(AF) Ills Sneak Up On You - Part 5 - Dental Visit

Since I was having to take so many meds to get through this dental appointment, and there was a high risk of the appointment and procedure further shooting my blood pressure up, plus, due to all of the above, a slight risk of hemorrhaging from the socket and/or choking on blood if it didn't clot correctly (also from all of the above), my wonderful Dave set aside everything he needed to be doing to come down here, take me to the dentist, sit through my appointment with me, and keep an eye on me through the night (My appointment was actually at 6pm. Never had one that late, didn't know dental appointments could be made that time of day.)

Blood pressure med before I left the house, left off the tylenol to reduce chance of thinning blood/excess bleeding, and we were on our way. Dave kept the conversation going so well, to help keep my mind distracted and off of my HUGE fear of the dentist. About halfway there I nibbled on my horseradish folded up in a slice of bread. About 45 minutes after we left my house, we were finally there. I rinsed my mouth out well with some filtered water and took my 1/4 of a Valium, along with some deep breaths.

Once inside, I signed in and barely had time to sit down before they called me back. I was so glad to see that they still had the same dentist! He is the best one I have ever been to. He can actually get me numb, and takes the time to explain everything to me as he goes, which eliminates 2 of my bigger worries behind seeing a dentist.

I kind of feel bad that I asked (practically begged) Dave to go back with me and stay through my appointment (I am sure it was hard to watch), but I sure needed him! Every time I got overly nervous, I just looked up and saw him sitting there and relaxed. I don't know how I would have gotten through it without him!

They (the dentist and his assistant) looked over the tooth in question and take an x-ray. Before they took the x-ray, they put this BIG ole, heavy, brown apron thingy over me. Hmmm... no dentist had ever done that before. Now, I have had a few x-rays done at a stand-up machine, and it may have had some kind of protection built in, I don't know. But the ones they take when you are in 'the chair', this was the first time I had ever had one of those things put over me. And I have had a LOT of dental x-rays over the years! Interesting (and not in a good way).

In no time, the dentist comes back in and says, "Good news! There isn't anything wrong with that tooth. You have a severe sinus infection, that tooth is in your sinus (he showed us on the x-ray) and that is what is causing it to hurt. Just stay on the antibiotics a little longer and you will be fine." He said that it wasn't impossible the tooth wasn't abscessing up under the crown, where he couldn't see it, but nothing showed up on the x-ray, just the sinus infection. Yay!!! No tooth pulling!

As I sat there I kept thinking that, despite what he said, I felt like crud .... my body felt like it does when I have an abscessed tooth. I remembered all those signs all too well. So I decided to ask him to look at another tooth, since I was already there. I had one on the other side (the side that I was having the mini strokes on and the swollen glands), that didn't hurt, but had a bump on the gum. That bump had been there, off and on, for years, and I was led to believe that it was from my sinus allergies draining. After a quick look, he drew back and immediately said, "Now that's an abscess! And it's an old abscess. It's been there a loooong time!" The bump was the abscess trying to beak through the gum. He called it a "draining abscess." Oh, my gosh! That tooth had had that bump above the gum, off and on for years, 6 to 10 years! I had been to the dentist sooo many times in that length of time, and not one dentist had caught it! Forget being afraid, I was furious! That tooth had been pumping toxins and poisons into my body for years and years, doing who knows what kind of damage throughout my system.

So, why had it not been noticed before? Well, I honestly don't know why the full scale dentist I use to go to didn't catch it. His prices were so high, I should have gotten a full look-see each time I went for something. But, then, to have found something, would have been to admit that previous work he had done on my teeth had gone bad.  But the dentist at the sliding scale, government funded clinics ..... they are only allowed to look at whichever tooth is hurting you. They aren't allowed to look over the rest of your teeth..... they aren't allowed to do any preventive work. Oh, no, they can't possibly be allowed to do anything that would save the patient and/or the tax payers, and/or the government any money. You have to wait until things are bad before anything can get done.

He (the dentist) said that he did not want to pull it. He said that I really needed to get a root canal done on that tooth, he strongly advised it. I asked him if he could do that. He said no, he was a last resort dentist, only. The tooth already had a crown on it, so it was going to be more complicated, and costly, too. We are talking enough money to pay my house payment and all of my utilities for the month, and then some. I said that there was no way I could afford that. He said I needed to... the tooth was too close to the front, and it being gone would also weaken the ones on either side of it. He explained about a place online where you can fill out a form for an interest-free dental loan if you met the income requirements (Is everything online now?! And, I am betting, that site/group is comprised of dentists to ensure they get their money, one way or another. But it is good something like that is available.). He added, "The crown doesn't have to be taken off. They just drill through it and go through the crown and tooth to do the root canal." Yep, the panic was beginning at just the mere thought. Then a thought hit me and I said, "Wait, one of those two teeth up there has had a root canal done... years ago."  He asked, "Are you sure?" I said yes, I remembered it all too well (they couldn't get it numb), but I wasn't sure if it was that one or the one next to it, so he told his assistant to take an x-ray of it, too.

We talked a little more while his assistant finished the x-ray, he left to go read it, then came back and asked, "Do you want that tooth out tonight, or do you want to make another appointment?" The tooth that I had already spent a fortune on (once upon a time I had a good income) ... had been abscessed, root canal done and crowned ... now had to come out!!! The root canal had apparently been done wrong. And then I was left to wonder, 'had the abscess ever been completely cleared up?' Well, I was there, I was already medicated to the hilt, and I didn't want to go through all that anxiety and fear again, so I said just do it now and get it over with. He got me numb quickly, I started to panic a little as I heard that drill come on and start to grind against my crown, he got a good grip on the tooth, rocked it a bit, and out it came, crown and all, NO digging, yea!!! What a relief! It was like having a huge splinter pulled out. And oddly enough, as he was pulling it out, the pressure shot across all of my top teeth and landed in the tooth that I had actually come in for, pain returning. Imagine, a tooth on the left side, causing pain in the right side!

With no nerve in the tooth, I never felt pain in that tooth. It 'tingled' from time to time, but, once again, I thought it was from my sinus allergies. Amazing how many things are connected to our sinuses, even back and shoulder pain can be related. And that tooth had been pumping toxins through my sinuses and body for a long, long time! I truly hope it hasn't done damage to my body beyond repair, my body fully heals, and I can soon start to feel better than I have in a long time, better than in years, maybe, even.

Less than an hour after our arrival, we were leaving. By then the tiny bit of Valium I had taken (I sure hope I don't have to take that stuff very often) was really kicking in good and I think I probably gave Dave a good chuckle or two, not sure, memory faded a bit at that point as I relaxed with the relief that it was all over, and depression from the reality that one of my "smiling" teeth is now gone, set in.

On the way home we stopped at a small Chinese restaurant and got soup for dinner (Okay, I got soup, Dave got a dinner with some substance), because I was in no shape to cook and was suppose to rest, and Dave had  to be tired from all that driving from town to town.  I rarely eat out any more, as it is all so loaded with chemicals it practically glows, but that night, we made an exception, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I embarrassed myself, drooling soup out of a semi-numb mouth, but it really hit the spot!

It's such a relief to have it over with. And I am hoping and praying I get my strength back soon, and everything in my body levels back out so that I can get off of the rest of these meds. But I still get extremely irate when I think about all the dental work I had over the years (including braces when I was a teenager), then several crowns, and now it is all having to be removed. Folks, don't ever mess around with an abscessed tooth. They can be very dangerous and reek havoc of all kinds, all throughout your body, even causing heart attacks, strokes, and even death due to brain infections. If you suspect you have one, get it properly taken care of IMMEDIATELY.

Now, to just hope and pray that that other tooth isn't abscessed up under the crown and I don't have to go through this all over again! It would be cheaper and less hassle for all involved if all of my teeth could be checked out and taken care of, rather than as each one becomes an emergency, but logical isn't how this kind of health care works.

Stay tuned for the final part - THE FOLLOW UP CHECK UP

Also Read:  Part 1        Part 2          Part 3         Part 4    Part 6  

(AF) Ills Sneak Up On You! - Part 4 - gearing up for the dentist

It was finally time to go for that much dreaded  (and anxiously awaited for) dental visit. I was anxious to get the problem resolved and start feeling better, but oh, how I dread and fear the dentist! Over the years, I have had several 'bad' dentists, resulting in numerous, horrifying experiences. But it only takes one traumatic dental experience to scar you for life .... to instill in you a fear that there is no describing.

Even days before my scheduled appointment, I begin to tense up at the mere thought of making myself vulnerable to the confinement of the dental chair and the hovering, instrument toting dentist. Every muscle and nerve in my body begins to tighten up. At times, I feel like I am choking for air as a result of the panic the dental visit thoughts brings on. My blood pressure, already high from the infection and pain, soars, all from my extreme fear of the dentist.

Blood pressure must be below a certain level before most dentists will work on you, especially extractions. Extremely high blood pressure can hinder the needed clotting in the socket of the extraction, resulting in hemorrhaging . So I have an odd but desperate regimen I follow just before I go into the dentist to ensure that my blood pressure is down enough that, after all the worrying and dread, my visit can be completed and I don't have to make repeated trips to try again.

First, I make sure I take my blood pressure pill early enough that it has really kicked in by my appointment time, but not so early that it might be wearing off. Second, I try really hard to "zone out"..... to relax my entire body, shut out any chaos around me, and put my mind onto absolutely NOTHING. Easier said, than done, but I try. Then I also add in the natural remedies. Cayenne pepper is said to reduce blood pressure, so I sprinkle a good 'dose' onto whatever meal I have before my appointment. Then my secret whammy.... HORSERADISH! Yep, horseradish. Horseradish is known to drastically drop your blood pressure many points in just a few minutes. I have even heard of police officers consuming it just before they go in for their physicals to ensure that they pass. I have found it to bring on excellent, though often short-lived, results. I bring prepared horseradish with me, and a couple of crackers or slice of bread. I eat a big spoon of it, on the bread or crackers, just before I go in for my appointment, and rinse my mouth out really well with some water. And last but not least, the part I dislike having to do the most....a Valium. Absolutely none of the already mentioned will work, unless I can get relaxed enough to let it work. And it is NOT possible for me to relax even the slightest, if I know I am going to the dentist. So about 15 to 30 minutes before my appointment, I take 1/4 of a Valium ... one-fourth ... that's all. My body isn't use to meds, especially one like that, and a little goes a long way. And I think Dave can verify (poor Dave) that even just a fourth of a Valium can render me a little entertaining. (Please don't get the wrong idea. I don't think I have taken more than a total of 3 whole ones in my entire life. But when an abscessed tooth becomes life or death, I will take a dose to get it out.) I don't like that feeling it brings on, that feeling of not being in control of my own body, but then, all that fear of going in to the dentist had already robbed me of all that control.

Yes, Dave went with me for my dental appointment. God love him, he went out of his way to come down here to be with me through my fear, and to drive me to the dentist because I was definitely too sick and too loopy to be behind the wheel. It was not only for my safety, but for the safety of everyone else on the road as well. 

All this work and trouble to get me through one dental appointment . . . . and I like this dentist! You can just imagine what getting me to one of those other dentists was like. So now, the dental appointment begins.  Be sure and come back to see how it went. . . . . . . . . .  Thank you so much for continuing to follow this post.

Also Read:  Part 1       Part 2       Part 3    Part 5    Part 6  

(AF) Ills Sneak Up On You! - part 2

Finally back home, I was still feeling terrible and knew I had to do something or I would end up in ER (and I hate that place!).  Since I was figuring I had an abscessed tooth, I decided I better start taking some of that bottle of antibiotic I had on had for emergency. I figured this was an emergency. I had so many of the symptoms I had once before when I had an abscessed tooth that had gotten so bad that it got into my blood stream (nope, that one didn't hurt, either, until it was extreme). Also, the infection from that last tooth had shot my blood pressure through the roof, and it was feeling like it again, so I also got my bottle of blood pressure pills out and got back on it, which seemed to help, too. (My blood pressure is only high when I have an infection in my body or extreme pain - or drink caffeine. Most of my life it was too low.)

Over the next week I had about 3 or 4 more of those 'spells'. After the second one, each one became a little lighter, but each one really wiped me out! When the second one hit, I was standing up, had just started down a hallway, and as my left side went numb, my left foot buckled  under as I took a step and something in it snapped. Judging by the way it felt (hurt like crud) and swelled up over the next few days, I am figuring a little bone on the top of my foot fractured. It's still pretty painful, especially by the end of the day, but it is gradually, and steadily improving.

......A week and a half later I finally made it in to the nearest government funded, sliding scale clinic for a medical check up (they won't see me at the dentist until I update my medical check up). Yes, that seems like a loooong time to wait when you are that sick, but the red tape for approval takes awhile, I had to scrape up money for my share of the payment (reduced, not free), and it takes awhile to get an appointment as they are almost always booked solid. Plus, I had to borrow a vehicle and a driver as my poor old car doesn't do long distances well (45 minute drive) and I definitely wasn't up to driving that far.

So, my adventure with the government funded clinic began..... Of course, since I hadn't been there in nearly a year, and they had moved to a new and updated facility, there was a mountain of paperwork to fill out, but not as bad as one would expect. Actually, they had set an appointment for me with the dentist for the following Monday (this was Friday), but they had told me to come in first to medical, as a walk-in, for a check-up before they could see me at the dentist. I would need more antibiotics, and you have to go through medical for that.

In no time I was called back to an examining room. A nurse (at least, I think she was a nurse) came in, laptop in hand, asked a few questions to update more of my info, and took my vitals. How they can measure your oxygen level by clipping something on the end of your index finger totally baffles me! But it was good, it was 99%. But she was so shocked at how high my blood pressure was she had to take it again on my other arm, which netted the same results. FOLKS... now, I know I was sick, SERIOUSLY sick, which I am sure elevated my blood pressure, and, at that point, I had been on antibiotics and blood pressure meds for a full week, but at the mere mention of the word "doctor" or "dentist", my blood pressure shoots up!!! I can be totally fine one minute . . . . . completely in the normal range (although I am sure I wasn't with being that sick), then someone says, "you're going to the doctor (dentist)"  . . . . . . and my blood pressure soooooars!!! I believe they call it White Coat Syndrome.  But I have yet to convince anyone there that I am afflicted with it. The nurse was amazed at my weight loss, though. She was even more amazed when I told her I did it by giving up on dieting and trying to lose weight, and simply started eliminating food chemicals from my diet - one chemical at a time until my body adjusted - and the weight just fell off. This staff member was very pleasant, easy to talk to, exhibiting genuine concern and care. But then .... I HAD TO SEE THE DOCTOR. It's doctors like her that have given me that "White Coat Syndrome." Actually, she was a PA, not a doctor. I have yet to see a real doctor at this clinic.

  Also Read: Part 1    Part 3     Part 4    Part 5    Part 6                                        

(AF) Ills Sneak Up On You! - part 1

I do believe that I said in one of my past posts that I would be writing quite a few posts to 'catch up' with you all. But instead, I became even more slack and I have soooo much to write about to catch up with all of our readers, that I don't even know where to  begin!

I guess the best place to start is to tell you where I have been. I have been ill for the past few months. Each day I would think, "Tomorrow, I will feel better and write a post and get something done around here.", but, instead, each day, I very slowly, but progressively got worse.

I really hesitated writing this post. I prefer to write happy, fun, upbeat, and informative posts. But, since this blog is about every aspect of mine and Dave's lives, combining them together, and all of our ups and downs, I am going to put this out there and hope that at least one of you can pull some useful info from it. After all, moving into a self-sufficient, self-sustaining, natural lifestyle isn't always easy or without hardships. . . . . . .

For quite awhile now I have been feeling like I was drained of energy. Even the smallest of chores made me feel exhausted. And I constantly felt like I just couldn't get my body to moving. Then, over the winter, I had a hard stomach virus, the flu, followed by yet another stomach virus that made the flu look like a piece of cake! (and we mustn't forget the resulting bronchitis a couple of times)   I got through them all, but after they passed, I just couldn't get my energy back. Each day I would think I would feel better the next. But instead, each day, I felt a little more drained than the day before.

My eyes hurt, and my head felt funny. Light from the computer screen especially hurt my eyes, so, consequently, I haven't been on my computer much, lately. I tried getting out a different pair of glasses, I went into my computer panel and dimmed my screen, but nothing helped. Staring at my computer made pains shoot through my head.  Without realizing what I was doing, I was also avoiding going outside in the bright sunshine (the part of the day I really needed to be outside this time of year) because the sunlight hurt my eyes so badly, too. Day by day, in teeny tiny little bits, I was closing down.

You know, I find it interestingly odd how an ill can sneak up on us ever so slowly that we adjust to it as it sloooowly grows and, well, we just .... flow with it ..... living with the minute, but constant adjustments we make by the day to flow with an ill because, 1) it comes on so slowly, and 2) -and more importantly- we are far too busy with our every day lives to take a moment to notice that we are sick, until the original little sick, festers into a big bad sick.  And that is exactly what I was doing. I was occasionally treating the annoying little symptoms and going on with my daily life, not paying close enough attention to what was causing the annoying little symptoms. Most of us are guilty of it. But then, in my defense, over the past few years, when I had gone to the doctor, doctors hadn't caught it, either!

So what am I talking about? And abscessed tooth! No, it hadn't hurt. I apologize, in advance, if this post starts jumping around a bit. Please, comment and let me know if you have problems following this post. I need to back up a little to  before I went to the dentist......

So, over a long period of time, I was feeling slow, run down, drained, and, in general, yucky.  Then I suddenly started to feel really bad, and I knew I had to get some medical help. Also, one of my top, back teeth started hurting, and, since I had lost the one behind it a year ago due to an abscess (and they said it might be, too, but then it was probably coming from the one tooth they removed and would clear up) and my sinuses on that side were beginning to hurt, I was certain it was abscessed and I needed to see a dentist, too. Abscesses are a serious thing and not to be taken lightly. But I was in a 'round robin' spot. Sales through the winter had been down, I had missed opening a lot due to feeling so badly, I couldn't go to the doctor without money, but was too sick most days to work my own business or look for work at someone else's business. So I had to swallow my pride and apply for some assistance to get some medical help because my condition was getting downright scary, literally, life or death.

While I was at the assistance office, just as they called me to come in, I started feeling HORRIBLE. I stood up, walked a few feet, looked at the woman and said, "I don't feel so good." She said, "You don't look so good, either, you look really pale. Do you think you can make it in here to my office to a chair?" Somehow, I slowly managed to make it down the short hall and into her office to a chair, but I am not sure how. I was having a mini stroke and the entire left side of my body went numb. By the time I sat down, I couldn't move any of it and I was barely able to talk. I asked for water and she quickly got that for me. She asked me what I thought it might be. The only thing I could think of at that moment (I obviously wasn't thinking very clearly at that moment) was that I had eaten some store bought cookies (which I rarely ever do) and it might be my sugars from my hypoglycemia. So she gave me a packet of tuna! It actually did seem to help a little.

I slowly filled out the paperwork (I was having trouble focusing on it), and she made me stay until the 'spell' seemed to have passed and I could kind of walk again, she said she would try to rush the paperwork through because I really needed to see a doctor, then I left to go home, head really foggy. NO ONE attempted to get me any medical attention, not even after I said my whole left side of my body was completely numb! In front of her, I had to pick my left arm up with my right arm, and place it on the paper I was filling out to hold the paper down so it didn't slide around. I could not physically move my left arm. Over the next week I had about 4 more 'spells' of varying degrees. Each one completely drained every drop of energy I had left, not to mention scared the crap out of me! 

   Also Read:  Part 2     Part 3    Part 4   Part 5   Part 6