Tag: pain

The Dental Saga: D-Day

~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

My breakfast today is 4 capsules of antibiotics and a couple of other meds from my vast pharmaceutical buffet. We have an hour’s drive to the oral surgeon’s office. A 7:15 am check-in means leaving our house at 6:00 am. It feels like the middle of the night because the sun has not risen yet. Yawn.

Scotty, please beam me here NOW! I want to be here!

Of course, I am ready to go on time. No coffee (fasting remember?), and makeup is a total no-no. Comfy, loose clothing is required. I should have just stayed in my jammies. Because this surgery involved my entire mouth, it was a much bigger deal than having an extraction and 1 bone graft/implant to do. I know I had built it up in my head, but getting prepped for surgery was a new deal that morning. The surgical room was larger, more personnel were bustling about and I had an anesthesiologist of my own to keep me under and watch my vitals. The nitrious did not calm me down, but getting the IV in was painless. The last thing I remember was figuring out where I heard all the annoying beeping sounds before. The sounds of a heart monitor.

~ ~ ~ 3 hours later ~ ~ ~

Before I had completely woken up I felt intense pain and all I wanted was to go back to sleep. But no. All those people were there talking to me, telling me it was over and what a good patient I have been. I was unable to comment – I was gagged with pads of gauze. But the only thing “over” was for them. When they told me I had to go back to Doc’s so he could finish with the old crowns, so the denture could be placed, I wept.

We had to drive an hour to get to Doc’s. Surg sent the tools and parts he would need to “safe” the old implants. I was still under the influence and the demoral had begun to diminish. Novocane is not as effective on me – it starts wearing off as soon as I am numb. I should have been able to go home and take pain meds. Not today. It was another 90 minutes before I could snuggle into my reclyner.. An hour after that, the pain meds kicked in and I slept through TV.

A day or so later, I thought about being told (enthusiastically, at that) how great I did during surgery. What does that mean? I was unconscious. Weird.

TTFN

The Dental Saga: Countdown

~ JodiLea ~ 3 Comments

It took 3 hours, 5 diamond drill bits, and two broken hand instruments for Doc to remove the crowns on 3 implants. These types of crowns are never supposed to be removed.

Porclin flying every which way. It was a war zone. Doc, his assistant, and I were shaking from the adrenalin, almost giddy with relief when it was finished. When we thought the job was finished. I had a twinge of worry about things when Doc said he was leaving the last part for Surg to do because Surg did not tell him how to finalize them the way he (Surg) wanted them. Surg was the implant expert after all.

A very important lesson was learned (by me) on the day of the surgery. Even the most intelligent of doctors, renowned in their fields, can fall into the Y-chromosome communication glitch. All men in my family, friends’ families, and any man I have ever met have issues finalizing plans. Especially with family members or co-workers. I tried to explain to my hubby how he needs to ask questions and get answers so he doesn’t have to guess or assume. Sigh. He doesn’t even think there is a problem.


Fast forward to 8:00 pm. The numbness is worn off enough for me to have some yogurt. Bruising is showing and my jaw throbs in protest.

It’s going to be a long night.

The Sum of All Parts

~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

I have heard that if you strip down an expensive car and sold it piece by piece it is worth more than the whole car. This sounds fishy to me.

My body parts are competing for the title of “Most Annoying.” This competition occurs daily. I wake up and thank God I am sober, and pray for strength to make it through the day and get things accomplished.

I know before I get out of bed which body parts are competing. Even sleeping on a Sleep Number bed, my hip joints and my spine are already paining me. Getting out of bed will be painful but I learned that if I take it slow, stretch (very slow), and walk around a little while my muscles relax and I start to move less like Walter Brennen and more like a girl.

The older I become, the more I can’t sit still. Too long in one position and my joints “freeze.” I need to be oiled. There are OTC meds for joint loosening and I believe I should try one of them. I need to put them on my grocery list. It is a long walk to the refrigerator where the list hangs. It’s not that I am lazy, I just forget what I was going to write when I get there.

I will address the issues with my memory in some other blog post.

I don’t know how the body parts feel, but in my reasoning, the Jaw wins. TMJ – Its medical name is: ‘Temporal-Mandibular Joint’. I prefer to call it the ThermoNuclear Joint. This joint is very small, and it has the big job of keeping your jaw in alignment.

The tiniest joint has the most power. The best (and most accurate) description of TMJ pain I ever heard is, “Take an icepick and put it on your eardrum. Now hit it with a hammer.”

Have you ever dislocated a disc in your neck by sneezing? Give yourself a concussion with a cupboard door? I mean, really! Can’t we all just get along?

TTFN