Just a Consultation....

Go figure- Yesterday's appointment with the oral surgeon was simply a consultation beforehand. We set up my appointment for the surgery to have the 3 extractions for May 5th. Wish it could have been sooner, but that was the earliest they could get me in that was convenient with hubby's work schedule and when he can take off. They're going to sedate me.

So, for the time being- that's about all I've got going on. I can't think about my writing or revisions. I feel really out of the loop. I am nearly 6 full weeks smoke-free and only have Step 3 to go starting this Sunday. I'm doing pretty good with it, though I haven't been getting on the Gazelle as I intended. Haven't felt good though with the pain coming and going.

We did watch the Will Smith movie "7 Pounds" and it was a really good movie, though I figured out what was going on fairly early on in the movie so I wasn't caught off guard as much as I would have been if I hadn't. I had heard a lot of reviews say that the movie would keep you guessing and you'd be shocked at the turn of events. Maybe it's the writer in me that figured the storyline and plot out early. It was still a really good movie though.

Hope everyone's been well and taking care of themselves. Have a great weekend!

Fear and Oral Surgery

I went to the local dentist on the 15th after being woken up in the middle of the night by rolling waves of pain in my face/jaw. I won't get into all the nasty details, but needless to say- I have to go to an oral surgeon this coming Thursday to have 3 teeth pulled- 1 wisdom tooth and 2 molars- all on the right and all in bad shape. He said my wisdom tooth was impacted and rotten, though to my understanding wisdom teeth are generally never in good shape when they come through. He put me on Amoxicillin for the infection and gave me Hydrocodone for the pain.

Guess who the dentist wanted to send me to??? Psycho "Steve Martin" oral surgeon. That's who this dentist usually sends people to. I told them about my experience with this other guy and so he chose someone else for me to go to- a lady oral surgeon- newer and younger, probably more apt to be gentler.

The dentist told me though that the other guy had had some trouble about 2 years ago- right around the time that I went to him- that there was a lack of good communication in the OS's office and probably the reason I didn't get the gas or any local anesthetics...and that a lot of his staff had to be let go of around that time because there was scandal going on in his office- embezzlement or something.

Still makes me queazy to think about it though, that even if it was his assistants who forgot to tell him I wanted gas, it still should have been double checked and I couldn't very easily tell the OS I was supposed to have gas after he'd chocked my mouth open and I couldn't speak.

This dentist seemed to understand though and laughingly said the other OS ruined me on going to the dentist since I hadn't been in 2 years because of that incident. I'm hoping things are better this time around, though from the sound of it- I'm in for more than just these extractions. The dentist wants me to come back to him a month after these get pulled so he can get a better idea of what teeth can be saved and the ones that can't be.

Really rather freaks me out, but I know I need to do something about it because I have been awful about taking care of my teeth over the years. I already told my mom that if more than 1/2 my mouth needs work or more than 1/2 my remaining teeth need to be pulled- well...I might as well just have them ALL pulled and get dentures. Not sure yet though. We'll see.

Haven't been able to concentrate on anything though. I have thought about my revisions and such, but just haven't been able to bring myself to open it because I know my attention span right now is too short to invest real quality time and concentration on my work. I hate this, but after all this is out of my way- I'll dive in and get back to what I love to do, not worrying about dental issues.

Will update again once I've had the teeth pulled Thursday and am feeling up to it.

T

Cold Rainy Break- Toothache....Blech!

So much for returning feeling refreshed and ready to work on edits/revisions.

The weather turned off COLD- wintery- while I was up visiting my family. We had one day that it snow flurried almost all day. Brrr......

Then, since the middle of last week I've been slowly working on a toothache. Since I've been home, it's been awful. Some of it is probably affected by the weather, but for the most part, it ebbs and flows- comes and goes and it isn't pleasant at all. I've taken ibruprofen and I've been using Oragel severe pain formula, but it still hurts. I'm going to give it a few more days, but if it doesn't stop after that, I'll go have the problem yanked out.

I lived with severe pain a couple of years ago- around this time of year in fact- for about 2-3 months before I went to have it taken care of. I lived in a haze and felt like I lost a LOT of time- not just on my writing but with my family because I was in so much pain I couldn't focus or concentrate. That ain't happening again. No way. I just won't go back to the dentist/oral surgeon I went to the last time. Psycho Oral Surgeon will NOT get his hands on my mouth again.

Sure, I felt better after he pulled the two teeth that needed to be pulled, but he didn't respect my wishes for gas before he stabbed me with the needle over and over and left me to sit alone for about 15-20 minutes, shaking all over, hyperventilating and sobbing from the pain he put me through. I nearly got up and stumbled out of there.... I thought, and still think, it was unprofessional and sadistic in him to disregard my wishes. The receptionist asked me 3-4 times if I wanted gas...I told her yes every time! But when I got back there, I didn't get it....There was never even any mention of it...

No, what I got was- "Here, let's have a look..." and then jab, jab, jab, jab, jab- into my jawbone, the roof of my mouth- over and over again with what felt like the biggest freaking needle I'd ever felt in my life. He was the epitome of Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors- I swear he was keeping the gas all to himself.....

I WILL NOT go back to him...no way, uh uh, ain't happening...not in this lifetime...

So- did I come back refreshed and rearing to go? Not exactly. I've spent the better part of the last 3 days lying on the couch with my eyes closed, trying to block out the pain. I can't hardly concentrate on daily household stuff, let alone writing/edits/revision. It's any wonder I've gotten this much written on this blog.

I'm doing good with the not smoking. feel free to hop over and read the small blog I posted on Taryn Up in Smoke. I'm going to check a few more emails, load some of my pictures up on the computer from my week away and then probably lay down for a while to rest and relax through the pain that's escalating already this morning.

Have a great one!