Dentist

My left ear is totally plugged from the abscessed tooth according to the dentist.  The M.D. told me that 7 days of antibiotics would be enough.  The dentist disagrees.  I was hoping that today would be the end of all this pain.

The dentist stuck his probes down into the middle of the tooth and pulled out more infection.  The past two weeks of pain and misery were for nothing.  He gave me a prescription for Zithromax and another appointment for next Monday.  I was hoping this would all be over today.  The pain is much less now, but it's hard to hear with my ears plugged.  Keith is always complaining that I play the television too loud.

Speaking of television, I'm watching Jay Leno.  He made a joke about a new product that converts regular ice cream into soft ice cream.  He says, "Just leave it on the counter for ten minutes. 

I must be ahead of my time, then.  When I came home from the doctor and dentist today, I was exhausted.  I shed my wool clothes for something cooler.  The pharmacist said that if I took the Ziithromax with food, I'd be less likely to get an upset stomach.  I was too tired to cook something.  My mouth hurts too much to chew anything hard.  I pulled out the new gallon of vanilla ice cream and set it on the counter.  It was hard as a rock, so I left it there to soften while I put away my outside clothing.  I fluffed up my pillows and pulled back the bed covers.  I laid down for just a minute and flipped on the tv with the remote.

Three hours later I woke up and Keith was home.  He said, "I have something to tell you."

"What?" I said.

"The ice cream was on the counter when I got home."

"Is it ruined?"

"Not if you'd like a milkshake," he grinned.

Sleepless Nights

Here I am again, up in the middle of the night.

I was lying in bed wide awake.  I had a dozen or so things rattling through my mind.  So I decided to get up and write them down.  With the thoughts transferred to words, the plan was to go back to sleep.

I fought the plan until my tooth started hurting.  I had used the last of the Tylenol last night.  I had already taken my limit of ibuprofen for this 24-hour period.  Then I remembered that I had a small tube of Tylenol in the bag I take with me on trips.  I looked in the brief case that I took on our last trip to Anchorage, and the bag was not in there.

Then I remembered the organizer bag hanging on the back of the bathroom door.  It has little slots and elastic bands to hold individual items in plain sight.  I did not see the Tylenol at first glance.  So I rooted around in the bag.  Voila!  I had a full tube of Tylenol.

After I poured myself a glass of water and took two 500 mg tablets, I decided to sit down at the computer and empty my mind of the bouncing thoughts.  However, now that I am sitting here, I cannot remember a thing I was thinking about while I was lying in bed wide awake.

Take-out and Tooth Aches

Last night I did not sleep at all.  Mostly it was because I slept so much in the daytime yesterday.

Monday afternoon, I laid down for a nap because Keith planned to take me out to dinner.  When he tried to call me about 5:30 p.m., I was so sound asleep that I did not hear the telephone ring.  When he came home, I was still sleeping.  He was afraid of startling me, so he tiptoed into the bathroom.  When he got into bed, I barely moved.

By the time I woke up, it was too late to go to dinner.  I was also not sleepy and ended up staying up all night.

Today Pam and the baby came for a visit.  I love having them here, and I watched Brendon while she did some errands.  He and I laid down for awhile.  He took a nap, but about the time I fell asleep, he woke up.

When Keith came home, he asked, "Did you get any sleep today?"

"No,.  I would go to bed now but I'm too hungry." I replied.

Keith kept insisting that I go to bed.  However, I had only eaten a piece of cheese and hot chocolate all day because my teeth hurt.

Keith volunteered to go downtown and buy me some take-out if I promised to go to sleep afterwards.  I had already started making some vegetable soup, but I agreed anyway.  By the time he got back, the soup was almost ready.  He fussed at me because I was on the computer.  I was writing down the recipe so I could post it to my wheat-free recipes.  When I was finished eating and writing, I went to bed.

What a sweetheart!

Keith did the nicest thing for me a few days ago.

When I woke up Saturday, I sat down at my computer.  The desk chair's swivel mechanism had broken.  When I sat in it, I rocked backwards, unable to rock forward again.  Ugh!  My legs were high in the air, and my head was about six inches from the floor.  I was stranded like a turtle flailing on its back.  I tried adding pillows, and that was no help.  Since I did not feel like wrestling with the computer chair, I went back to bed.

When Keith noticed the situation, he promptly went to Sam's Club and bought me a new chair.  It is much nicer than the old one.  Isn't he sweet!

Good Intentions

When I sit down at the computer, I intend to write in my blogs and write a few letters.  After I check my e-mail, I get sidetracked dealing with spam and moderating my groups.  By the time I take care of the housekeeping that needs to be done, I'm too tired to do anything else.  That reminds me.  I have several adoptions that need to be sent.

Perhaps things will be better after I get this tooth crowned.  One more week until the dentist gets back to town.

Mouth Sore, too.

The root canal teeth, yes, teeth, two next to each other made one giant toothache, were causing so much pain that I had not noticed that my tongue was ulcerated by the rough edges of the tooth that lost the inlay.  Now that the pain has died down somewhat on the left side of my mouth, I still cannot eat because of the pain on the right side.

I went back to the dentist to have him look at the open tooth.  He said to let it drain some more until he gets back from his trip.

Root Canal

Last Sunday morning, I woke up with my lips felt buzzy like I was coming out of a novocaine injections.  My jaw was hurting.  My first thought was my TMJ was acting up again.  I know I should wear my mouth guards every night, but I don't.

By Monday the left side of my face was going numb.  Suspecting that I may be having a stroke, I went to the clinic for an exam.  I was a walk-in with no appointment, but I got in rather quickly anyway.  The doctor could not find anything obviously wrong.  I had no symptoms of a stroke.  Another possibility was Bell's Palsy, but my smile was symmetrical and I could still whistle.  She prescribed some Penicillin VK 500 mg and Tylenol #3 for the pain.  I told her that I already had an appointment for the dentist on Wednesday.

Tuesday I spent in a half-coma on the Tylenol #3, and I was very ready for the dentist by Wednesday.

Unfortunately I woke up late, and I didn't have much time to get ready.  While the dentist was waiting for the x-ray to develop of the aching tooth, he cemented the inlay and filled a small facial cavity.  He quickly figured out the problem, and he did a root canal on two teeth.  I felt immediate relief.  He left the root of one tooth open to drain.  I was fascinated by watching the fluid ooze out of the opening in the pinhole in the middle of the tooth.