A Tableau
Scribing at 10:06 a.m. on 2004-07-14
A compilation from the last couple of days:
From the 13th:
Got an appointment like, brutally early in the morning. Yowch. I'm totally trying not to think about it.
My infamous molar (the one that's been giving me low-grade grief for the last week or two) has finally gotten sick of being an under-achiever and decided to really pump up the volume on the pain this afternoon. It came out of NOWHERE; and about tore the side of my head off. I sucked down Tylenol and waited for it to abate, but .. uh .. alas, it was not to be.
Sucked down more tylenol before heading in to the Snake Pit and was not brokenhearted to find we only had two projects on deck. Finished them up and clocked out, as I had long before that broken a sweat from the pain and the Diva had recommended I try Ibuprofen rather than Tylenol to try and cut the jagged pointy edges off the pain. (there is really nothing like a partially exposed nerve to really bring everything else in your life into perspective. trust me on this.)
Ccame home, took 4 Ibuprofen, and the Diva produced pain medication that I didn't even remember I had from my last adventure in facial torture. It hadn't expired, and at first I was iffy, but the ibu didn't even dent the pain, so I took one of those a little later. I may actually be able to sleep (knock on wood). Ok, maybe for a little while. Ok, maybe for an hour, if I'm lucky.
Ouch. seriously.
Called the oral surgeon's office from work tonight, and left a seriously begging message letting them know they need to yank this thing out of my head without delay. Hoping I don't need to dork around going to my regular dentist first, who will then tell me to go to the oral surgeon anyway. An incredibly stupid waste of time, and twice as annoying when I am about to start screaming with pain. You know .. I've had bones broken, 2 major freaking surgeries, all manner of interesting things happen to my body in the last 10 years or so. But there is NOTHING to compare with this whole dental pain thing. Seriously. Not even halfway cool.
From later on the 13th:
Ow.
Fucking OW.
Ok, sleeping didn't work. Tried sleeping. Unsuccessful. Started to dose off for a second there, but then the ice pick ramming itself between my molar and gum (otherwise known as previously mentioned exposed nerve) jerked me away with a particularly pointed stab of pain. I was seeing colors, folks.
Finally gave up after laying there for an hour trying not to make noise or go into convulsions or anything. I figured at least the Diva was sleeping, one of us should get some. The dog, too. The dog's sleeping. *sigh*
Everybody but this wonderful cat who's decided to keep me company while I sit here in my boxers trying not to moan, cradling my head in my hands. She thinks the best way to keep my mind occupied is by biting my knee. Repeatedly. And then rubbing her face over it. Every once in a while she bites hard enough to indeed take my mind off the pain, but this is not what i had in mind.
Took another pain pill, uhhh .. 40 minutes ago. still waiting for that .. absence of pain. that's all i'm really asking for. or at least ... less of it. dayum.
Ok, for real now. This needs to stop. Or at least calm down a little. Ow. Fucking ow.
Godawful early appointment in 4 hours. Lucky me. and I need to be able to pay attention and interact constructively.
Yeah.
No problem. Got it covered.
*whimper*
From the 14th:
Is it kinky to propose to your oral surgeon? ... because i totally did. He seemed unaffected by my declaration of devotion, however, which probably pans out well since we don't live in Utah and the Diva would probably take another spouse as a point of contention.
They called me back right after they opened, which was a happy thing; since I'd been pacing the floor, holding my head as tightly as possible and stopping just short of crying like a little girl all night long. No sleep, no food, just tons of ibuprofen and painkillers from the last visit to the oral surgeon. I was a serious MESS. By the middle of the late night/early morning the pain had made accommodations for the incoming pain killers and wasn't even phased by it. Just turned up the volume to drown out the painkillers radio from downstairs. I missed my appointment, needless to say. But there was no freaking way in hell I would have been able to go, I was such a mess by 8 that the appt at 9 was utterly out of the question. The Diva rescheduled it for Thursday, thank heavens.
Anyway, yeah. They called me. Said they could squeeze me in at 2:45pm, which from the vantage point of 8am and in incredible mind-bending pain seems like .. oh .. next week.
Now mind you, I have never gone to see this guy voluntarily. It's always been on recommendation from my regular dentist, and I've always been really freakin' tense about it. Like the last time? He had to cut an impacted wisdom tooth out of my face with a saw and pliers under LOCAL anesthetic, because I had driven myself there, and needed to drive myself home; so I didn't have the luxury of being knocked out for it. That blew HIM away, never mind what it did to me. there is nothing like a bone saw going full tilt in your mouth, cutting away part of your jaw while you are AWAKE for it. I can personally attest to this.
Today, I couldn't get in there fast enough. I can't remember the last time I'd experienced pain like that. I promised him my unborn children, my car, anything he wanted if he'd just numb it. Anything. He says 'well, you probably dont care if I use this or not, but I'm going to ...' as he swabbed the anesthetic gel over my gums prior to doing that thing where they ram this knitting-needle sized hypodermic through the roof of your mouth. I honestly DIDN'T care at that point. He couldn't do it fast enough to suit me. When it finally kicked in, I swear to god I almost passed out from sheer relief. He came back in, and I think it was right about then that I proposed. And I didn't even flinch when he broke out the saw again. I just closed my eyes and smiled; knowing that soon, very soon, I would not be in pain. And nothing he did came even remotely close to how I felt when I walked in there, so, it's all good.
He asked if I wanted to retract my proposal as the saw whirred and blood and bits of bone went flying, and once he was finished I suggested perhaps we just date and see how it went.
Turns out I had not one, but TWO exposed nerves in my not-even-remotely-happy mouth. He blinked when he saw it. He kinda laughed and said 'boy, I'll bet that really hurts a lot'. It was one of the few times I opened my eyes while I was laying there. I tried my best to convey clearly 'no SHIT' with my eyes.
He even tried a stab at oral surgeon humor .. as he was breaking the last of the tooth and yanking out the last couple of pieces he smiled down at me and said 'heyyyy. Looks like we're getting to the ROOT of the problem!' I think that was the other time I opened my eyes. If only to blink at him. but I had to, you know?
so there you go.
Got home last night and crashed, slept an unprecedented 8 hours. (I've usually managed about 4.) This morning, for the first time in a very long time, I woke up, went downstairs, and got a drink of cold juice straight out of the fridge WITHOUT PAIN. No wincing. No trying to keep the slightly-warmed juice over on the far side of my mouth. No weird machinations or belly dancing to be able to drink something I haven't warmed up first. I think I will spend the morning putting cold things in my mouth. Because I can.
Oh, and I'm lookin' for suggestions for some new music. I seriously need to hear some new stuff. If you've got something that you think I really need to hear, throw me an email or leave me a suggestion in my notes.
Thanks!
