Tooth drama continues...

15 July 2014: So this tooth thing continues to be...well...a thing. The pain still hasn't ever really been excruciating (thank God!), but it is still not fun. I found myself getting really down and anxious about it on Monday night. So on Tuesday, I called the dentist and he (amazingly) fit me in again. This time we are going with some antibiotics, hoping they do the trick (it's a bit more complicated than that, but I am simplifying). And just like that--with a new plan of action and a blessedly open schedule starting on Monday (A&R ends on Friday, so no more worrying about scheduling any appointments around other commitments), I am feeling optimistic. 

Good for what ails ya...

9 July 2014: I had round two of my root canal today. As I said earlier today in a text to a friend, it was "Root Canal 2: The Sequel. This time it's deeper, longer, and ouchy-er." Unexpected twists included a previously undetected nerve (perhaps why I was still having pain after Round 1, some instruments that seemed more appropriate for mining and others that seemed like something out of science fiction, and the promise of Round 3 later this month. Anyway, the dentist warned that I might be pretty sore the next day or so and while it isn't awful (yet?), it ain't pleasant, either.

But as my post's title suggests, there are some things in my life today that have been good for what ails me. Pain medication (duh!), the couch, Netflix (working my way through Season Two of House of Cards), and this guy...

 

He's been my sweet little shadow since I got home. (He's even sleeping next to me now, having found me upstairs in the guest room.)

I am pretty sure I've violated a self-imposed rule from earlier in the year, when I said I'd use cat-related things only once a month for these "year of thanks" posts, but it's been a long month (more than a month, in fact) with this tooth thing, and I can't help myself. I mean, look at these feet!

Plus, the medicine might be making me a bit loopy.

Back to the dentist...

11 June 2014: Wednesday found me back at the dentist to get the temporary crown adjusted again. Even though something is still going on and I'll almost certainly be back at the dentist again, I am still going to call out my dentist and his staff as source of Wednesday's gratitude. Once again, he was so kind and understanding. I mean, do I wish the darn thing would just feel NORMAL? (It's been like ten days..) Yeah, but it's not his fault and I have faith that he'll help me get it back to normal. This will be a bit challenging, since he's on vacation and I'll almost certainly have to see someone who is covering for him...and a root canal might be involved...but yeah, he still rocks.

If you need a dentist...

9 June 2014: If you live in this area and need a dentist, take my advice: go to Dr. Seidman in Hagerstown. He's amazing. Everyone in his office is amazing, too. They are beyond competent, very kind, so accommodating, and (always a plus for me) pretty funny, too.

I had a temporary crown put on on Wednesday, but since then, it never felt right. It wasn't full-on pain, but more like pressure, throbbing, general "not-right-ness." I was really scared that it might turn into something really bad--big old pain. So I called today and they told me to come on in when I could. They'd fit me in. So, after class this morning, I drove over.

Dr. Seidman examined me, said the temporary crown was too high, fixed it, and answered all of my questions. He did so with patience, good humor, and reassurance. One of my big fears when it comes to all things medical/dental is being a hypochondriac or a bad patient. It's kind of ridiculous. But Dr. Seidman said all the right things: that I was right to call, right to come in, that it would have gotten worse if I hadn't.

Of course, there might be something else going on with the tooth. But if there is (and please, let's hope there isn't!), I feel better knowing I've got a doctor who wants me to bug him about it. Long story short: these folks rock and I am lucky that someone recommended them to me.

Three tooth posts in a row?

Yeah, I know, I know. Things are a bit better today. I am really hoping tomorrow will be almost normal. That might be too much to hope, though. The upside is that all this time at home is helping me get lots of reading and typing done.

Ouch!

I woke up this morning with a majorly swollen face--at least one side of it, anyway. Gross. It is still really swollen, too. Fortunately the pain isn't too awful (although it hurts to open too wide, talk too much, etc. and I am really sticking to my pill schedule because, boy, do I need them!).

Anyway, as I convalesce this evening, I am typing some notes for my Fanny Fern paper, working on my syllabi, and watching Buffy Season 4. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Buffy makes everything better. 

Tooth (or lack thereof) update #2

It's an achy day here and a quiet one as I recover. The implant went in this morning and it should give me a good bit of discomfort for the next day or so. The actual procedure wasn't bad. The only part that hurt was getting the Novocaine shots. This isn't to say the procedure was pleasant--nothing pleasant about all that drilling, poking, lots of pressure, and a device that sounded/felt like a mini-jackhammer. And (it gives me the willies to even type about this) I am hoping to never have to repeat the experience of feeling something being screwed firmly into my jaw. Again, it didn't hurt, but it sure didn't feel normal. Now there's this metal bar in my jaw. It looks something like this, although I haven't had a very good look myself. It hurts to open that far and I also don't want to be icked out by any blood or gore.

Once again, I was described by the doctor as a "perfect patient." Once again, I was extraordinarily pleased with myself. Yeah, I got issues.

Anyway, I go back in nine days, then wait three more months for my regular dentist to put the crown/actual new (fake) tooth on. What a process!

Tooth (or lack thereof) update...

Operation "Remove and Replace #19" continues. (#19 refers to the tooth's official number.) Anyway, yesterday I saw my periodontist, who removed this weird mesh/membrane thing that had been on my gum since the extraction back in April. Now we wait eight weeks, take an x-ray to check on the bone, and then, if all is well, the implant goes in on August 6. Fingers crossed. Until then, the absent presence remains (how's that for a bit of postmodernism?)

When he looked at the gum/socket, the doctor (a fellow Roanoke grad, by the way, class of 1993) said it "couldn't look better." I am paraphrasing a bit, but he said something like, "Couldn't look more like the textbook pictures of perfection." He was actually praising the material he used (this cadaver bone graft thing you can read about here that makes the whole implant process easier), but I still felt quite proud, which is kind of ridiculous since I had nothing to do with how well things have gone.

Of course, this sense of satisfaction also speaks to my strange desire to have random people praise me for what can only loosely be called good behavior: when the same doctor, for instance, praised me for being an excellent patient during the extraction*; when I've used movers and they compliment me on being a good packer; the time a TSA screener held up my bag of approved carry-on liquid toiletries (back when this was a new requirement) for the crowd to see and said, "This is how it's done." In that way, I am still a eight year old looking for approval from the teacher.

*Which makes me wonder, by the way, what a bad patient does. Cry? Demand they stop? Squirm?

Bad Blogger

After trying to post just about every day, I've been neglecting my blogging lately. Sorry about that. These last couple of weeks have been crazy: end-of-the-semester grading, other work-related craziness, and some emergency dental surgery threw me for a heck of a loop. But things are calming down now. In fact, I am almost done with the semester. Given the hectic nature of the past 15 days or so, the end actually snuck up on me.

Anyway, I'll do my best to do better. For now, though, I thought I'd share some pictures from a visit I took to Longwood Gardens with my friend Vogel just before the craziness began. We had been there a couple of years ago, too, and I was just in love with the beauty of the tulips. In the past couple of weeks, when things were at their worst, I would go back in my mind to these pictures.