I have never liked going to the dentist and lately that feeling has intensified. Every time I go, I have a problem, pain, and then more delayed pain afterwards. Sometimes it is 5 days later; sometimes a week or more. I talked to my dentist about it and he said he had never heard of such a thing. The pain afterwards should be immediate if it were at all. It seems to me to be where I received the anesthetic. Because I really dislike mouth pain, I really don't like to go, knowing I will suffer later. So I have put off going to the dentist often.
Finally I had had enough and decided to go in and have my dentist tell me all that had to be done to make it all better. I had an exam and x-rays. I scheduled my first appointment and it was over an hour long. I was tense and uncomfortable. I did survive. But I didn't immediately make the next appointment. I should have. Another tooth started hurting. I called and was given a prescription for antibiotics and pain pills. The pain didn't persist so I didn't take the prescription. I hate taking pills.
We went camping and I forgot my pills. I had hoped I wouldn't need them. Well... I did need them. But on another tooth. And it really hurt bad. When we got back home, I called my dentist the next day. They didn't get back to me right away. I really was in pain. I had not slept hardly at all. I felt worthless and could hardly function. Unbeknownst to me my husband called the dentist office, too, and then they called me back and told me to come in right away. They would work me in as they could. Apparently my husband can be very persuasive! I was told that my nerve was dead. I asked why there was so much pain if my nerve was dead. My dentist told me the tooth was infected all the way to the bone, and the pain wasn't going away anytime soon.
I am on the 4th day of throbbing pain and little sleep. I am not getting hardly anything done. I have little energy and am tired. I do not deal with the sharp pain well and have tried many home remedies to get by. Alternating heat and cold seem to help most along with alternating Tylenol and ibuprofen. The Vicodin prescription makes me fuzzy minded, dizzy, and tired, so I only take it at night if I can't get through the night.
I have been miserable; I am still miserable, just to a bit lesser degree. I have typed this blog. I will do dishes today. So I guess I am better.
Tomorrow I go to the dentist again. I am scared. I know in the long run, it will help, but I know I will have pain and I don't like pain. When the pain is gone, I will be thankful. And when I chew my food without pain next time, I won't take it for granted. I don't think I will anyway.
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I went to the dentist and he sent me home! He didn't want to start anything else until we had this cleared up. My jaw is still swollen and it has been almost a week. I am eating more things and the throbbing isn't continuous. I have hope of healing.
At a Radiant Purity conference for girls that I took my 12 year old to this weekend, one of the speakers asked us if we had ever had a cavity. She asked if we had ever had it get infected. I could relate! I had the swelling to prove it! She compared it to sin in our lives that we need to root out and clean out. You can't just cover it up with a filling. You have to drill out the bad stuff first. Then you can fix it. We all have things in our lives that need dealing with, that need to be fixed. We have things we need to get rid of. Sometimes pain comes with that. Then we can get on with the healing.
I am looking forward to the healing! I can't wait to chew without pain again. I look forward to closing my mouth without a sharp jab. But I also am asking the Lord to reveal if there is anything else that needs to be rooted out, drilled away, decay to be cleaned out of my life. I might as well do it now. I don't like pain and I am looking forward to healing.
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