About two weeks ago, my one remaining wisdom tooth started giving me a bit of trouble. That's phrasing it lightly. How about, "It started kicking and screaming and if felt as if someone was taking an ice pick to my brain?" Yes, that's more like it.

On Thursday, I went to a new dentist. I dislike my old dentist not because he's a dentist, (he's actually a pretty good dentist) but because he decided to preach his religion to me while he was working on my teeth. So I stopped going to him. I found a new dentist and I went because of the pain in my tooth.

Why is it that mouth pain is the worst? I've never given birth, but I imagine that pain to be more bearable.

The new dentist told me something that shocked and/or stunned me. He told me that drinking Coca-Cola is bad for you. Oh my! I never knew! I'm not ready to give up my Coke yet, but I do need to stick my New Year's Resolution of drinking more water.

When I was 15 or 16, I had three of my wisdom teeth removed. Why they didn't take them all at that time, I don't know. They should have. But one remained in my mouth, waiting 10 years before starting it's plot to kill me. Now, genetics are not on my side when it comes to oral health. Some families have mental illness running in their genes, some have gastro-intestinal problems, some deal with cancer or heart disease. Not my family. My family is cursed with bad teeth and poor eyesight. My eyesight is still pretty decent (20/20 in one eye, 20/25 in the other), but I definitely got the bad teeth genes. I got these genes from BOTH sides of the family. And drinking Coke does not help.

All four of my natural grandparents had dentures before they were 25. My dad had them at age 18. My mom should have had them at 20, however her dentists refused and charged her for twenty years worth of caps, crowns, root canals, and fillings. She didn't eat an apple or ice cream for 20 years.

So when my remaining wisdom tooth started acting up, it wasn't really a surprise. It hurt (oh God, did it hurt), but it didn't surprise me that I would need it pulled. I didn't really think anything of it. I got an appointment set up and went to the dentist.

When they pulled my three wisdom teeth before, I was put to sleep. I had no swelling and no problems at all with the surgery. In fact, I was on the phone talking to friends an hour and a half after the surgery, making plans for Friday night. Since the previous experience had been so decent, I figured this one would be as well. I figured wrong.

For one, I was not put under for this surgery. That's because I didn't have a ride home. So I "grinned" and beared it. My face was numb for 8 hours afterwards due to the extreme amount of novocain I was given.

After the novocain wore off, I was faced with the throbbing pain, sore jaw, and swollen cheek. I look like a chipmunk on one side of my face. It hurts too.

But they gave me drugs. Good drugs. Drugs that make it so I shouldn't drive. And they make me feel nauseous and dizzy. So I didn't go to work on Friday (which I wrote about before). When I got up today, I still felt like crap and I didn't go to work again. I feel bad about this. I know that if I'm in pain, I should stay home instead of pushing myself and getting myself into more pain, but I still feel bad. My manager is extremely nice and he went to work for me on his Saturday night off. I do appreciate his help.

So that's the update on what's happening to me. This is not how I would have hoped for a 5-day weekend. Not fun. Not fun at all. But there are good things about the weekend. DM came over to make sure I was okay and we're listening to music and talking. I'm not being too active and she's making sure I don't get sick. That's a great friend. And she gets the added benefit of the 45 minutes after I take the medication of the complete high feeling I get. It's a little scary.

2 Comments:

At 6:26 PM, CarpeDM thought...

A little scary? Maybe for you. But I have been enjoying the weirdness coming from you.

I mean seriously, would you really have thought about reading a book to me (especially since I'm 11 years older than you) unless you were on some serious pain killers. Reading a book called The Boxcar Children? Although it was an amusing book, especially since we are sick, sick individuals and laughed hysterically over it.

It led to a great talk about favorite childhood books, like The Phantom Tollbooth and the Trixie Belden books. Which led to you digging out your Trixie Belden books from your childhood. Which led to me starting to read them again. Yeah, like I can resist a book when it's been put in front of me.

Anyway, I'm counting down. In about ten more minutes, you're going to start getting seriously goofy again. It is a good thing you're not at work. I don't think you would have been able to handle roving tonight.

At 4:28 PM, Matt thought...

I know the feeling of being weird and such. I am going through a cloud of delirium, I keep thinking that I hear voices talking to me only to discover no one has moved thri mouth. I am also seeing people that are not there, I am going crazy. I did however start to write a story, I should look at it after I am not so cloudy and see if it makes any sense. If you haven't seen it yet or not, I have discovered how to post pictures to my blog. You should check it out. Hope that you are feeling better soon. I will talk to you soon.
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