I was asking someone else to do my root canal, so I relented and let them do my cleaning. It was fully covered by insurance anyway, so I figured I could afford such a luxury.

Dave's visit took much longer than mine. He was scheduled for three fillings today, and four next week. Dr. Aaron got to checking them out though, and because they were all very small, and very shallow cavities, he asked me if he could just do all seven of them at once, today. After I got finished grilling him as to what kind of pain Dave might be in afterward, and him assuring me it wouldn't be painful for him at all, and that he wouldn't even need injections for them.. I agreed to let him do it, on the condition that Dave also agreed. Dave agreed. He got all seven of his fillings today, and now he doesn't ever have to go back to Aspen Dental again if he doesn't want to. Dave has one extraction left at the oral surgeon, and he's good to go for the palatal lift appliance, at last.

It's been a few hours since then.. we drove through one of the worst storms I've ever seen in my life on the way home, complete with huge hail, and lightning bursts hitting homes and cars all around us. We had nice, easy-on-the-mouth soup for dinner tonight, and a pain pill each and by this point in time we're pleasantly sleepy and ready to put another busy day behind us. Thank You for joining us this evening, and until next time.. Much Love, Many Hugs and Good Night to You All.

Hello From Beyond The Pain..

I just wanted to check in. This isn't an update as much as it's just a little note for anyone who might be missing us.

The pain in my neck and face and jaw have gotten so bad the last two days, that I can't do much of anything, but hurt, so I have been hurting, sleeping, eating, sleeping, hurting and complaining quietly to myself. I go for my second opinion on the third, I hope to find a course of action by then.

I've really started to worry about the worsening pain in my neck and jaw though. A friend of mine insists that my previously mild TMJ popping has turned into aggravated and severe TMJ pain. It really has scared me that it'll be a new and constant pain in my life without a way to relieve it, short of a surgery that I won't be able to manage. I've hurt so bad the last two days that I've almost just sat down and cried on many occasions. The meds really do help a lot, but only for about four solid hours, and then I'm left hurting enough to need another one. The only drawback from them seems to be quite a lot of itching. My skin mildly itches all over. Mom seems to think I might be having a mild allergic reaction to them, and I don't even care. I'll take sleepiness and itchy skin over the pain any day. I've just been a complete mess though. It would be funny, if it wasn't so very pathetic.

Dave healed beautifully from his three fillings last week like he always does, and is just dandy. I'm so jealous of his supreme ability to recover from literally.. anything. He's a very lucky man.

When I've felt as good as I can, on my pain meds, I've been helping Mom and Wayne in the garage. They've been putting up a ceiling that they've wanted to do for quite some time. They invited many people to come help on four different occasions, but no one came. I've felt awful, but I felt it was my familial duty to help, so I was out there, handing over nails, planks of wood, and various tools whenever an extra hand was needed. It's still not finished, after working on it all week, but we're getting there. Other than that, I hesitate to even leave my room, because I'm tired, and sore, and cranky beyond belief, lol.

My apologies for the shortness of this overview. I'm off to take another pill, and try and get some sleep. Thank You for joining us this evening, and until next time.. Much Love, Many Hugs, and Good Night to You All.